The Monthly Review
Each month it's an essential practice to complete a monthly review where you assess how your business performed during the prior month and what changes you can make in the current month to strengthen and grow your business.
To get you started, below is a simple template you can follow to initiate this practice for your business so you can become familiar with what's actually happening with your money.
Add up how much you made last month.
Go through your bank records or sales system and add up how much you made last month. If you have multiple revenue lines or categories, break those out for a clear picture of how your sales are coming in.
Add up how much you spent last month by category.
Go through your bank records and add up how much you spent last month. Group items into like categories. You can Google the most common expense categories or send me a message if you'd like a general list of the most common categories.
Review each spend category to identify areas for improvement.
Review the total amount for each category to start and dig into the detail of that total (the transactions) if you see something that appears different than expected. When you first start, you might not know what to expect or what you're even looking for. After you've done this for a few months, you will begin to become more familiar with your numbers and will be better able to spot areas for investigation.
Select one to three areas for improvement and then decide on one action for each of those areas to make measurable progress on over the next month.
This is the part where you really begin to see the effectiveness of this exercise. This is where you use the information you've reviewed to take action in your business. Remember, limit the areas for focused improvement to three max and of those areas you select, just take ONE action-step each over the next month.
For example, you could select one expense category and take the action-step of tracking it on a daily or weekly basis over the next month to be sure you can bring down the spend in that category.
Another example could be revenue driven. You may select one revenue line that you want to double-down on and take action by implementing one strategy to boost sales in that category.
Lis Lee Accounting is not a financial planner, broker, or tax advisor. Neither Lis Lee Accounting nor the content herein are intended to provide legal, tax, or financial advice. The content and materials are intended only to assist you in your general organization and decision-making for your business or practice. Lis Lee Accounting shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof.