Cutting costs can be a key way to boost your profits. But how does managing your expenditure increase profitability? We outline the benefits of proactive cost-saving measures. Question: “Can cost-saving measures in the business truly be a key driver of profits?” Running a profitable business is one of your key goals as an owner. Without profits, there’s no capital to reinvest in the business, no funds to grow the company and no money for your own dividend payment at the end o

Changes in your customers’ behaviour and buying needs can seriously undermine the viability of your business strategy and your ability to generate healthy revenues. In the October 2025 edition of Fifth Quadrant’s SME Sentiment Tracker, changing customer behaviour was the number one SME challenge, with 45% of businesses placing it at the top of their list of ongoing issues, above the problem of rising costs. Four ways to update your strategy to meet these changing behaviours 1

Understanding the financial management of your small business is a vital skill as a business owner. And it starts with an awareness of two fundamental concepts: income and expenditure. Grasping the difference between what comes in, and what goes out, is crucial for your financial health, making informed business decisions and the overall survival of the company. Let's break down the basics. 1. What is income (revenue) and how do you generate it? Income, often called revenue,

Three steps to ensuring data is meaningful for your business Raw data describes the facts and figures that a business processes every day. Over time, every business hoards a certain amount of data and it only becomes meaningful to a business after it has been processed to add context, relevance and purpose. For example, in a restaurant, every order will be recorded. However, a restaurant won't learn much by looking at each one in isolation. However, analysis of the orders wil

Cashflow and profit are two of the most important financial metrics for any business. But while they’re both related to the financial performance of a company, they measure different things. Knowing the difference – and how cash and profit contribute to your success story – is a vital skill if you want your business to have the best possible financial health. The difference between cashflow and profit Understanding the technicalities of financial reporting can be daunting as

Making time to look over your financial reports each month is an important task for any business owner. If you are not taking time to do...

Contracting or freelancing requires you to wear a lot of hats. Relationship-building, keeping track of your time, marketing your skills...

For centuries, accounting was all about reviewing historic information – but that only told you about the past, not what was going to...

As the owner of the business, you’ve set your company up so it delivers on your own personal goals. But you also want the business to...

In August 2024, the government brought in the ‘right to disconnect’. This legislation gives employees the right to refuse to be contacted...

You started your business to have the freedom of being in charge. But are you actually working harder than ever and drowning in admin,...

Making your business a success story may be what drives you to get out of bed every morning. But your business also needs to deliver on...

You may love running your business. But in the back of every owner’s mind is the knowledge that one day you’ll need to sell the company...

Running a business without data is like sailing without a compass—you might feel like you're moving forward, but you have no idea if...

Tax planning is a strategic approach to managing your business’ financial affairs, with the aim of legally minimising your tax liability....

Uncertainty can be a major threat to your strategic financial planning. Being unsure of what lies around the corner makes it difficult to...

Being able to evolve over time is vital if you want your business to last. The market doesn’t stand still, so it’s important to diversify...

In this series, we continue to look at how data-driven decisions sit at the heart of running a successful business in 2024. Today, we’re...

Did you know that diving into the data could help your operations run a lot more smoothly? In this series, we continue to look at how...

In this series, we continue to look at how data-driven decisions sit at the heart of running a successful business. With the best...