It is always interesting to look at where bookkeeping businesses started. When talking to fellow bookkeepers at conferences and the like, it is quite obvious that bookkeeping is often not a preferred “career path” for young people entering the workforce; rather a profession which people have drifted into from any number of other careers that they may have had previously. For many, it is, on the face of it at least, a good option for those with a young family who wish to retain some flexibility in their daily schedules. For others, it is a natural progression from other career choices. For others, as they reach a more mature age, it provides an option to put life experiences to good use in a business which requires comparitively little capital outlay.
Whatever, the reason, one thing we do know is that the setting up of a bookkeeping business is often not subject to a formal business plan; it therefore grows in an unstructured and sometimes haphazard way often leading to many difficulties further down the track.
What is a Business Plan?
The traditional image of a business plan is of a lengthy document containing vast chapters of research information, marketing analysis and pages and pages of numbers which may or may not have been drawn out of a hat. In reality, a business plan need not be any of these things. What it MUST be however is:
- A clear statement of goals an objectives, both short and longer term
- An organised statement of how the business is going to achieve these goals and objectives, starting from where it is now
- An statement of how the business (and, more importantly, the business owner) will be financially better placed as a result of this plan
- A statement detailing a timeline to achieve these objectives
It is important to remember that any business plan must remain a working, living and, by definition an unfinished document. What is the right thing to say today may well not be the right thing next week, next month or next year!
A Business Plan – Key Components
The key elements of a business plan include:
- Introduction/Pre-Planning
- Statutory and Compliance
- Review of Current Operations
- Review of Current Financial Performance
- SWOT and PEST Analysis
- Wish List
- Service Offerings
- Marketing Plan
- Operational Plan
- Financial Plan
- Implementation Plan
IMPORTANT NOTE: A business plan is a plan devised by the owner of the business to evaluate how their business is going to move forward. It is NOT a document which you simply pay somebody else to provide for you. If you do not take ownership of the process, you will not feel it belongs to you and be less inclined to see the project through to a conclusion.
We have attached a business planning checklist for you to complete and return to us. On receipt, we will contact you to arrange a no obligation one hour consultation at no cost to you. (Terms and Conditions apply)