The Benefits of Budgeting

Don’t be the last to (set) the bar…

18 months ago I decided what I wanted to get from my business and worked out that it would take about 3 years to achieve.

I had no basis for this timescale other than I knew that I was quite a long way from where I needed to be.

I am half way through the period now and I have a much better grip on how I am doing and what I need to do in order to get there and have a fair amount of certainty that it is going to happen.

The reason for this is that I set a budget, well not one budget but fourteen. Not so I can choose the one that best fits the actual so I can prove what a great ‘budgeter’ I am, I have one for 2014, 2015 & each month of 2013.

I will spend the next few weeks putting together a more detailed monthly budget for 2014 and I will also be safe in the knowledge that it will be wrong. If you see this as a problem or an excuse not to bother than you are missing the point.

A budget will never be spot on, there will always be things that crop up during the year, some that will increase your profit some that will not but the important thing is that you have one and you know what you are working towards.

There is something more important than having a budget – MEASURING IT! Don’t just set one and hope for the best, review your actual performance monthly and take action if there are areas of concern and try to exploit areas that are doing well.

As we move towards November it is a great time to think about 2014, before Christmas takes a hold of everything and look at how your business can give you what you want or need over the next 12 months.

Let me know how you get on and we can help if you don’t know where to start.

If you would like more information about how Rivington Accounts provide much more than a simple set of accounts and how they actively seek to grow their clients businesses contact Martin Horton on martin@rivingtonaccounts.co.uk or call 01257 429 252