Streamline Your Backend
The last two articles, I’ve focussed on Reds, and the damage they can inflict on your business. Reds create more drama than a Hollywood blockbuster, but this time around I’m going to offer two quick suggestions to keep your back office running smoothy. Don’t worry—I’ll wrap up with some true crime, just to keep it interesting!
Streamline Your Insurance
Let’s start with insurance. It’s a blight and a necessity. As you know, the cost of insurance is heading for outer space. While you can’t stop the price hikes, you can take control of your insurance portfolio. Here’s how I do it.
All business insurance falls due on the same date each year. I set a reminder in my calendar, so I know to check the bills when they come in. Then, I’ll do some comparison shopping, and pressure my insurance broker to keep my premiums as low as possible.
The downside? I spend a chunk of time each year reviewing my insurance quotes, which hardly sounds like fun.
The upside? By prioritising my insurance, I don’t end up paying an exorbitant price for a policy which no longer meets my needs, just because I couldn’t be bothered checking the details before the payment deadline. If you do the same, you’ll save a motza.
Streamline Your Invoicing
Let’s move on to invoicing. If you don’t invoice your clients, you don’t get paid. But writing up invoices takes time, and sometimes your staff put if off longer than you’d like. The solution? Automate the hell out of your invoicing system.
If it means giving your tradies an iPad each so they can log their time and materials on the run, go online and order those bad boys.
If it means upgrading your accounting software to generate invoices automatically, then get your IT guru working on it today.
Automated invoicing means automated cashflow, and bigger profits!
Crime Still Doesn’t Pay
Over the last few months I’ve mentioned the PwC scandal a couple of times. If you’ve been following the media, you’ll see the Big Four consulting firms are attracting more and more scrutiny from the Federal government, surely one of their largest clients. All it takes is for one mob to queer the pitch, and everyone in the fee-for-advice game feels some pain. Worth thinking about if you work in an industry without an umbrella organisation which enforces strong governance principles. Sure, compliance can be a drag at times, but it beats having one rogue trader sink your entire sector.
Meanwhile, the son of one of the Tax Office’s former Deputy Commissioners is off to the big house for a fifteen-year stretch. Adam Cranston was one of five found guilty of stiffing the ATO for $105 million in a massive payroll fraud. Along the way, he involved himself in some money laundering on the side. And because one of their co-conspirators had bikie associates, Adam and his buds had some violent and angry men shake them down for a lazy five million.
The good news? Adam will be eligible for parole in ten years. Was it worth the trouble? You be the judge. Adam’s dad certainly paid the price. He had to resign from the ATO when the case came to light, even though he was cleared of any wrongdoing—but not before he’d endured a three week trial.
By now, you know how much I detest white collar crime. These guys are the lowest of the low, and they deserve every minute the judge hands down. But it’s not just a moral question. There are sound financial reasons for playing it straight.
I’ll go hard for my clients in business negotiations and tax planning, but there’s a line I’ll never cross. The line that separates hard-headed business practice from downright criminality.