Category:  Business/Investing Publisher: Business Success Publishing ISBN-10:  0970232616 Type: Non-Fiction Pages: 250 Copyright: Jul 1 2000 "Consultant in a Box" is a series of procedures and software has been developed as an interactive process for small business owners that cannot afford a consultant. These procedures teach you specific steps to resolving problems in your business. This first book, 'Financial Management', gives you all the necessary information, and forms, to increase profits in your business. The purpose of this set of procedure's is to outline the necessary steps in managing the finances of your Company. In the past you have probably let the business manage you, and you took whatever profits you had at the end of the year. This plan, that is outlined in these procedures, will help you identify areas that you need to focus on in your business. This will allow you to finally "CONTROL YOUR BUSINESS", and not let it control you. Excerpt FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT - There are several facets of any business that you must control that are all centered on the financial situation in your business. The following are financial issues that you must master before you can finally get a handle on your business. They are: ACCOUNTING MANAGEMENT - Before you can manage the finances of any business, you must have accurate information as to where you are in the financial situation of your business. CASH MANAGEMENT - CASH IS KING in any business. It does not matter how much profits you make, if you keep spending the money and you do not have sufficient cash flow to handle your day-to-day operations. You must project out in advance what your cash income is going to be and what your expected expenditures will be. This is typically done on a weekly basis for the next six (6) weeks so you can see what your cash situation will be. Because your business is probably seasonal, you also need to project out 12 months in advance what your cash needs will be, so you can plan for the slow periods. BUDGETING YOUR INCOME AND EXPENDITURES - Because your business is probably seasonal, you need to develop an FLEXIBLE BUDGETING SYSTEM to manage your business expenditures. The preparation of a flexible operating budget for the your Company should be put in place. In order to control expenses effectively, it is necessary to know both what these expenses are and what they should be. Expenses should be based on realistic projected estimates of what sales will be for the year. DEVELOPING AND UNDERSTANDING YOUR COMPANY BREAKEVEN - The most important value of breakeven analysis is that it can assist you in determining ahead of time the effects of financial decisions. In addition, the performance of this analysis involves determining relationships between costs, sales volume and profit. You are testing some of the most basic financial elements of the business. JOB COSTING & ESTIMATING - Once you have your budgets in place and you understand how to calculate and utilize breakeven, you need to utilize this information in pricing your products. If the market will bear what ever price you quote, so much the better. But you must know what is the bottom line price you can charge to reach your financial goals set up in your budgets. If you cannot get the price you require then you need to analyze why, and make a management decision as to what you are going to do.

Mr. Jere Gibson - Owner Awnings & Window Shade Systems Manufacturer - Arizona Review
Steve Anderson has shown us various ways to track our company's progress that we needed in operating on a week to week basis. Also all of our managers will agree that we've learned more in two weeks about running a company than in our entire business career ... it has been invaluable. We feel that we will have a great advantage over our competition. We expect great results from the information and training Steve has given us. We are grateful that we decided to take this opportunity and we are satisfied with the impressions it has made on our employees.

Mrs. Marjorie Foreman - President - Retail Lumber Company - Ohio Client Review
We've been trying to work with our bank and the City Development Department to get a loan, but we did not have the necessary knowledge required by the bank. Our financial manager was trained to do the sales and cash flow projections for the bank, and to use them for the future benefit of our company. We are pleased with the staffs efforts, and we feel more confident about our ability to get the required loan and about the future of our company.