Small Business Financial Planning Guide for 2020

it's a new year, and that means a new beginning for your business. Spend these first few weeks planning and preparing for the year ahead. By doing so, you are setting yourself up for a more effective year and increasing your chances of success. And remember, financial planning these days means figuring out how to more effectively reach your clients through social media, SEO, and other digital tools, as well as ensuring that your accounting, financial projections, and business plan are up to date.

1: Calculate the numbers:

The new year offers a great opportunity to put aside what no longer serves your business, and fully commit to what does help you produce. You should take inventory of what has been working for your business, and what has not. Evaluate your expenses and identify inefficiencies, determine if some of your goods or services are not profitable, identify who your competitors are, and evaluate if you are losing ground, resolve any existing personnel or leadership problems, evaluate any obstacles that inhibit further growth, and Identify possible solutions to these obstacles.

2: Set short and long-term goals:

Define in writing your short-term and long-term goals for each quarter. Make sure each of your goals is specific, measurable, action-oriented, realistic, and traceable.

3: Make sure your digital presence is fresh:

The end of the year is usually when we let our guard down and start to overlook things. We may have neglected social media profiles or allowed the company's SEO to be out of date. Use the first weeks of the year to again do a thorough analysis of the digital presence of your business. Update any outdated information and update your social media accounts. Completely delete the accounts if you understand that you cannot consistently follow up on them.

4: Become a friend of Google:

Have you ever wondered how you can convince Google that your small business website appears among the best results when potential customers search for your services? Big companies pay big bucks to experts who know what Google wants. But your business can also win in the search game. Check out our complete SEO guide right now that has been specifically designed for small business owners.

5: Prepare the 2019 Profit and Loss Statement:

This statement is known by many names: income statement, profit and loss, income statement, income statement, income statement, operating statement, operating statement, and financial performance statement. But no matter what name you choose to use, it will refer to only one thing: a summary of your business income, costs, and expenses over a specific period of time, usually a year or a fiscal quarter. A profit and loss statement is an essential part of any business plan, and it's a great way to evaluate how your business is doing.

6: Get Inside Secrets About Small Business Financing:

If you are applying for financing this year, now is the time to start thinking about it. Our interview with a business loan leads  specialist will help you learn how to avoid making the small mistakes that can cause a bank, or another funding source, to decide that you are too great a risk to finance.

7: Protect your small business against cyber attacks:

Today, ransomware is the most common type of malware (malicious software), according to the most recent Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report. Ransomware has successfully attacked large corporations, government agencies, small businesses, and personal computers, even entire cities. If you receive a ransomware attack, you will lose a lot of money (it usually costs a small business $ 53,987 to recover from an attack) and even your business. Learn right now how you can defend yourself against ransomware.

8: Explore alternative financing options:

Small businesses often face a lot of difficulties in getting loan approval. However, you have several options at your disposal. These include the merchant cash advance (also known as a business cash advance or MCA). This cash advance is not a loan. It is a real advance against the expected future income of a business, which provides different advantages and disadvantages than what you would expect with a traditional loan. A business cash advance is an easy way for smaller businesses, especially those whose owners don't have perfect credit histories., get a lump sum of cash quickly. The advance is returned via an automatic withdrawal based on a set percentage of your business transactions (generally daily or weekly, but terms may vary). Check out this detailed guide to cash advances for merchants, and take control of your finances in 2020!

If you need to know in more detail what your financing options are, you can turn to the financing experts at One Park Financial. One Park Financial works with a wide network of funding sources, and acts as an advocate for small business owners, helping and guiding you through the financing process and explaining what your options are. Visit oneparkfinancial.com and get prequalified

read also: How to Write a Business Plan [Updated for 2020]