Another calendar year is almost over and that means that we’re almost half way through the financial year. When the silly season is over, it is a great time to take stock of your trading results for the half year and to plan for the rest of the financial year.
The following questions will help provide clarity on your results:
- What was the turnover for the 6 months?
- How does that compare with the same period last year?
- How does it compare with the previous 6 months?
- What was the Gross Profit and Gross Margin for the 6 months?
- How does that compare with the previous 6 months?
- How much money is in the business bank account at 31 December?
- How much money was in the business bank account at 30 June?
- How much did you pay yourself during the period?
- Did you pay yourself more, the same or less than the previous 6 months?
- What are the debtor days at 31 December?
- What were the debtor days at 30 June?
- How much do you owe your suppliers at 31 December?
- How much did you owe your suppliers at 30 June?
- How much inventory do you have in stock at 31 December?
- How much inventory did you have in stock at 30 June?
When you’ve answered these questions, do you see a pattern emerging? Is your business on the up and up? Or is it stagnating or going backwards?
The best way to ensure that your business is on the up and up is to set financial goals and regularly review the actual results to the goals. January is a great time to set goals for the ensuing six months to 30 June and beyond.
