
As summer winds down and the kids head back to school, it’s time for the Q3 Push for your business. It’s time to review where you are and make a concerted push to the end of the quarter on the right foot.
Here are some questions to ask and steps to take:
- Are your revenue and expenses tracking going as planned? Look at your income statement and balance sheet by month.
- Consider each of your revenue segments. Are goals tracking as expected? Did you make or miss your projections? What needs to be adjusted?
- Sort your expenses in descending order and compare to your plan. Do you need to slow down on spending? Can you afford to purchase that needed item now?
- Assess whether your Key Performance Indicators need to be adjusted.
- Ask: Are our margins holding as expected or are we seeing reductions?
- Recast your projections and your 13 Week Cash Flow with better data to finish the year strong.
Additionally…
Start planning the year-end CPA audit now. Schedule a planning meeting with your CPA firm to discuss fieldwork timing, update them with any changes in debt structure and new agreements if any, outline risk areas, etc.
I am working with a client now where we recently revamped the sales forecast. We had been hitting the targets, but we already know that the next three months are going to be well below what we initially expected due to two large customer’s purchasing expectations changing significantly. We were able to proactively make some necessary personnel adjustments, and we expect the bottom line now to exceed our initial expectation even with the anticipated lower sales volume. Asking the right questions and taking intentional steps each quarter will help your company navigate the ups-and-downs of income and expenses, and thrive.