COVID-19 has had a profound effect on businesses of all sizes, but particularly on small businesses. In an April 2021 report, the Federal Reserve Board expressed optimism. Here’s their reasoning. Although about 200,000 more than usual small businesses closed during the pandemic, this number is much lower than everyone expected. Yet, even at that, COVID-19 has taken its toll – not only in business closures but in the financial health of nearly every small business in America.
So, what can your business do to get back on track as the pandemic crisis wanes? How can you come back stronger than ever before? One wise move you can make is to hire a virtual Chief Financial Officer for your small business. Here’s how a virtual CFO can help your business not only survive but get stronger and increase profits in the coming year.
Are you ready to hire a CFO to boost your business success? Contact Financial Optics today!
Develop a New Financial Strategy
The pandemic has been a major challenge. Problems with the supply chain, employee shortages, customers hesitant to get out or invest in services — all have had an impact. Now, what does every leader need in times of challenge? They need a strategy. Otherwise, they struggle along, unsure of what to do next. Or they desperately try anything, at random, hoping for the best. However, with a strategy in place, you can more easily make progress towards your goals.
That’s why CFOs throughout the business world have taken on a vital role since the pandemic began. Virtual CFOs often oversee small business accounting and bookkeeping, and they also dedicate a great deal of their time with financial planning and working out financial strategies. Where should you concentrate your energies? What should you invest in for your business right now? How can you work toward more efficient processes? A virtual CFO can offer financial advice for small business owners and create a winning strategy that benefits your company now and in the long term.
Increase Scalability
Scalability is essential in times like these. You need to be able to ramp up when the opportunities are there and scale down when finances are tight. This flexibility will help your business survive through the hard times and thrive in better times. A virtual CFO can help you with scalability in two different ways.
First, they can advise you on how to scale up and down. For instance, they might suggest that if you are buying software, you choose SaaS small business bookkeeping software so that you can scale it up easily when needed. They might recommend you use outsourced accounting services, giving you the flexibility to pay for only the help you need at any given moment. All these actions streamline your business and keep your expenses at the level that is right for your current situation.
However, a virtual CFO can help you scale in another way. Their own services are scalable, allowing you to call on them more when needed and cut back on their services when you need them less.
Expertise On Call
Small businesses often try to live without expert advice. Hiring a financial advisor with specialized knowledge may seem out of reach for the average small business budget. Yet, what should a small business owner do when they need knowledge they simply do not have?
With a virtual CFO, you have an expert at your beck and call. They have specialized knowledge and professional insights that you would have a hard time finding elsewhere for the same low cost. Whether you need QuickBooks help or assistance with something even more complex, you can always access it. A virtual CFO can take on this task and be there for you when you need them.
Another Set of Eyes
In the course of a year, small business owners look at an incredible amount of “paperwork.” As the leader of your company, you view invoices, purchase orders, productivity reports, profit and loss statements, and many more documents. You not only need to check them for accuracy, but you also need to understand what they mean for your business.
Even if these tasks are well within your ability, having an extra set of eyes on these documents can be beneficial. With two people viewing the documents, the second person may recognize trends that you never realized were there. Your virtual CFO can be there to provide additional insights that you may have missed. As the pandemic rages and begins to abate, you will want to get everything out of your reports and documents that you can to position yourself for success.
Improve Processes
Businesses need to streamline their processes to increase productivity and slim down their costs. During and after a pandemic, it is not the time for waste of any kind. As the world moves toward the next normal, having productive, efficient processes is paramount.
A virtual CFO can look at a variety of processes throughout your organization to find areas of waste and inefficiency. They can not only help you streamline small business bookkeeping with outsourced bookkeepers but can assist you in recognizing the financial impacts of other processes throughout your company.
Manage Challenges
If one thing has been true since the emergence of COVID-19, it is that the virus, its effects, and our responses to it are constantly changing. New challenges seem to arise nearly every day. Has your home area become a hot spot for the virus? Do you need to apply for a government program for pandemic relief? Is there suddenly an overwhelming demand for your services? Whatever happens, you need to be able to meet each new circumstance and opportunity with carefully measured responses.
A virtual CFO can help you create plans to manage any challenges that might affect your company’s financial wellbeing. They can advise you on what you should invest to solve problems and where you can turn the challenge on its head to create opportunity. Getting through the challenge may be your first step towards growth and endurance.
Oversee Bookkeeping and Accounting
Of course, your virtual CFO will be overseeing your small business bookkeeping and accounting. This is the job most people associate with CFOs. Yet, it is indeed an important one, especially when you are recovering from something as devastating as a pandemic. This is not the time for accounting mix-ups or data entry errors. With your virtual CFO on board, your books will always be up to date, accurate, and available for analysis. What is more, the VCFO can use those books to help you reduce costs, invest wisely, and do all the other tasks in their repertoire.
Financial Optics Virtual CFO
At Financial Optics, we position small businesses for success – before, during, and after the pandemic. Our Overland Park, KS accounting firm offers outsourced small business accounting and small business bookkeeping to help you minimize costs and get the best results. In addition, you can come to us for virtual CFOs and financial advice for small business owners.
Our team will help you thrive both now and in the coming months and years as all our experiences with COVID-19 continue to change. We help you make smart decisions so that your business can bounce back from the chaos of the last years and reach a new level of business success. Whether you are a tech business or a B2B service company, we are here to help you reach for the stars!
Ready for post-pandemic success for your small business? Get started with a virtual CFO from Financial Optics today!