The Receipt Bank Blog

Your business will die unless you can cope with change. Here’s how to future-proof your business model, your management style and drive productivity gains.

Successful business owners know that there is no opportunity to stand still in business. Change is an inevitable part of running a company, and if you learn to embrace it, you will be able to grow and develop your business effectively.

Here are the six key strategies for managing change:

1. Innovation:
In any business, you need to keep ahead of industry developments, especially in a time where the accounting and bookkeeping industry is being massively disrupted.

It is far better to make changes before they are forced on you. When planning ahead, think about where your business needs to be in three, five and ten years’ time. Don’t just look at changes within your industry – think about how changes to technology, selling or marketing will affect your business and your productivity.

2. Competition:
Competition can bring out the best in you and your team.

Be aware of what your competitors are doing and don’t be afraid to change and adapt. Be aware of your strengths and your unique selling points, but make sure these are not being eclipsed by new services and products from your rivals. Are they more effective at customer service or marketing than you? How can you raise your game?

3. Outsourcing:
Change often involves growth, which puts pressure on existing staff. A solution to this is to delegate specialist functions to outside agencies, especially in areas where specialists could save you time and money. It also means you don’t have to spend time recruiting and training staff for specific back office functions which could be outsourced more effectively.

4. Diversification:
Do you need to be venturing into other markets? Do you need to export? Could you expand your range of products and services to improve profitability? Think about how your business could growth organically to develop products in similar areas or in different geographical regions.

5. Motivation:
It’s essential to keep your staff motivated and informed. The more your employees understand and support the changes you introduce, the more dynamic your company will be. Make sure you communicate the details of the changes, and the reason for

Make sure you communicate the details of the changes, and the reason for change, so that they ‘buy in’ to your vision and that productivity gains are not lost on non-compliance.

6. Revenue:
Change puts pressure on business owners, and it can be easy to lose track of cash flow, expenses, data and profitability figures during the process. Outsourcing can help with this, and enable you to identify areas where you need to control costs or make improvements on your return on investment.

Making sure you are aware of costs, expenses, cash flow and pressure on revenue will make sure that you don’t sacrifice profitably for growth.

Find out the data that drives productivity gains

There are six essential KPIs that are essential for productive, profitable cloud bookkeeping. We put together a handy cheatsheet to explain the different they can make to your business - “The Power of KPIs”.

Download the guide to find out:

• The numbers you should be tracking for bookkeeping efficiency
• The red flags you need to watch out for
• How to make your KPIs specific to your business goals