Congratulations on your remarkable journey of transforming your start-up into a fully operational and profitable business. As an entrepreneur, you’re constantly seeking the next step to fuel your growth and success.
When I reached a similar stage in my own entrepreneurial journey, I discovered that I was working tirelessly, often exceeding 60 hours per week. Much of my time was consumed by administrative tasks and low-level activities.
To address this, I implemented two key strategies that not only freed up my time but also led to a doubling of my turnover in just a year!
Firstly, I recognized the need for assistance and decided to hire our first team member. Looking back, I realized that I should have done this sooner. Once our staff member was onboard, they alleviated a significant portion of my workload, granting me more time to focus on higher-level tasks.
Next, I explored the benefits of outsourcing certain functions, such as webpage building. Professional website developers exceeded my expectations, providing a more polished and refined online presence for our business. I firmly believe that the success we achieved wouldn’t have been possible without a well-designed and professional website.
Additionally, I made the decision to bring apprentices into our team. This decision not only facilitated our company’s growth but also allowed us to benefit from government support programs designed to encourage apprenticeship opportunities. Guiding and developing these young individuals into valuable team members has been a true highlight of my journey.
With the addition of new employees and apprentices, our company began to operate more independently, affording me the freedom to focus on expansion and pursue other ventures.
Recognizing the need for updated accounting systems, I regularly reassessed our processes. Start-ups and rapidly growing businesses often experience evolving needs. What may have been an efficient method for completing tasks last month might no longer be optimal.
During the early years, our bookkeeping and accounting were managed in Excel. Excel proved to be user-friendly and efficient, especially when handling a high volume of monthly sales. As our business progressed, we joined the flat rate scheme, significantly expediting our VAT return preparations. We can explore various VAT schemes to help you save time and resources.
A significant undertaking was the migration of our stock and invoicing system to a cloud-based database. This transition was successfully outsourced, becoming an integral component of our accounting systems.
Recently, we completed the migration of our accounts from Excel to Sage 50. This transition has significantly reduced the workload associated with preparing accounts, quarterly UK VAT returns, and monthly German VAT returns.
Embracing these changes has resulted in a streamlined and more efficient accounting process, allowing us to focus on strategic growth and expansion.