P&L Business Solutions Fall 2023 Newsletter
Happy Fall, Y’all! Fall is a season for change, so let’s see how we can improve our business this quarter. P&L Business Solutions has a purpose, and that purpose is to help businesses increase their profit and run with efficiency. We offer Fractional CFO Services and Quality Bookkeeping Services to get your businesses ready for taxes every year.
Here are some thoughts from the P&L Business Solutions Team to help you in your business and that can help you personally as well. From a business standpoint, we are starting to see signs of an uncertain and slowing economy. We will not delve into every detail relating to the economy, but when we do see significantly rising interest rates, continued price inflation, increasing levels of consumer debt, and signs that “COVID 2.0” is coming, our advice for business owners is to consider mapping out on paper a “Plan B” if revenues materially decrease in Fall 2023. Currently, it appears that consumers are still fueling a significant part of the economy by taking on additional debt to maintain their lifestyles. However, once consumer debt levels “hit the fan,” we will see a more direct impact on businesses. Now is the time to start planning.
Here are four key areas business owners need to pay attention to:
Fixed Overhead Costs:
Business Owners need to have a clear picture of business expenses are going to be regardless of the revenue plan you make. We caution against adding to fixed overhead costs in the current environment, unless your contracts are written in such a way that any additional fixed overhead costs can be eliminated or reduced relatively quickly if needed.
Revenue Resilience:
Start thinking now about products and services that can be offered to your existing customers if your core revenue generated products/services take a significant hit in the coming months. Typically, these can be thought of as “substitutions” that can solve your customers’ needs at a more economical price point.
However, don’t completely rely on pure product substitution. Use this opportunity to think about where you can move vertically along the value chain in your industry to increase revenue where you may have ignored a downstream or upstream product/service offering. Think of ways to make your product or services provide even more value to your customers. The more value you add to your customers, the less your pricing will be impacted by general economic downturns.
Pricing Modifications:
In an inflationary environment, it is key that you frequently look at your pricing to make sure all your fixed overhead, variable costs, and your target profit percentages are all being covered. This is the one area that is the hardest for business owners to come to terms with and nobody likes to raise prices.
By now, most everyone has come to terms with the reality of cost inflation The question going forward is what amount of discipline is required to review your numbers and with what frequency. We suggest in the current projected environment that, at a minimum, you look at these components quarterly. Of course, if your business is project based, you should be reviewing these factors when pricing each job. If you would like to have a conversation around evaluating your financials to ensure you are pricing for you desired profit target, please reach out to us and we can discuss your specific situation.
Separating Business Finances from Personal Finances:
All business owners should be clearly separating their personal and business finances. One of the most common issues we continue to see with new clients is the issue of business owners mixing personal and business funds. Many business owners don’t think about the potential for losing their business’ LLC “wall of separation” and being personally liable for all their business liabilities. Additionally, the IRS could determine that your business deductions are not eligible if you mix your business and personal funds.
Please reach out to us if you would like more information on any of these topics. You can call us at (888) 20-BOOKS or (804) 561-1600. Our email address is AGarcia@PandLBusiness.com.
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