There are many challenges that businesses can face daily, but this is even more certain today. With so much ambiguity within the workplace at this point in time, allow us to give you a few helpful, professional pointers on how you can protect your small business.
Bringing in assistance
As a business owner, you are bound to be rushed off your feet throughout the majority of days within the working week, as well as over the weekends. Without any rest time or headspace, your thoughts and plans for your business can become blurred, allowing it to slack or fall behind schedule. By hiring additional assistance, from an administrator, PA or even an accountant, you can allow yourself to be released from part of your workload, allowing you to free up part of your schedule and give the business side of your brain a well-deserved break.
Be smart with potential clients
Winning the business of a new client is the aim for most in the business sector, however, to protect your business throughout times of need, you will need to remain cautious before bringing them onboard with your services. If possible, run credit checks or other methods of observation on them. This will allow you to gain a feel for their reliability when it comes to paying bills and invoices for a service. If you find that one potential client’s credit history is low, you may wish to think twice before bringing them on board.
Insurance
Although all businesses which provide a service to their customers are required to take out general liability insurance, you are often able to go one step further with your cover with options such as Cyber Insurance -protecting you should any fraudulent activity occur – or Business Interruption Insurance – allowing you to protect your income should your business be closed down due to a reason out of your hands.
Effective planning
Effective planning has proved more beneficial than ever before over the last six months. It is worth remembering that the impossible can in fact be very much possible when it comes to business world. One protective strategy that has been used due to force this year is planning for office based disasters, such as “How will I run my business if I cant reach the office?” or “How will my team work and communicate effectively if the office were to close?”. Spend time discussing sudden events like these with your team, allowing you all to feel relaxed if anything unexpected was to occur in the future, knowing that you have a solid plan in place.
Back up your data
The cloud has become the new way of data storage. We have ditched the memory sticks and created online pockets to store our work, records and figures. If you have not made the switch to these online data holders, we recommend that you do. These will allow you to log in and retrieve access to your documents, no matter where you are based, by use of a secure username and password. This will give you additional peace of mind should your computer system crash, or if your working location is moved. With access to each of your files, you can continue to work as before without the loss of any crucial information.
If you are in need of additional means of support for your small business, get in touch with our approachable team here at Hammonds Chartered Accountants where we can offer you professional business advice, assist you with your figures and reports and guide you through difficult times. To arrange an appointment, give us a call on 0203 007 4990 or send an email to and we will be happy to help you and your business.
