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3 Ways to Help Manage Your Business So It Doesn’t Manage You

As a small business owner, we don’t need to tell you for how much you are responsible. You are very aware of these (sometimes overwhelming) responsibilities that come with managing your small business. It doesn’t have to be that way. Below are three ways to help make your small business more manageable, so it doesn’t end up managing you. 1. Utilize Time & Attendance Solutions Did you know National Payroll Week is celebrated September 2nd through September 6th? This week is meant to observe the hard work of America's 156 million wage earners and the payroll professionals who pay them. Together, with the payroll withholding system, they contribute, collect, report and deposit approximately 70.5 percent of the U.S. Treasury’s annual revenue. Although you may not have a celebration planned to recognize National Payroll Week, as small business owners you have to understand the importance of payroll. Paid employees are happy employees, and happy employees are loyal employees. Managing payroll manually is time consuming and leads to errors. Time and attendance systems are designed to improve efficiency and reduce errors in employee time tracking. Incorporating a time and attendance solution into your small business improves payroll accuracy and company profitability; making sure the right people are paid for the right amount of work. 2. Organize Your Data Over the last year, 73 percent of survey respondents say their collection of data has increased "somewhat" or "significantly," according to a recent study by Economist Intelligence Unit research. Data is inevitable for your small business and refers to the information about your customers - their purchasing behaviors and the products they are interested in. It’s important to store this information in a safe and effective way, so you can use it to improve your business. A customer relationship system (CRM), like Salesforce, can help you manage your customer data. A CRM keeps track of customer information, products they have purchased, or collateral they have been presented with. Organized data about your customers can help you in several areas of your small business. You can keep better records and better understand your target audience in order to more effectively market and sell your products. 3. Know and Understand Your Inventory It’s important for small business owners to know their businesses’ numbers - specifically inventory numbers. You need to know how much product you order, how much inventory you have on hand at any given time, and how much inventory has been lost. Inventory shrinkage is significant to any small business. According to an article by Chis Bradford, “If someone operates a business on a 10 percent profit margin and loses an item priced at $2, he will have to generate an additional $20 in sales to make up the loss.” An inventory tracking system gives you better visibility into the inventory of your small business.  Accurately tracking inventory increases the profitability of your small business because it eliminates stock outs and decreases inventory shrinkage. Running a small business can be a challenge – that’s no surprise. However, taking steps to better manage your business allows you to spend more time focusing on how to take your small business to the next level.