Do you use a budget?
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011
Does your company use a budget to plan ahead? Many small business owners manage their businesses day-to-day or week-to-week, wrapped up in the details. You probably have some sense of how you would like for things to work out in the future if this happens or if things go as you think they will.
Working through a budgeting, forecasting, and planning process helps you rise above the details so you can develop a broader view of where your company has been and where you want it to go. With a plan in place, you have the tools to chart a course toward your goals and to see when you are veering off course. A budget is not so much a snapshot as a process. As conditions change, or as new information warrants, you make adjustments to your plan that will help drive your company in the right direction.
Because of increasing volatility, budgeting and planning are becoming more difficult, as this article from CFO magazine points out. Traditional budgets are giving way to rolling forecasts that evolve rapidly with changing times, but by any name, the process serves the same purpose: “it still keeps people focused on the end game,” as one CFO put it.
As the old saying goes, you can achieve 80% of your goals if you write them down. We can help you develop a budgeting and planning process that’s the right fit for your company. It’s an important way to help you steer your company toward the success you envision. Mid-year is a good time to look back and ahead. Give us a call today.