When a recession hits or you are experiencing any threat to the survival of your business, you need to know just what is going on and how to react. This always starts with the numbers! The skills that your accountant can bring to business crisis management can be critical to how well you handle the crisis and whether or not your business survives! As the top accounting firm in the Kansas City area, Exigo Business Solutions has helped its clients through difficult business cycles and various threats to their sales and profits including new competitors in their markets. We know from long experience how to survive a business crisis.
An accounting firm with years of experience with many different businesses and numerous crises has the perspective that is essential in getting over the shock and initial sense of desperation that comes with a business crisis. Many of the issues in any type of business crisis are ones that occur over and over again and only vary in terms of the specifics and the degree of severity. When you have outsourced your bookkeeping and accounting this often pays for itself just in the experience that you gain.
As difficult as things are when you enter crisis mode, the steps for getting through it are always the same and having someone who has seen most of this before is a great help. Early and competent evaluation is how you can avoid making decisions based on panic and incomplete or simply bad information. Having tools in place like QuickBooks custom reports is incredibly useful as you will be able to see the information that you need without having to puzzle through your accounting reports.
The actions you take need to be based on real data and a sound analysis of the steps that will stem the flow of red ink, shore up credit, maintain your skilled work force, and lead you out of the crisis.
Many times the steps that you take to get out of a crisis will give you tools that will lead you to more success as business life improves. Included in these steps are instituting both the Profit First and Fix This Next methods in your business.
Although your primary concern in a business crisis will always be the survival of your enterprise, an experienced accounting firm can help you anticipate how things will be in the months and years after the crisis has receded. Specifically, the skills that your accountant can bring to crisis management will help you know how quickly you will be able to ramp up operations afterwards and to what degree you will want to build up cash reserves before starting any new ventures.
If you need help right now with business crisis management, contact us at Exigo Business Solutions today.