Five tech tools to boost small business income

There are two approaches to boost the income of your small business:

1. Increase revenue, or
2. Decrease expenses.

If your experience is like mine, there is no shortage of people willing to help you raise income. Marketing experts, business coaches, networking specialists, branding experts, and so forth. My inbox is overflowing daily from so many offers to help raise income.

But help on the second part of the equation is rare. It seems that there are relatively few small business accountants out there that specialize in cost-saving strategies and that the few of us do a pretty lousy job marketing this service. I conclude that it just is not a topic that is easy to communicate.

But I’ll try to lay out a compelling case here anyway. The advancement of technology allows us to take advantage of many small incremental advantages that, taken together, add up to significant savings of time and money. The amount of time businesses spent preparing financial records for government is sharply reduced and can easily be handled by a remote online provider.

1. Remote online bookkeeping typically costs a fraction of an in-house person and allows automated customized reports to management of exactly the information you need when you need it. Security is greatly enhanced over the old desktop systems.
2. Text message or email based direct deposit remote payroll service saves money and improves satisfaction. Cloud-based records increase security.
3. Tax preparation integrated with the accounting system cuts cost and eliminates tax deadline stress.
4. Necessary government reports can be filed, confirmed and retrieved as needed more efficiently and at a lower cost than old paper-based systems.
5. Personal assistance for employees with their benefits, especially consumer-driven health plans raises satisfaction and reduces costs.

Saving money while improving quality is not only a goal, but should typically be built into the engagement contract. In other words: you pay for results not promises! The costs and benefits of these tech tools should be calculated in advance so there is little room for surprise. (Compare that approach to the income-boosters mentioned earlier who would balk if asked to guarantee their results).

The key to success is to tap into experienced accountant to plan and supervise the transition. New clients sometimes question why I take so much time in the discussion and planning aspects of a small business engagement. But the results speak for themselves. The best way to explore the possibility of savings and improved workflow is to schedule a discussion about the specific details of your business.

I welcome the opportunity to have that discussion, no obligation, to see how technology can improve the net results of your business.

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