How Many People Do You Need In Accounts?
We’ve all heard it before … “there are too many people in accounts”….. but first a detour via refrigerators. Hang in there, hopefully this will come together in the end. Lately I’ve been a bit fascinated with energy use at home and have been reading a lot about renewable energy in general. Most of us […]
Why Middle Office Is Probably Holding You Back
You’ve most probably heard of middle office and decided it was a banking thing designed to try to stop dealers going off the rails each day. At the very least something big companies use. But really it relates well to SME issues too; it’s the people and systems that support and monitor key operations processes. […]
Never Outsource Your Future
We are huge fans of outsourcing repetitive processes for SMEs, particularly processes that respond well to economies of scale. Things that get cheaper but also allow better quality control in larger quantities, things that are complex and subject to regular changes. Compliance stuff like your tax return. They get cheaper, and better with scale, because […]
Welcome Results Both Good And Bad
Thomas Taylor – Sunday, August 04, 2019 The other day I heard a scientist say there is no such thing as a bad number. Sure, but it still sucks when you see a result that upsets you. We have all been there, all avoided the scales for extended periods of time, bargained with ourselves about […]
Accounts Can’t Fix Utilisation – Its A People Problem
I keep banging on about how people send things to accounts just because it has something to do with adding up numbers. And utilisation is a perfect example of that, it’s really not an accounts problem at all, it’s not even an operations problem, it’s a people and culture problem. What we used to call […]
How To Stop Flipping Burgers
Good solid businesses value recurring revenue, in fact, it’s usually the most important element when a business is valued for sale or listed on the ASX. Predictable revenue allows you to better predict growth and control associated costs. It allows you to benefit from scale. Startups all know this, it’s the basis of all […]
Get The Numbers Right Before You Turn Up The Heat
The more time I spend working with growing businesses, the more I see that the biggest success factor is usually sales. I know that’s stating the obvious but there is a bit more to it. When you see different tactics applied across a number of businesses you get to see some patterns. So what works? […]
Managing A Business With Very Different Revenue Streams
It’s hard to manage a business that provides consulting services, but even more so if consulting is not your only income stream. A lot of businesses offer specialised consulting services on top of their normal income streams, particularly if they offer bundled services. For your clients that don’t fit a package you can offer bespoke […]
Fixed Price Projects Can Be Exhausting
When you hear any combination of the following be very careful. “But that’s what we had to bid to win the work” “There is no point in keeping track of our hours because it’s all fixed fees” “We’ve had a few projects with problems lately” “It takes a while for people to get up to […]
There Should Never Be 3 Fortnights In A Month
If you think that time went fast over the weekend try fitting 6 weeks into a month. We have all seen management accounts that do that because….. well… because unless you have been shown how it should be done you have no way of knowing. No one’s fault but it really stuffs up management accounts. […]