By: Kate Ward

Running a small business comes with a myriad of challenges. You constantly have important decisions to make—and never enough time to make them. With the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, the business environment became more difficult than ever. These days, small business owners face employee shortages, price increases, rising inflation, and more.

The weight of the decisions for which you are responsible may feel like too much for you to bear alone. And you are right. However, you do not have to be without help on this journey of owning a small business.

But where do you look for help without it costing you something? The answer is simpler than you think. Did you know that your accounting team is available to you year-round? We are more than just tax season practitioners—we are advisors who are here for you whenever you need us. So today we want you to consider: How can your accounting team be of value to you year-round?

Here is what we prescribe to ease the burden of small business owners:

Monthly Business Management Meetings

Your accounting team has the tools to help you develop a business strategy that minimizes the financial impact of major changes beyond your control. Today, we are experiencing an ever-changing business climate of overwhelming proportions. Meeting with your accountant throughout the year sets you up to be in the know.  We can help provide you with pertinent and real-time information that will assist you in making informed business decisions.

While working with our small business clients, we have seen these monthly meetings result in an increased success rate throughout the year. Additionally, by meeting monthly, you keep your accounting team in the loop. This helps both you and us to be more prepared for unexpected events, changing business climates, and potential opportunities that require quick, difficult decisions.  We can make the entire process easier and less expensive—as long as we know what’s going on.

How Monthly Meetings Are Structured

First, we establish some planning guidelines. You will need to think about what aspects of business decisions you struggle with the most. What are your greatest challenges as a business owner? What do you wish to accomplish? Who on your team do you want to include in your planning meetings?

From here, we take the concerns we have discussed and set up an agenda for you and your team. We set obtainable deadlines for each task. This helps to provide a structure that may be lacking. By setting a deadline and making a plan, you can visualize what tasks or projects are more or less viable than you decided previously.

Each individual meeting has a clear goal or topic. This provides your management team an opportunity to focus on and talk about their specific needs. Some example meeting focuses include when to do a price increase, when to give your employees raises, or when to hire more staff. Sometimes, these meetings are as simple as ensuring monthly financial statements are accurate and reviewing those statements with the management team.  Perhaps you are taking on large projects but not seeing cash flow. By working alongside us, we can evaluate your company’s financial health and help you reach the best decision for your situation.

Do Monthly Meetings Work?

Over the past several years, we have seen the success of small businesses vary. One common factor among our clients who are no longer struggling is the use of monthly planning meetings. Though they might not seem like a big deal, these meetings can have a huge impact on your business. After all, our accounting team is made up of dedicated professionals who keep a finger on the pulse of your business. We can navigate you through both everyday decisions and actions that may have a large impact on your business.

KEB has been working to ensure clients achieve their goals for over 90 years. We are here to help clients grow, manage, and protect what matters most. We are more than just tax preparers or an end-of-year audit team—we are advisors who care about small business owners and their success. If you would like to know how we can help you, please visit our website, or give us a call today.