How to maintain and improve relationships with your suppliers

There are many reasons why we should create great relationship with our suppliers. The most important is that it makes the day to day working relationship more enjoyable for all. It may also get you a great deal, help with collaboration and strengthen goodwill.

But like personal relationships, building relationships with your suppliers can take time, here are some tips for how we can create and maintain excellent supplier relationships.

COMMUNICATION

Communication is the most basic way we build and maintain relationships. Schedule some time with your supplier to provide an opportunity for both parties to provide feedback with regards to better pricing deals, payment terms, discuss what is helpful and what is not.

Go ahead, schedule a meeting over lunch, a coffee or a beer – you might be able to develop some innovative opportunities to do business.

PAYING ON TIME!

Let’s be honest, who wouldn’t be frustrated if they’re not paid on time? In maintaining relationships with your suppliers it is important that you at all times at least try to adhere to payment terms. Not only does it make a good impression but also builds trust. When you cant – open the lines of communication between you and the supplier, you might be able to make an arrangement for extended time, interest free and no penalties – anything! As long as you keep communicating with the supplier and have a proven record of good custom anything is possible.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR SUPPLIER’S PROCESS TO MEET YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS

Like every other business, there are processes in place in order for your supplier to attend to your business needs. Make sure to know what those processes are and when they take place. By respecting their processes will ensure that the business relationship remains at the forefront, your supplier can attend to your deadline/business needs.

BUILDING GOOD RAPPORT

Maintaining great relationships with suppliers is always a two-way street. I know we all want to make sure that the supplier is offering a great price and superb service; you also need to be a good customer. Avoid making any unreasonable claims relating to discounts or service. Treat your suppliers with respect and build rapport so they will be happy to help you long term.

Maintaining a good relationship will have a long-lasting impact to your business.

SHOW LOYALTY

Sometimes it may be tempting to go with other supplies where prices are tempting, but often it pays to stick with your current supplier. Over time, you can develop strong relationships and your suppliers will begin to understand your business wants and needs. If any time a different supplier is offering a better deal, you may be able to negotiate rates based on your loyalty.

REFER THEIR BUSINESS

If you are happy how things are travelling with your suppliers or a particular supplier, you can show you’re your appreciation by referring their business. At the end of the day, everyone is trying to grow their business and if you can help your supplier gain new customers, they’re sure to be grateful. Building goodwill for your suppliers will definitely have a positive impact as well with your business, as your suppliers may return the favor and refer your business to others as well.

Forte in Numbers helping small business owners understand their small business compliance obligations and understand their numbers. We take the stress and headache out of bookkeeping.

P: 1300 436 783
E: info@forteinnumbers.com.au

5 tips for how to keep your books and business healthy

We have all seen with our own eyes, the day-to-day life of a business owner can be very overwhelming. Overwhelmed business owners try to attempt multiple tasks in a typical day including answering phones, doing the work, manage staffing issues and staying on top of the admin and compliance.

Getting the bookkeeping and accounting process streamlined is crucial to ensure a business can run and operate in a sustainable manner. With the correct processes and people in place you can manage to stay on top of the myriad of record keeping a small business involves, you will not only keep your business organized, you will also be able to build a strong foundation for future growth and success in your business.

So here are some tips that can help you keep make your business a success:

KEEP YOUR RECORDS ORGANISED

Some people like a bit of a mess and others may not be able to work if their documents are not in order, this is ok in your personal life, but in business this is one of the reasons many businesses fail. Time wasted trying to find where these documents are or phoning suppliers and other contacts for copies is time better spent on your business.

Ensure to keep all records of your sales invoices, bank deposits, receipts and invoices for money spent. This includes any other notes you need to track such as names of people with whom you meet, or kilometers travelled on business trips.

There are many softwares in the marketplace that can assist in keeping your records organized, as well as professionals that can assist in teaching you how they are used and can be useful in interpreting data in your business.

TECHNOLOGY IS YOUR FRIEND

Thanks to technological advances through the years, there are a lot of wonderful applications out there that you can use in your bookkeeping platform to make the bookkeeping process easy, less time consuming and streamlined. In our office our software of preference is either Xero or Myob predominantly, we can set you up and train you on these systems and/or we can assist you in your business with the bookkeeping.

These softwares, in particular, are cloud based with no need to install big chucky software on your computer or server. They can help you with invoicing on the go, send auto reminders to customers, receive payments from customers, they can be your electronic storage systems for receipts and invoices.

There are many short videos on the web which you could use as a starting point to understand briefly how these options could benefit your business and save you time.

MAKE SURE YOU REVIEW YOUR FINANCIAL INFORMATION REGULARLY

Its not just a matter of keeping an eye on your daily bank balance, but regular tracking and review of Profit & Loss Statements and Cashflow statements over a short or long period of time is a very effective way of being on top of your overall financial health of your business.

Regular review of reports will provide key information as to where money is being spent in the business, average days it takes customers to pay, average days it take you to pay suppliers, identify gains and losses on a particular job or income stream, staffing and employment opportunities. It can also help

in being able to spot discrepancies that should be investigated; assist you in making business decisions such as – is now the right time to purchase that equipment? Is now the right time to finance that big purchase? Is now the right time to take on that big job? Can we afford additional staff?

Which leads me to my next point…

REMEMBER TAX DEADLINES

Anything that can help you remember GST, PAYG, Super and Payroll tax deadlines do it! A post-it note, calendar reminder, or a phone a reminder for a countdown – anything! An approaching tax deadline, when your behind in your paperwork or bookkeeping, can be quite stressful and can lead to small or big errors.

Adding extra stress and pressure to your already hectic day will lead to errors on your BAS, documents being lodged with the wrong figures, anything can happen! This just makes the process of BAS lodgement more difficult and more time consuming.

Not to mention ensuring you have enough funds for payment. Set a reminder beforehand, leave yourself enough time to complete your BAS correctly and ensure you have the funds, the rest will be a breeze! Your records will be accurate, and you can just forget about them until the next deadline. Remember to be in constant contact with your Bookkeeper and/or Tax Agent about upcoming deadlines, they can give you a reminder also.

TALK TO YOUR ACCOUNTANT OR BOOKKEEPER — WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

Remember we are your friends! Some of you may call us “nerds”, “bean counters” or “number crunchers” but we still consider you our friend, we enjoy getting to know you and your business and how best we can assist. Your Accountant/Tax Agent is there to provide tax advice, strategic and succession planning whilst ensuring that you are operating to the best structure and protecting your most valuable assets.

Your bookkeeper is there to maintain your books on a daily or even weekly basis, they can lodge your monthly or quarterly BAS, ensure you are up to date with employee super, process payroll and maintain employee entitlements. There are lots of jobs that us bookkeepers can assist with.

Forte in Numbers – keeping small business in business by providing efficient and time saving opportunities to our clients.

P: 1300 436 783
E: info@forteinnumbers.com.au