Starting a Business? Here are Money Strategies You Need to Know

Starting a Business? Here are Money Strategies You Need to Know
As a new business owner, it can be tricky to know where to start with managing your finances. Here are three strategies and what they could look like in your business.
by Emily Toone Aug 15, 2022 — 3 min read
Starting a Business? Here are Money Strategies You Need to Know

About this series

Business Finances With She’s On The Money

Business Finances With She’s On The Money

We collaborated with financial adviser Victoria Devine, owner of Zella & She’s On The Money to provide actionable tips on managing your business finances.
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As a new business owner, it can be tricky to know where to start with managing your finances. How much do you invest in your business? How to set up payment terms? We have enlisted financial adviser Victoria Devine, owner of Zella & She’s On The Money (SOTM) to help! Here are her top three strategies and what they could look like in your business.

  1. Know how much your business will cost you before you commit
  2. Have a little capital to back you up before you start
  3. Establish definite payment terms with your clients

It’s important that you start off on the right foot financially, so everything is in place for when it comes time to scale! There are many things happening when you first start a business; you’re finessing your service, working on your marketing and establishing your reputation in the industry, so if you already have your money strategies set, it really is just one less thing for you to think about. Employing great money practices and habits early on will help you immensely when your business grows, so take the time now to put in a little extra work, understand your strategies and how to implement them, and then get started!

Know how much your business will cost you before you commit

There are no costs involved when it comes to researching and developing your business. Let’s take the example of starting your own candle business. What can you do before laying out any money?

 

Remember Google is your best friend. Here are some handy websites to get started,

Have a little capital to back you up before you start

Before you launch into your new venture, it’s crucial to have finance behind you to lean on so you can have the freedom of knowing that if something goes wrong you’re covered. For example, if you have a thriving hair salon, but unexpectedly the salon across the road is giving away free trims for the month of May (rude!), then you may lose some of your forecasted income as your regular clients are lured by the appeal of a free haircut. By having a little capital behind you, it means you can still cover your expenses (like rent and staff wages) during this unexpected down period, and replenish it when business is booming again and the neighbouring salon returns to regular operations.

Establish definite payment terms with your clients

Establish clear and non-negotiable payment terms with your clients so you can ensure that your cash flow is operating as it should and cover any unexpected costs that may crop up. Imagine you’re a plumber who provides an array of services to various clients, some large and some small. If you don’t outline the payment expectation in your initial discussions and specify it again on your invoice, clients may take you for a ride and hold off on their payment for as long as they like. This can have the flow effect of impacting your cash flow, which can jeopardise your ability to pay suppliers, staff, etc.

If you feel odd about setting out the terms, compare yourself to a restaurant; when you go out for a meal, you pay on the spot for the product you’ve enjoyed and the service you’ve had. The restaurant can pay staff, rent and suppliers without issue. We don’t bat an eyelid there, so you shouldn’t feel weird about outlining your payment terms, which gives clients ample time to pay you for your hard work!

Looking to start a business? Square can help. Read Aussie business stories and find more handy tips and tricks on The Bottom Line.

This article is only for educational purposes and does not constitute legal, financial or tax advice. Make sure you consult a professional regarding your unique business needs.

Emily Toone
Emily Toone is a Content Manager at Square where she covers everything from how businesses can start, run, and grow, to how enterprise companies can use tools and data to become industry leaders.

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