Not everyone is a shrewd business financier. Not everyone has the calculative chops to make it through the harsh business year. A little financial difficulty here and there is to be expected in the world of business. A miscalculation here, a wrong sum there can lead to a few issues which need fast solutions to solve. Hopefully, if your indexing solutions work well, you will have a solid methodology for identifying and fixing issues as they arise.
However, not all financial mistakes are considered part of the same tier of difficulty. Some are minor issues which can be solved at the drop of a hat, such as rectifying shortchanging a customer with a humble apology and free item of goodwill. However, there are some financial issues which can completely scupper your positive growth in a way which makes you worried for the future.
Fear not though; we have some of the best tips here to help you out of these potential issues. Foresight teaches gently, while error teaches brutally, and in these instances that saying is the truest of all:
Tax
You must pay tax, and you must pay the correct amount. While someone working for themselves will probably take a while to flag up on the system of the taxman for misappropriating conduct, it’s not hard to imagine how tight businesses are regulated. If your tax contributions aren’t perfect to the penny, you can expect a full audit of your operation, and they are sure to find something out of place.
If this is found, they can hit you with a very difficult business fine, and at worst can completely shut your operation down and charge you with fraud. There are many kinds of business fraud, including but not limited to VAT fraud investigation, so it’s important to educate yourself on all of these topics to prevent them from happening to you. Don’t even make this a possible reality. The business leaders with the best and most intelligent foresight will hire an accountant from the word go, even if the business boasts less than three employees.
It’s essential to get utterly current with your financial contribution, and having someone professional take care of these can give you the best peace of mind. This also helps dramatically if you’re not the most numerically minded of business leaders, as it affords you time to focus on your strengths and develop your firm in the avenues you see most fit.
Missed Salary Payments
Every company has experienced some form of issue with their payroll system. However, away from understandable issue which occurs once or twice and never again, repeated missed payments or incorrect sums of payment going to your employees quickly becomes a hotbed of internal controversy. Not only does this predictably make your employees less inclined to work for you, but because you aren’t meeting the terms of your contract, they will have legal grounds to take you to court for missed payments and even damages. Voiding an employment contract on your end is a big no-no, and voiding the contract due to an issue with the one resource (money) giving the contract validity is a HUGE no-no.
If you have the means, make sure that at least one employee in your firm is dedicated to completing the task of payroll is important, but you can also outsource this too. Make sure that this is the most regular ticking clock of your firm, as one missed payday, even by a day can cause chaos with your scheduling. Always aim to pay your employees BEFORE they are due, rather than after, such as if their pay date falls on a weekend or holiday.
Security
Due to the prevalence of the online world, it can be difficult to imagine how security breaks ins occur. However, they still happen, and they are even more possible than ever. The conjured image of a robber with a swag bag is a primitive way to view your firm security, as many businesses refuse to keep a cash reserve anywhere unless they are in retail or hospitality. If you are one of the latter firms, it makes sense to rectify and constantly monitor the security of your business, as well as training your staff in the proper procedure to help protect large cash sums when being handled. This might mean implementing hidden floor safes or transporting the cash reserves elsewhere from the firm overnight.
However, physical problems you should be concerned with preventing. A business strategy which doesn’t include the potential for being compromised online is one that isn’t complete and relevant to the modern world. Hackers are now the stars of the thief trade, and they will try any and all methods at their disposal to part you from necessary information. Wiring large sums of money out of your accounts is relatively unlikely provided you are using a secure banking service, but that doesn’t mean you are home free. Corporate espionage is a big issue in the modern climate, and so sensitive documents being released due to poor online handling can potentially come back and hit you right in the proverbial corporate wallet.
For this reason, it’s important to train your staff in the benefits of being frugal and understanding of your situation regarding online security. Don’t think that it’s as simple as using the right service, such as the Google Suite. Even titans like Google are able for compromise. Equifax, one of the biggest and most stable financial firms of the USA was recently compromised, and this affected millions of its users.
At the very least, you must use a VPN and regularly search for the best providers offering the most up to date service. Keep your computers defended with antivirus, and teach your staff about safe online strategy. Have them craft passphrases which cannot be predicted, but are memorable to them. Never allow them to write this password down anywhere, and mark this as insubordination if it’s found to happen. It sounds harsh, but when it comes to the safe protection of your firm, you are within your rights to demand excellence from your staff.
With these tips, you can be sure to be that little more protected, and that little bit wiser as a firm.
