The number of entrepreneurs grows every year in Brazil — a factor that occurs either out of necessity or opportunity. And this number should continue to rise, driven by the recovery of the Brazilian economy — according to the Central Bank, in 2020, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) should increase by 2.2% — almost double what was recorded in 2019 (1.2%).
Contrary to this context of expansion, according to Sebrae, one in four companies closes before completing two years of operation and the main reason is the difficulty in planning and executing some tasks, including business administration.
In a recent survey, the institution showed that about 2.1 million companies do their accounting the old-fashioned way, on paper, and 73% does not have a website. To help change this scenario, Sage, the market leader in cloud management solutions, listed some tips that can improve the administrative routine of small businesses and help them grow in 2020.
1 — Control financial activities
One of the most complex activities for entrepreneurs is financial management. To overcome this difficulty, the first step is to separate your personal accounts from your company's finances — open a legal bank account, set a salary for yourself and don't even think about mixing your money with that of your business. The second is to adopt a solution to manage cash flow and rely on technology to assist in this process. For example, the Sage NFe and Sage Financial systems are affordable options that will help the entrepreneur in this activity. Together, they respectively carry out the issuance of invoices and cash flow management in the same cloud solution, which allows management to be carried out wherever and whenever the entrepreneur wants.
2 — Migrate to the cloud
The piles of documents that used to fill offices began to take up space in the memory of computers. However, they are still physically attached to a device. Cloud storage is a technology created to solve this challenge and provide more mobility and productivity to the user, that is, ideal for the entrepreneur's routine. With it, it is possible to save data using an online server, which is always available, anytime and anywhere. Another important point is the guarantee of business continuity because the providers of this type of solution follow a strict security protocol and guarantee that no document is lost. And all this with packages that fit in the entrepreneur's pocket.
3 — Size your stock
Knowing the stock and knowing the right time to buy more is essential to prevent losses. The end of the year in a store, for example, is extremely busy and dimensioning the amount of stored goods can be the differential to profit more during this period and avoid the loss of goods. It is possible to find solutions on the market with low prices, which offer inventory management mechanisms that are integrated into the purchase and sale flows of the business. For example, when a sale is made, the software itself automatically writes off the stock of the product sold and when a minimum value is reached, the system triggers an order or purchase quote.
4 — Know your customer
Knowing the customer and knowing what he needs is having mastery over the business. It is in this line that CRM (Customer Relationship Management) works. It maps the profile of each consumer — from the most purchased items to the frequency of purchases — and generates indicators that enable the entrepreneur to create sales strategies focused on their consumers and thus strengthen their relationship with them. It is important to note that some systems are free for a short period or limited to a certain number of features.
5 — Use data to your advantage
That data is the new oil, everyone already knows. However, for the entrepreneur, gathering scattered information and extracting powerful conclusions from spreadsheets is quite a challenge. But the market has already created options that adapt to the reality of micro and small entrepreneurs: they are called self-service BI (Business Intelligence) solutions. With simplified parameterization and affordable cost, the entrepreneur himself can operate them autonomously without the need for a specialist. These tools centralize the data that are in different locations - sales, customer profiles, employee performance, accounting results and among other services - creating dynamic analyzes through the crossing of this data, which will transform the business decision-making process or even even solve small day-to-day problems, reducing costs and boosting sales.
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