The ultimate guide to financial planning

Financial planning in business is a way to create a roadmap that will guide just about every aspect of your business. Learn more about how this works  

A financial plan for a business is the process of taking a look at the financial state of your businesses figuring out your future goals and then deciding how to get from A to B. Business financial planning is a process, but a business financial plan is a document that acts as your roadmap. 

From keeping you on track and making sure different goals come together coherently to keeping your risk levels low, there are loads of amazing benefits that come from considering financial planning in business. Here are a few: 

While you’re not legally required to have a business financial plan in place, so it’s not technically needed, it would be incredibly risky to move forward without one. A financial plan is your guide and reminder of what you’re trying to achieve. Imagine driving into the unknown without a map. Sure, you might be able to figure it out, but you’ve just hugely increased your risk of getting lost.

This is especially true if you’re a small business. You need that extra resilience as you can’t afford to lose out on growth.

A good and thought-out financial plan will keep you focused as the company grows. We can get so caught up in the day to day running of our businesses that we can lose track of the long-term goals we need to reach towards. That can leave you crippled when unexpected crises hit. 

So you’ve decided you need a financial plan for your business. Where on earth are you supposed to start? Here is what you need to include in your plan to make it as effective as possible. 

If you have your own finance team in house, they can take ownership of financial planning for you. However, if you’re considering financial planning for a small business, then you may have to handle this yourself. You can also outsource to a specialist financial planning business, although the costs here will vary depending on what you’re looking for. 

Your financial plan will need to consider several factors so that you can see the most benefit possible. Otherwise, you can end up planning for the sake of it, which leads to inefficiencies.

Financial wellbeing has become a huge concern for employees and employers in recent years, and having a strong financial plan in place can actually help with this. That’s because it boosts transparency, and ensures each employee knows the company has realistic expectations of them and the profits that can be made. 

Finance from MHR contains all the tools you need to centralise your finance process and make it much more efficient. Freed from sluggish legacy systems, your finance team will be able to make faster and more effective data-driven decision, boosting their ability to create financial plans that will drive growth at your business and helps you achieve your goals.