A Deep Dive into Key Financial Ratios for Informed Decision-Making

A Deep Dive into Key Financial Ratios In our previous blog post, we introduced the significance of key financial ratios in evaluating business performance. Today, we will take a deeper dive into each category of financial ratios, providing you with actionable insights and practical guidance. Understanding these ratios will empower you to make informed decisions that drive your business’s success. Profitability Ratios Maximizing Returns on Your Efforts. Profitability ratios enable…  Read more

Unlock business success with an understanding of key financial ratios.

Understanding Key Financial Ratios for Sustainable Growth Analyse profitability, liquidity, and solvency for sustainable growth. As a fast-growing business, navigating the financial landscape can be challenging. To drive your success, it is crucial to have a solid understanding of key financial ratios and what they mean for your business. In this blog, we will explore the significance of these ratios and how understanding them can assist you in harnessing their…  Read more

Two separate sets of books…for the right reasons

Following on from our previous scaling up posts , the next MUST HAVE is keeping two separate sets of books. One for compliance or tax reporting and the other for internal management reporting – the goal of which is to simplify the numbers. Right about now you are probably thinking, how does this save me time and benefit me… “now I need to have two accounting programmes for different reasons”…  Read more

Cash Acceleration Strategies

Cash acceleration strategies Because cash is king, we thought we would reshare our blogpost on our useful tips on how to accelerate the flow of cash through your business. Understand your cash conversion cycle (CCC) Being able to improve how cash flows through your business requires an understanding of your cash conversion cycle. Your cash conversion cycle measures how long it takes for a Rand spent on anything (payroll, rent,…  Read more

Trend analysis and early warning systems to support better prediction

Let us commence by understanding and answering the following questions that are relevant: 1. What exactly is Trend Analysis? – This is a technique used to analyse an entities financial data by collecting information from multiple prior periods and using this information to generate valuable insights, to assist in understanding the past and making data based decisions to change the future. 2. What can Trend Analysis be used for :…  Read more

Better quality accounting data to support decision making

Can you log into your accounting system right now and answer the following questions: What was your profit last month/last quarter/last year? How much cash do you have available, and how much is tied up in accounts receivable? Who do you need to pay this month, by when and how much? Can you effectively manage your cashflow ? Cashflow advice for small businesses Do your assets exceed your liabilities? If not,…  Read more

Financial Dashboards

Using Microsoft’s visualisation tool PowerBi, 118 have built a financial story telling tool that integrates seamlessly with Xero to help you make sense of your numbers in double quick time. They say that pictures tell a 1000 words! Have a look at some of the cool visualisations that we have built for some of our clients so far using the financial story telling tool.   If you would like to…  Read more

Why should you invest in proper accounting systems?

Why should you invest in proper accounting systems?   If the #1 weakness of growth firms is marketing, the #2 problem is accounting. Accounting is often underappreciated and if not done correctly can lead to poor decision-making.   Why should you invest in proper accounting systems?   Clear the distortions As businesses get bigger, so do the nature of the day-to-day and week-to-week transactions. For a small business, basic bookkeeping,…  Read more

EVERYDAY IS MONTH END |YEAR END

EVERYDAY IS MONTH END |YEAR END   With another tax year-end rolling over, every accountant and business owner will be thinking of year-end, and what that means to them. We thought it would be a good idea, to explain what it means to us. If things are done correctly, year end should be just another day, and nothing to be feared. Sure, there is provisional tax to pay, and an…  Read more

Forming A Routine

Getting a grip on your numbers can seem like a daunting task – especially if you are carrying some sort of an aversion from your school or varsity days.  In my last two posts I discussed why it is so important for a small business owner to stay on top of their business finances. I pointed out the difference between the value your accountant adds vs. the value you can…  Read more

“Not a numbers person”, I hear you say????

I’ve been exposed to the corporate environment for over ten years, and only recently joined 118Accounting – a cloud accounting start-up.  Many people say that they are not numbers people or that they just didn’t understand the numbers. “Leave it to the bean counters”, they said. What really stands out to me is the number of directors/executives and department heads that have the same philosophy. There are a few critical…  Read more

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