Review is Critical to Small Business Success- 3 Recommendations

Don’t underestimate the critical process of review as it will align management to position your business for success.

  Core to management and the success of any business is to establish benchmarks and map progress within predetermined periods of time. Here are some recommendations to take advantage of this integral process for strong management:

• Whether it’s sales, operational, or financial goals, the review process plays an absolutely integral role in the success of any business.
• The review process is the only way for a business owner to track progress against sales, operational, and financial targets.
• Sales review should take place at least quarterly, financial review monthly, and in many cases, operational review should be an ongoing daily process.

Whether you’re talking about sales, operations, or finance, the review process plays an absolutely integral role in the success of any business. Review is critical for accountability, planning, and achieving business goals, at all levels of the company. Indeed, the review process is the only way to know if you are on target to achieve your sales, operational, and financial objectives. The Sales Review Process The sales review process details where you currently are in terms of meeting your sales quota. It gives you information about when to reach out to a prospective client again or to begin a new sales initiatives, and in some cases, it may even reveal a necessary change to the sales team or process. Successful companies execute a thorough sales review on no less than a quarterly basis. Operational Review Operational review is more of an ongoing process than sales review; in fact, many successful companies review their operations on a daily basis. Daily operational review reveals deep insight into the everyday functions of a company that keep cash flow moving. For example:

• What orders are outstanding?
• What customers do I have to contact?
• Are we on schedule to deliver?

Do we have to make adjustments or increase resources to meet our deadlines? The daily review process for management operations is what keeps a company’s gears churning day-in and day-out.  Accounting and Financial Review When it comes to accounting and finance review, the monthly close process is crucial to any firm’s financial stability. Once all of that month’s transactions are posted and accounts have been reconciled, the financial review process begins by making sure that monthly financial statements are accurate. Do all of the accounts add up in accordance with your records? If so, management can then evaluate the progress of financial initiatives and begin planning for next month based on the results shown in the financial statements. Without a structured and timely review process, the business owner is lacking critical information that enables the company to achieve its goals, whether sales, operational, or financial in nature. Ensure that your review process is solid, and empower your company to thrive. Related articles: Critical Business Data Measuring What You manage Big Data Analytics and Small Business A Tale of Two Managers