stethoscope

Notch Above Medical and Healthcare bookkeeping

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Bookkeeping solutions for medical and healthcare practices

Transform your clinic’s bookkeeping and free up your time

Running a medical practice or health centre can be busy and demanding. With Notch Above Bookkeeping powered by Xero, you can free up time so you can focus more on your clinic. With Notch Above working as your bookkeeping advisors you can more easily:

  • Keep track of expenses
  • Ensure all claims are progressing and maximised
  • Manage working hours, approve leave and pay staff more easily with Xero’s online payroll
  • Work from your practice, remotely or on the go with a suite of mobile apps
  • Synchronise Xero with third-party healthcare apps for appointment scheduling, practice management and more.

Practical and streamlined solutions for medical and health clinics

Notch Above’s cloud bookkeeping clients include Dentists, Opticians, Anaesthetists, Acupuncturists, Pharmacists, Medical Clinics, Ophthalmologists, Specialists Surgeons and General Practitioners.

Our bookkeepers work with your Practice Manager to allow you, as the medical specialist, to concentrate on running your clinic. Doing so allows your Practice Manager to manage your practice rather than taking away focus to attend to bookkeeping tasks.

The Notch Above Bookkeeping team is experienced using medical software platforms such as Genie Solutions and Gentu.

What our clients say about working with Notch Above Bookkeeping

“Excellent service, highly professional, thorough and very friendly as well.” — Dr Khaled Shahin, Lakeside Dental Spa

 

“The friendly, professional team at Notch Above provide me with the confidence to know my bookkeeping is under control, allowing me more time for my patients and ultimately, my family.” – Dr Sunil Warrier, Ophthalmic Surgeon & Ocular Oncologist

 

“We have been with Notch Above and Xero for several years now and the combination is the best thing we ever did to tidy up our pre-existing bookkeeping/accounting arrangements. The service they provide is not only consistent and reliable, but also friendly and reassuring – things which are so important in these still unsettled times. Notch Above certainly lives up to the name.” – Eric Woodford, CC Oates Pty Ltd

Hassle-free Bookkeeping Packages

AAA20_seal_finalists_Bookkeeping Firm of the YearNotch Above Bookkeeping are certified Xero bookkeepers offering agreed-price monthly fees so you know exactly where you stand. No hidden extras and no ticking clock.

Browse our range of Xero bookkeeping services and get in touch with our team on 1300 015 130.

Free factsheets

Copyright 2021. Notch Above Bookkeeping @NotchAboveBAS

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panicked man; bookkeeping woman

Cost control measures

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7 Steps to Finesse your Finances

Effective cost control measures are crucial to cash flow for running a sustainable business at any time, especially during periods of economic uncertainty.

Rethinking your cost management strategy could make the difference in seeing your business thrive in 2021. Here’s how to get started.

1. Identify your major cost centres

Although you probably have a rough idea of your business costs, understanding exactly where your biggest expenses lie is an important first step in cost management. Review your main cost centres, including:

  • employee wages and benefits
  • rent
  • equipment and vehicles
  • utilities
  • products and materials
  • marketing and advertising
  • insurance and other professional fees
  • business loans and debts
  • other overhead costs such as repairs and maintenance.

Make sure you have a clear picture of how much you’re spending in each category over a specific period, such as the last quarter. Some expenses may be seasonal, so it’s also a good idea to look at how these costs vary during different times of the year.

2. Update business finance statements

Financial statements provide valuable information about how your costs are impacting the financial health of your business. To help you assess your business costs, consult your bookkeeper or if you’d like to take control, now may be a good time to invest in an accounting software program.  At a minimum, you need to be able to produce:

  • A profit and loss (P&L) statement: this summarises your revenue and expenses over a period. It’s useful for seeing how business costs are impacting your profit margin.
  • A cash flow forecast: this provides an estimate of how much money will be flowing in and out of your business over a future period, such as a month or quarter. Cash flow statements help you to assess how your upcoming expenses will impact your cash flow.

3. Sort the ‘good’ costs from the ‘bad’

Although it’s good practice to keep overheads low, some expenses are essential for long-term growth. Before you start looking at ways to slash costs, consider which areas help drive revenue and profitability for your business, and which are more likely to drain your resources.

For example, if your employees work remotely, rent and utilities might now be considered ‘bad’ costs because they’re no longer contributing to your bottom line.

On the other hand, marketing and advertising expenses that help grow your customer base might be considered ‘good’ costs.

Sorting the ‘good’ expenses from the ‘bad’ can help you identify which areas to target when it comes to cost-cutting.

4. Look for ways to reduce expenses

Once you’ve worked out the difference between helpful and harmful costs, consider how you can consolidate or reduce your ongoing expenses. This could include:

  • negotiating new terms with your landlord or suppliers
  • switching energy providers, banks or insurance companies to get a better deal
  • reducing stock levels and warehousing costs
  • reducing payroll costs by changing shift patterns
  • cancelling subscriptions you no longer need
  • automating business processes using technology
  • refinancing business loans
  • reducing discretionary spending such as entertainment costs.

Focus on cost-saving in areas where you’re most likely to see the smallest impact on your essential operational activities.

5. Determine your financial goals

If one of your goals is to grow your profit, it’s important to forecast costs and opportunities to ensure your growth is sustainable. For example:

  • Landscaping or pool building businesses looking to diversify into outdoor pizza ovens: costs may include additional equipment, upskilling and training employees, updating your website and investing in some initial marketing and advertising.
  • Cafes and restaurants looking to expand operations with mobile coffee carts or food trucks: costs may include an additional vehicle and it’s running costs, commercial hospitality equipment, insurance and permits.
  • Web designer looking to win more work from existing clients: costs may include hiring freelance support staff, automating or outsourcing tasks such as bookkeeping and invoicing to free up time for meeting with clients.

6. Identify the funding you need

Do you have the means to comfortably grow or sustain your business? We are fortunate to have both government and private business grants available to help support Australian businesses. Many are state or territory-specific and apply to different business stages including small business grants and startups, categories and industries.

Eligibility criteria and application periods vary but if successful a cash injection can make the difference to the future of your business and the Australian economy.

7. Reconcile: business plans vs life goals

Running a small business can consume a great deal of your life. Weighing up profitability and the time you personally invest in your business is an ongoing equation to balance.

If you want to step back from the day-to-day in your business, consider what the biggest time overheads are and the possible solutions. You might be surprised at how a small investment can recoup a lot of time back in your day.

Customer service

Enhancing your website with clearer product information, FAQs or even a chatbot will reduce non-sales oriented phone calls.

Marketing and advertising

Working with a professional marketing agency can help ensure that your advertising is both cost-effective and efficient. You can then apply data and insights to make informed decisions about how you spend your marketing budget.

Bookkeeping

If you haven’t already, make the call whether to bring on a bookkeeper or invest in some accounting software and automated invoicing.

Payroll and HR

Managing employee paperwork can be a headache and it’s an important item to keep on top of to protect yourself legally and ensure you’re getting the most out of your employees. Considering a cloud-based solution that integrates with your accounting software is an affordable way to remain compliant.

Notch Above Bookkeeping are Platinum Certified Xero bookkeepers and BAS Agents. We help small business owners across Australia (especially medical specialists such as dentists, orthodontists, optometrists and anaesthetists) to prepare BAS returns and streamline their bookkeeping processes, payroll and accounting records using cloud technology.

Source: Business Australia

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calculator financials pen

Reduce Business Operating Costs

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Every business owner – no matter how big or small the business – wants to reduce operating costs

And it’s not impossible. Here are eight strategies that’ll not only save you money but improve the efficiency of your business.

Operating costs are the ongoing expenses incurred in the normal day-to-day activities of running a business. Lowering these costs is one of the most effective ways to save money and boost your business’s profits.

It’s an important exercise for any business, but especially those still dealing with the impacts of COVID-19. So, how do you do it? It starts with understanding what your business is spending money on before reviewing each activity in detail to see where you might be able to make cuts. We’ve outlined eight areas to help you get started.

1. Automate business process

A sure-fire way to save some cash is by looking into automating some of your business’s processes. In other words, you’ll want to identify processes that are currently being done manually and research whether they can be partially or fully automated with the help of software programs and services.

The idea is that by automating a process, it will free up time for employees to spend on other activities. Processes in departments such as accounting, marketing and communications, legal and HR are some easy places to start.

2. Outsource

Similar to identifying business processes that can be automated, looking at outsourcing functions typically done in-house should also be considered.

In some cases, when responsibility is given to an employee as an add-on to their remit, they’re not properly trained in how to do it. Or they simply don’t have the capacity to do it as best they can. For this reason, outsourcing the work to an agency or freelancer with the time and skills required for the task can lead to a better outcome.

3. Review your insurance policy

Another way to reduce operating costs is to scrutinise your business’s insurance. According to a 2019 Aon study, rates across the majority of its business insurance lines went up by 10% as insurers looked to replenish their returns after being hit by a string of natural disasters.

Although there is no one-size-fits-all solution to reducing your insurance rate, some key options companies can consider are alternative risk-transfer strategies, reviewing their existing insurance programme structure or demonstrating a better risk profile to the market.

If that sounds tricky, Aon may be able to assist you to get a better understanding of your company’s insurance rate

4. Pay invoices on time

Another strategy to help you solve mounting expenses is to pay invoices on time. Late payment fees and penalties eventually add up if you let them slide, and can be easily avoided. Some vendors even offer discounts if you pay your invoice early.

Similarly, try to pay your loan or debt repayments on time to avoid additional interest payments.

5. Review expenses regularly

On that note, another way to reduce operational costs is to take the time to look over the invoice or expense bill before paying it. Too many business owners make the mistake of paying bills without looking at the charges in detail – especially if the bill is set to automatic payment.

Often, owners discover they’ve been paying regularly for services they no longer use, like professional memberships. Once identified, these fees and dues can be cancelled immediately.

6. Cut down on office space

One of the biggest expenses for a business with an office is the fees associated with leasing it, cleaning and maintaining it – not to mention the utility costs. As such, ending your lease at the end of the lease period and allowing your employees to work remotely will free up a considerable amount of cash.

If your entire team working remotely full-time isn’t an option – consider leasing a smaller space or renting desks at a co-working space and staggering out workdays.

7. Shop around for the best rate

If you’ve been working with the same vendors for a while now, it’s worth looking into their rates and comparing them to other vendors who offer similar products or services. While the price differences could end up being negligible – particularly if there’s a fee for transferring your service – you might also find you’ve been overpaying, and the switch is worth it.

Another helpful tip: consider negotiating a discount by offering a vendor cash. It’s a win-win for both parties – you’ll be spending less, and they’ll be getting paid faster.

8. Ask your employees for ideas

Finally, one of the best ways to reduce operating costs is to ask your staff for suggestions. Working so close to processes and using them day-in and day-out should mean they’re able to better identify inefficiencies and recommend potential tweaks.

Though a concern for every business owner, operating costs are not always given the attention they deserve. When you consider that a few simple tweaks alone can generate major results – saving you hundreds or, in some cases, thousands each year – they’re well worth looking into.

Notch Above Bookkeeping is a team of Platinum Certified Xero bookkeepers and BAS Agents. We help small business owners across Australia (especially medical specialists such as dentists, orthodontists, optometrists and anaesthetists) to prepare their BAS returns and streamline their bookkeeping processes, payroll and accounting records using cloud technology.

Source: Business Australia

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marketing planning meeting

Positioning products with risk in mind

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Less splurging more sharing

Understanding current attitudes to risk will help you to position your products perfectly.

The pandemic has swept in a wave of caution and altered what we see as safe or risky, not just for our health, but also for our finances.

For many customers, certain investments and purchases are just not as attractive when the fluctuating economy translates to low job security. The end result? People are saving more and splurging less.

The drive to save more means we may see much more conservative spending patterns for a while yet, with less disposable income around for non-essential products. While this doesn’t spell the end of luxury brands, it does increase the desirability of affordable luxuries.

Funding what we need in a less risky way

In tough times, it’s wise to be wary about increasing liabilities. The reduced appetite for risk means that many businesses are rightly cautious about extending debt. Increasingly though, small businesses will look to establish new ventures and finance new purchases in a lean way and with lower debt.

For customers, the ongoing popularity of buy-now-pay-later services is allowing them to purchase conservatively and spread the outward flow of cash to suit their budget. A big rise in the uptake of subscription services is another way customers are reducing the upfront spend on the goods they want.

This trend towards conservative spending and innovative financing means that it’s more important than ever to think about how your products and services are positioned, and examine flexible and affordable ways for your customers to buy them.

Consider your customer

  • How can you help your customer make purchases at lower risk or lower cost?
  • If your customers feel the need for austerity, are your products best positioned as essentials or luxuries?
  • Could your products or services be discounted as packages that are bundled or shared between couples or families?

Consider your business

  • Could you combat low spending by partnering with other businesses to reach different customers?
  • How can you fund new activities and investments in a leaner, more flexible way?
  • Would shared models of asset ownership work for your business rather than automatically making new capital purchases the default option?

Tips

  • Review your business lending and investment arrangements with an eye to risk, and seek professional advice about any changes you need to make.
  • Aim for lean, low-cost methods of financing any new business activities: run a trial before committing big money towards new ideas.
  • Consider how your brand is best positioned in the spectrum between necessity and luxury.
  • Investigate offering customers flexible buy-now, pay-later payment options.

Notch Above Bookkeeping are Platinum Certified Xero bookkeepers and BAS Agents. We help small businesses across the east coast of Australia to prepare their BAS returns and streamline their bookkeeping processes, payroll and accounting records using cloud technology. Call us to find out how on 1300 015 130 today.

Source: Xero

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#cloudbusinessbookkeeping

#xeroplatinumbookkeepers

masked grocery shopper

Understand customer mindset to respond to buying patterns

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Volatile demand

Responding to fluctuating buying patterns all comes down to understanding customer mindset.

As the government restrictions to protect our health eventually ease, people will adapt to the changes at different speeds.

Those variations will, in turn, have big impacts on sales for small businesses.

For those supplying household basics, spikes of panic buying are still happening at times – and threaten to reemerge whenever lockdown restrictions return. In contrast, if you’re a small business owner helping people plan their international travel, things are likely to be quiet for some time to come.

When customers purchase can fluctuate and change at short notice, because planning horizons have shifted – all the more so while the risk of the crisis escalating again remains. Where once they might have scheduled a car service, beauty treatment or a B&B room weeks in advance, they now book only a few days out, due to shifting restrictions. For some businesses, like restaurants, it’s exactly the opposite, with limited spots being snapped up well in advance. It’s all part of the volatility of the times.

Experiencing recovery in different ways

As the recovery gathers pace, economic progress won’t always seem orderly, predictable or linear. In some small towns, for example, it may feel like not much has changed since before the pandemic. In cities, however, it may take longer for a new rhythm to become apparent, and this might change the forecasts you make for sales in different parts of the country.

On the international front, some countries aren’t likely to pass out of the pandemic crisis phase at the same rate as Australia, so supply shortages of foreign-sourced materials may continue even if our nation is thriving again.

Making your customers feel safe

You may notice in your own local community that people of different age groups choose to socially distance for longer than others. Older people, for example, may remain more cautious about gathering in large groups. If they’re a big part of your customer base, you might need to think about how to reach out to them.

Ultimately, we may hope that instances of panic buying and hoarding will disappear, but we can expect some levels of volatile and patchy demand to continue for small businesses for a while, as communities recover at different speeds.

That’s why it’s important to stay on top of what your customers need and how they’re changing their spending. Coping with volatility is much easier if you have up-to-date data and insights, and keep a close eye on changes you can see in your customers’ buying patterns.

Consider your customer

  • How will you monitor the volatility in your customer buying patterns and get access to more accurate demand data?
  • How can you create flexibility in your booking procedures to match the shorter horizons in customer forward planning?
  • If customer demand dips, can you try bundling some of your products with other complementary offerings, or find new referral partners and offer commissions?

Consider your business

  • How can you best respond to rapid rises in customer demand?
  • If customer demand falls, will you consider clearing stock, pivoting to new product lines, or diversifying your range to spread your risk?
  • If your production needs to fluctuate, could you reduce some fixed costs and make them variable?

Tips

  • Monitor customer demand changes frequently.
  • Minimise new overheads and examine ways to convert fixed costs to variable costs.
  • Develop plans to scale production up or down in quicker ways than you used to.
  • Shorten lead times for product development and production where you can.
  • Streamline order fulfilment in advance of customer demand surges to help get products out the door when sales shoot up.

Getting cash flow savvy

Cash flow management can seem somewhat elusive, and even impossible to forecast at the moment. But, with help from your bookkeeper, you need to make your best assumptions to work out on a weekly basis over the coming two or three months, how much cash is coming in, and how much cash will need to be paid out.

The Government’s stimulus has focused on assisting businesses with cash flow challenges get through the toughest times. But when JobKeeper and other stimuli end your business may require additional finance or significant changes to accommodate a reduced turnover and become cash flow positive. When you know you’ve got enough cash to keep going, you can then focus on longer-term plans.

Stay on top of your numbers with Xero’s short-term cash flow tool

If you’re using online accounting software like Xero, you’ll have access to features designed to provide the visibility and insights you need to manage your cash flow. Xero’s short- term cash flow tool visually projects your bank balance 30 days into the future, showing you the impact of existing bills and invoices if they’re paid on time. This not only provides clarity, but helps you work out which invoices you should follow up, and see how your cash flow will change if you pay a bill next week rather than this week.

Now more than ever, having financial visibility is key. The team at Notch Above Bookkeeping can be a helpful source of advice on your specific circumstances. Contact us on 1300 015 130.

Source: Xero

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success

Distributed work

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Changing how, when and where you work can free up time, deliver new talent and boost morale

The pandemic has been referred to as the world’s “greatest working-from-home experiment”.

For those of us with the means to do so, the sudden switch has spurred the speedy adoption of digital technologies, including cloud-based file storage, and workplace collaboration apps. These tools have turned living rooms into home offices almost overnight, as we learn how to be productive away from the workplace.

Conference calls on webcam give us a peek into the lives of our colleagues, and teams are trying new ways to stay connected online whilst working apart. For some small businesses and their staff, this rapid transition has proven challenging, while for others, it’s been a welcome change.

Embracing a flexible workforce

As restrictions slowly ease (or, in some cases, threaten to return), you might decide to keep some of that flexibility in place. Working remotely could prove to be more cost-effective and convenient and, importantly, your team may prefer this arrangement.

Staff may also find it much less stressful to balance their work and family commitments if they can work remotely, even if it’s only for part of the week. Allowing flexibility isn’t just a boost to morale; it’s a smart way to reduce unexpected leave, and send a clear signal of trust.

Finding new talent in new ways

Importantly, the distributed work trend is not only about where work is done, but also who does it. More businesses are embracing the growing network of freelancers and contractors, which provides hard-to-get niche skills plus flexible surge capacity, all without growing your headcount.

If you’re recruiting for your business, you’ll have a broader talent pool to hire from if remote working is an option. Highly specialised global talent becomes accessible online, bringing the benefits of national and international expertise to your workplace when you need it.

It’s the perfect time to embrace flexible working, along with the tools that make it so effective. The benefits extend from bringing you closer to your customers to helping you save on the cost of under-used office space and giving your team the gift of better work-life balance.

Consider your customer

If your customers change where they work, will their buying patterns change?

Can you help your customers who are working from home with training on in-home technologies, office set-up, or digital collaboration tools?

If your staff prefer to work different shifts remotely, or work in different Australian time zones, can you extend your hours of customer service availability?

Consider your business

As working patterns change, do your staff have to work from nine to five, or would shifting rosters and job sharing make more sense?

If you’ll have fewer staff onsite, can you repurpose your floor space with fewer work stations or more room for meetings, using a smaller footprint to save on leasing costs?

How can you improve your team structure and role descriptions in light of new working patterns?

Tips

  • Review the current balance of staff working onsite and remotely. Reach out, check what their preference is, and think through what is most productive for your business.
  • Update your technology to allow for effective work to happen away from the office.
  • Make sure IT systems and in-home devices used for work purposes are secure from cyber attack.
  • Before hiring new staff, consider whether freelance or contract options give more flexibility.

With a few handy tools in your arsenal, remote working can be transformed into a smooth and stress-free process for you and your team. Many apps from the Xero app marketplace are designed to do exactly that.

Notch Above Bookkeeping is a team of Platinum Certified Xero bookkeepers and BAS Agents. We help small business owners across Australia (especially medical specialists such as dentists, orthodontists, optometrists and anaesthetists) to prepare their BAS returns and streamline their bookkeeping processes, payroll and accounting records using cloud technology.

Call us to find out more about our Xero remote business bookkeeping on 1300 015 130 today.

Source: Xero

#remotebusinessbookkeepers

#cloudbusinessbookkeeping

#xeroplatinumbookkeepers

Xero Payroll

Future proof your small business with cloud technology

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The next chapter for small business: How to thrive in a changed world

A couple of months ago, Xero introduced a study that they commissioned through Forrester Consulting.

The study explores the impact of COVID-19 on small businesses and identifies some strategies that have proven successful in helping small businesses survive and even thrive.

Today, using the insights gained from this study, we want to take a closer look at how small businesses have weathered the storm brought about by the pandemic and how the behaviours of consumers have played a role in their response.

Consumer spending behaviours before, during and post COVID-19

Forrester Consulting asked more than 1,000 consumers about their spending behaviours before, during and post COVID-19 and uncovered three key findings:

  1. Consumers significantly reduced, or even stopped spending their money with small businesses altogether, since COVID-19 hit. But, they do expect to pick this up again once the situation improves.
  2. Although they are spending less overall, consumers have actually increased their spending through digital channels. Digital spending during COVID-19 has increased significantly across all product categories that were surveyed, including goods we don’t usually buy online, such as groceries, and
  3. Consumers aren’t just buying more from these digital channels, they’re also more interested in using virtual communities to engage with small businesses.

The small business response to changed consumer behaviours

So, the overall spend is down, but the digital spend is up and consumers are feeling more engaged than ever with their virtual communities. How have small businesses responded to this change in consumer behaviour? Well, it appears that they’re mostly aligning their practices with these new consumer behaviours.

One of the most significant findings from the study is that small businesses have really increased the speed at which they’ve adopted digital at the front end (consumer-facing, such as online stores) as well as the back end (business operations, such as cloud hosting).

Perhaps not surprisingly, the businesses that are more proactive in using digital technologies report earning a much higher proportion of revenue online, as opposed to through physical stores. And perhaps even less surprisingly, the businesses that are thriving through this period are the ones that started their digital journey before the pandemic hit – they were more prepared and resilient than the businesses that shifted to digital because of the pandemic. However, it is clear that it’s not too late for others to catch up. What’s more, the research suggests those that rely on their support network of advisors – be it accountants, bookkeepers, financial advisors and/or technology advisors – are more likely to perform in a changing environment.

A shift in mindset towards digital

There’s no doubt that the pandemic has accelerated the speed and frequency at which businesses have embraced digital technologies. The types of tech investments or adoption that used to take years, now only take a couple of months – even a couple of weeks in some instances.

Before COVID-19 hit, 32% of the 1,000+ small businesses that Forrester Consulting surveyed reported using cloud solutions. Merely six months later, that number had increased to 49%. That’s an increase of 17% – a rousing endorsement that small business owners believe that embracing the cloud leads to better outcomes.

And small businesses are adapting their practices beyond just accepting digital payments. They’re taking it a step or two further. They’re investing more in online marketing and ad spending and using more digital services to improve their operation and increase their agility to be more resilient in their operations.

They’ve started creating e-invoices and embracing value-added services like spending analytics to understand where they are spending, how much they are spending, and how they can better manage their expenses going forward. Many are also recording and submitting their tax digitally.

It’s clear that the trend towards cloud technology has accelerated, and this acceleration is going to continue post-COVID. Small businesses that are open to change, are embracing this trend, and are supporting their customers’ buying preferences through this disruption, are the ones that are thriving.

If you’d like to learn more about how COVID-19 has impacted small businesses, read the full study to learn more about its recommendations, top actions to take and to dive into the details.

Notch Above Bookkeeping is a team of Platinum Certified Xero bookkeepers and BAS Agents. We help small business clients across the east coast of Australia to prepare their BAS returns and streamline their bookkeeping processes, payroll and accounting records using cloud technology. Call us to find out how on 1300 015 130 today.

Source: Xero

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#cloudbusinessbookkeeping

#xeroplatinumbookkeepers

small business bookkeeping notch above bookkeeping brisbane

Your wellbeing in 2021

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Bringing physical and mental wellbeing into focus allows for a happier, more considered lifestyle.

Some are labelling 2020 as the ‘great pause’ because it has given us more time with family, less time at the workplace, and more time to relax.

And while it has certainly been a stressful and challenging period for many, others (with the means to do so) have come to appreciate a slower, simpler lifestyle.

This slowdown has highlighted just how beneficial it is to take care of our own wellbeing in times of stress. As your customers focus inwards and make more time for loved ones in response, it’s a chance for you to think about how they want to live their lives, and how your business can help.

Helping your customers to take care of themselves

Many customers are now aspiring to be physically fitter, healthier, and want to take better care of their emotional wellbeing. If you’re providing fitness and wellbeing services, or can partner with someone who does, you might boost sales and reach new customer niches.

Looking out for what’s happening outside

As a local business owner, you may notice an uptick in foot traffic as customers change their daily habits and opt for a more leisurely routine. Outdoor boot camps and exercise classes have become more visible, as small business owners in the fitness sector adapt to the trend.

As more of your customers slow down to boost their health and wellbeing, the opportunity is there for small businesses to motivate, inspire and encourage them. Promoting the positive health benefits of your products and services, and raising the feel-good factor, will help your business adjust to your customers’ new health-conscious needs.

Consider your customer

Can you capture the imagination of customers wanting a slower lifestyle by pitching your products differently to inspire them in their quest for wellbeing?

Are there products and services that complement your existing offering that would help customers to feel fit and healthy?

If there’s more foot traffic on your street, how can you reach more of the people who are out and about?

Consider your business

Are you looking out for how your staff are coping with the lifestyle changes and will you know if team members working from home are OK?

How can you help your staff to find the boundary between working hard and having permission to switch off for family time?

Are you taking the time you need to ensure you are personally recharged and energised to focus on your business?

Tips

  • Update your advertising to promote the health and wellbeing benefits of your products.
  • Consider how to reach out to any increased crowds walking past your door.
  • Check in with your own team and ensure they are coping, particularly if they’re working remotely.
  • Share successful stress-relief techniques amongst your team so that everyone can improve their personal wellbeing.

Staying resilient in times of change

Running your own business takes a lot of focus and energy, both of which tend to get depleted during times of rapid change. In the wake of the pandemic, it’s natural to feel a little overwhelmed at the challenges your business might face. Fortunately, there are some simple tips you can follow to keep yourself in good shape during the recovery.

Prioritise sleep: Rest helps the body to recover from long workdays and sharpens your decision-making.

Keep moving: Exercise as regularly as possible to spark those positive endorphins, whether that’s a morning swim, lunchtime gym session or an evening run.

Try meditation: Learning some simple breathing and relaxation techniques can help restore a sense of calm and confidence.

Nurture relationships: Having supportive friends and family around you keeps things in perspective.

Calm your surroundings: Your work environment matters, so listen to your favourite music, and reduce clutter and noise to minimise unhelpful stimulation.

Get some fresh air: Being out in nature keeps you grounded, so try not to stay cooped up at work all day – even a short walk outside can help clear
the mind.

Say no sometimes: Forgive yourself for not doing the things you don’t have capacity for, and be prepared to limit your activities to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Talk it over: Ease the sense of burden by putting problems into words, and talk over any worries with someone who cares about you.

Reward yourself: Celebrate the good days and take a moment to acknowledge your progress.

Thriving into the future

The last year has been incredibly challenging for Australia’s small businesses. Across the country, we’ve witnessed the strength and capacity for reinvention that being a business owner not only fosters, but demands.

Now more than ever, resilience will be your key asset. As you adjust to changing day-to-day, it’s time to take all that you’ve learned so that you can work towards coming back stronger and smarter. This guide is designed to help you do exactly that.

Adapting and innovating

Throughout history, it’s often the most challenging times that spark innovation. We saw this in action during the global financial crisis, which fuelled the launch of Uber and Airbnb, pioneered file storage in the cloud through Dropbox, and saw the rise of WhatsApp.

Out of this tumultuous period came new tools that we now use every day, new business models the economy embraced, and new ways for customers to fulfil their needs. This crisis will be no different. You too can take hold of pockets of opportunity and find fresh ways to succeed. That means seizing the chance to test new products, explore new services, and reach new customers – in ways you hadn’t imagined until now.

Respecting the process

As you adapt to your surroundings, it’s okay to recognise that progress may not be smooth or perfect. It’s entirely normal for there to be phases of rapid recovery and plateaus – especially in light of changing restrictions. But by drawing on your own experience, you can uncover how to move forward despite the challenges.

We encourage you to be bold, creative, and above all, open to change. Of course, anticipate that there will be obstacles, but also welcome the chance to test imperfect ideas and experiment quickly. So dive deep, take what you need from this guide, and ask yourself, “What can I do so that my business thrives into the future?” The decision is yours.

Notch Above Bookkeeping is a team of Platinum Certified Xero bookkeepers and BAS Agents. Based in Brisbane we help small business clients right across Australia prepare their BAS returns and streamline their bookkeeping processes, payroll and accounting records. Call us to find out how on 1300 015 130 today.

Source: Xero