Wow its week four already! Can you believe we are almost 30 days into this challenge? If you have been following our 90 Day Company Cleanse posts with us then we know you and your company are probably feeling pretty confident right about now. For those of you who are interested in starting the 90 Day Company Cleanse and haven’t already, you can start with this post from Week 1.

Cleanse Company Finances

 pretty pictures via photopin (license)

Give Your Finances a Makeover: Whether your looking solutions to lower your expenses or better organize your business books, this week we have some great tips to help with your company’s finances.

1. Organize Your Receipts and Invoices: Incase you didn’t do this the first week, make sure your financial records are properly organized. Take the time to develop a filing system, and make sure you stick to it. We not asking you to create an elaborate color coded binder system, (unless thats your thing) just make sure everything is at least sorted by month or expense type. Not only will this make things easier to navigate in the future, your tax advisor will appreciate it.
2. Reevaluate Vendor Expenses: It may seem unnecessary to change vendors especially when you have been ordering from the same ones for years, but are you really saving money by sticking with the same vendor? Take the time to compare prices and make sure you are still really getting the best deal. Talk to your vendors about what discounts they can offer you, and research cheaper vendor alternatives.
3. Keep Track of Bank Spending: If your not doing this already, you should start immediately. This may be difficult to keep track of but you should have an idea of how much you spend weekly or monthly. Using Quickbooks or an expense spreadsheet is a great way record your purchases. Review your expenses, maybe you can cut back on a few things or start investigating some cheaper options for reoccurring expenses. The point is you should know what your business is spending.
4. Anticipate Big Expenses. We know running a small business can be expensive so do keep in mind all expenses and be prepared when it time to make a big purchase. Need a new office, want to update your computer, or maybe you need to hire another employee, plan ahead for your next big purchase or expense. Create a budget to determine how much are you looking to spend and stick to it. Start putting aside money in advance for these type of expenses, that way you are prepared when it time to make the commitment.
5. Make Sure You Have An Emergency Fund. Most of us probably have an emergency fund put aside for our personal use but what about starting one for your business? Making sure you have the available funds when times are tough can be just as challenging. A good emergency fund has enough funds to cover six months worth of expenses. Unlike a saving for big purchases this account should only be using in cases of emergency.
6. Repeat! Schedule weekly time to organize your receipts  and track your expenses. Make time monthly to review your spending and take notes for things to change next month. You should begin seeing some financial changes in no time!

Laboratory5 Inc. is a small business based in Tempe, Arizona

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