Top 4 Financial Tools for Success

Financial tools are the drivers behind successful businesses. They bring simplicity to tasks that can otherwise be complicated and time-consuming. 

Thankfully, financial tools can be used in nearly every corner of your financial system. At New Economy, we suggest using four primary tools to help entrepreneurs, like you, gain control of their finances to make smart decisions to build and grow their businesses. 

Here is an overview of each of these helpful financial tools: 

Tool #1: Cash Flow Tool

Cash flow is the lifeblood of your business. You need cash on hand to handle basic tasks, like: 

• Paying employees and suppliers
• Buying inventory
• And leveraging business growth

However, measuring how much cash is flowing in and out of your business can be difficult, especially if you don’t have a solid tracking system. Making smart decisions about saving and spending gets complicated and you often lose the ability to properly grow your business. 

This is where the free cash flow tool we created at New Economy will come in handy. With it, you can see all of the inflows and outflows that affect your bottom line over time so that you can plan ahead with confidence. 

Visit https://neweconomycpa.com/free-offer/ to access our free Cash Flow Tool.

Tool #2: Weekly Scorecard

Scorecards include a combination of the KPIs you need to reach your business goals. 

They are built specifically for your business and give you a look into your performance over a set amount of time, in this case, a week. 

As you craft your weekly scorecard, try not to overthink it. Focus on including only four or five of the most important metrics.  

To select your metrics ask your team how they would measure a good week. This could be anything from making “X” number of sales to having “X” amount of money in the bank. In general, you should include metrics that provide information related to revenue, client acquisitions, efficiency, and profitability.

In addition to your weekly financial scorecards, you should create weekly scorecards for other departments as well. This gives you a good idea of what is going on in your business across the board.

Tool #3: Financial Projections 

Financial projections are essential tools for every business. They are predictors of where your business is headed based on previous data and indicate when you may have problems with cash flow, pricing, or overspending. 

With your projections and current data, you can also evaluate the state of your business, structure big-picture ideas, assess risk, and take action for business growth.

For example, let’s say you believe increasing prices will help you generate more profit but are worried you’ll lose too many customers. Financial projections will predict where your business will stand financially after raising the price. With that information, you can create the best course of action moving forward.

Tool #4: Month-End Close

By now you have probably figured out the importance of leveraging your financial information to make business decisions. You can find everything you need to run a successful business with your numbers, however, if you don’t have a good process for doing so, you’ll miss out on plenty of opportunities. 

The best way to ensure you are mining value from your numbers is to build a month-end close process. Essentially, this will be a combination of complete and timely financial statements you can use to help you make business decisions. 

While you should build a month-end closing process that works best for your business, here are the key things to keep in mind: 

• Record
  • Make sure all revenue and expenses have been recorded
  • Record accrued liabilities, including payroll, employee vacation, notes payable interest expenses, and taxes
  • Review fixed assets and perform an inventory count
  • Post journal entries for depreciation and amortization
• Close
  • Reconcile cash, checking, and savings accounts, petty cash fund, and credit card accounts 
  • Reconcile prepaid accounts 
  • Reconcile intercompany accounts to ensure payables and receivables match between both businesses
• Analyze
  • Generate an adjusted trial balance and draft income statement, balance sheet, and A/R and A/P Aging Reports
  • Review analysis with stakeholders
• Report
  • Prepare management, FP&A, and external/SEC reporting
  • Assemble required documentation for internal and external auditors

As you go through your month-end close process, take your time and rely on automation as much as possible. Remember, this is an essential piece to a successful business. 

Want Help Incorporating These Tools into Your Financial System?

Each of these tools adds a tremendous amount of value to your financial system. They monitor cash flow and overall business performance, as well as give you an idea of where your business is headed and help you nail down the numbers you need to make better business decisions. 

Properly leveraging these tools leads to a successful business, so if you need assistance in this area, consider New Economy!

We help entrepreneurs gain control of their finances to make smart decisions to build and grow their business. Contact us today to learn more!