Financial Management Articles

3 Ways to Prepare for Budgeting Season

Whether we like it or not, budgeting season is right around the corner. It begins as early as August, with finance teams hoping to wrap up the annual budget before their set yearly deadline, typically in December. The importance of…

4 Revenue Forecasting Models for Professional Services

Former IBM chairman and CEO Lou Gerstner once said, “In business, what you can anticipate, you can manage.” It’s a particularly apt quote to describe the importance of revenue forecasting, a process where companies build…

revenue forecasting professional services

4 Steps to Creating a Financial Plan for Your Small Business

When it comes to long-term business success, preparation is the name of the game. And the key to that preparation is a solid financial plan. It helps you pitch investors, anticipate growth and weather cash flow…

5 Best Practices to Perfect Rolling Forecasts

Mike Tyson famously said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” The pandemic has been a solid uppercut worthy of Mike himself. And it doesn’t take a first-quarter TKO; financial plans get smacked around…

10 Small Business Startup Costs

If you buy into the Silicon Valley cliché, startup expenses boil down to a team of coders with gaming laptops, some cloud infrastructure, workspace in a hip incubator and an endless supply of Red Bull, all paid for by…

10 Small-Business Financial Tips for 2021

Two businesses. Two smart leadership teams, two motivated staffs, two potential winning products. So why is one growing and the other floundering?…

13 Tips to Solve Cash Flow Problems

How’s business? For most companies, the answer changes by the month. After all, few businesses maintain consistent revenue throughout the year. But if you’re consistently struggling to pay the bills, you likely have a…

15 Ways to Minimise Financial Risks in Business

This paradox highlights the diversity of financial risks and their sources and underscores the need for business leaders to understand the financial risks inherent in their companies…

19 Key Small Business Financial Ratios to Track

Key performance indicators (KPIs) were top of mind for finance teams surveyed for NetSuite’s Winter Outlook report. Finance teams said they’re focused on using data more effectively, producing better reports on KPIs and…

A Guide to Financial Modeling for Startups and Small Businesses

Economic uncertainty was already a major concern for small businesses surveyed by the NFIB, and those results reflect pre-pandemic conditions. That uncertainty is a big reason why finance leaders want to better understand how and where their money is spent, and building financial models…

A Guide to Financial Projections for Startups

Financial projections and financial forecasting provide a view into the future financial health of your startup. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably, but there are key distinctions that make one a better tool for…

financial projections forecast for startups

Cash Flow Analysis: Basics, Benefits and How to Do It

Cash flow is the amount of cash and cash equivalents, such as securities, that a business generates or spends over a set time period. Cash on hand determines a company’s runway—the more cash on hand and the lower…

Create Better Budgets and Forecasts with Integrated NetSuite Financial and Operational Data

Successfully modelling, forecasting and reporting on business performance can be incredibly difficult, especially when factoring in changes in consumer demand, delays in supply chains and the evolution of…

xP&A: Extending FP&A Principles Beyond the Finance Department

Extending financial planning and analysis (FP&A) principles beyond the finance department, which the analyst firm Gartner has coined xP&A, has taken on greater importance recently. Doing so requires examining…

Financial Statements for Small Businesses: Tips & Samples

Regardless of your business’ size or the industry in which it operates, there are several financial statements you need to complete and update on a regular basis.

Financial Management Explained: Scope, Objectives and Importance

In business, financial management is the practice of handling a company’s finances in a way that allows it to be successful and compliant with regulations. That takes both a high-level plan and boots-on-the-ground execution…

How Much of Sales or Gross Revenue Should go Toward my Small Business Payroll?

Managing small business payroll often involves a delicate balance between maximising revenue and limiting labour costs. If you have more employees than you need—or you pay them more than necessary—your payroll…

How to Reduce IT Costs: 15 Ways to Slim Your IT Budget

Today’s IT departments have a wide range of responsibilities, ranging from performing the most pedestrian maintenance functions to exploring the frontiers of machine learning and artificial intelligence. It’s hard to…

IT Services Budgeting: How-To & What to Include

Any business that relies on technology systems — regardless of its size or industry — should have a well-crafted IT services budget. Not only has technology spending evolved into a significant portion of most companies’…

Key Financial Forecasting Methods Explained

Financial forecasting arms executives with specific and accurate predictions they can use to make plans for the company, barring unforeseen circumstances. Those plans can affect everything from budgeting, hiring, sales…

Net Income vs. Revenue: What’s the Difference?

The terms “income” and “revenue” are often used interchangeably. But, for a business, they have totally different meanings. Net income is the profit a business generates, while revenue is the money the business earns. Both…

NetSuite 2024.2 Brings New Visibility and Efficiency

NetSuite 2024 Release 2 contains a host of new features designed to help companies optimise their business performance, including increased visibility into workforce costs, improved bill capture accuracy, and more banks…

Scenario Analysis Explained

In business as in life, the only thing that’s certain is uncertainty. Scenario analysis is a powerful process for navigating the uncertainty of the future by analysing the potential business…

Scenario Planning: Strategy, Steps and Practical Examples

If anything magnifies the value of scenario planning, it's a pandemic — even if most companies didn't have “economy grinds to a halt” in their modelling. In the context of a business, scenario planning is a way to assert control over…

The Importance of Financial Forecasting

Business leaders who adopt and maintain financial forecasting best practices are better positioned to grow — and to weather unexpected setbacks. While it’s impossible to predict the future, as the COVID-19 pandemic of…

What Are Capital Expenditures (CapEx) & Why Are They Important?

In accounting, a capital item is any asset, from real estate to office furniture to company vehicles, that’s carried on the balance sheet and depreciated over a set period of time…

What Are Value Drivers? Financial vs Nonfinancial

A value driver is a deceptively simple concept applicable to every product, service and entire business: It’s the thing or things that make the product, service or business worth paying for. Value drivers can be as tangible as…

What Is Agile Finance? An Expert Guide

Today’s business environment is fast paced, hypercompetitive and constantly changing. It’s no place for the rearview-mirror finance and accounting processes of old. Instead, companies are starting to adopt agile finance…

What is Continuous Planning?

Every business must be able to quickly respond to external factors and adapt to shifting priorities. One way to stay ahead of the game is through continuous planning. This approach eschews the traditionally siloed and…

What Is Insolvency? Definition and Procedures

A business should always strive to stay solvent by meeting its financial obligations. But cash flow troubles can arise, potentially resulting in insolvency…

What Is a Financial Statement Audit?

Some cringe at the word “audit.” But those of us with hands-on experience understand the value of financial statement audits. Businesses often perceive audits as an invasion of their books and records…

What Is Net Income? How to Calculate and Why

Understanding the financial health of your business is vital. And there are multiple important metrics you should track that can offer valuable insight. But perhaps the most important is net income, which indicates whether…

What Is the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM)? An Expert Guide

Most investors understand that risk directly correlates with reward. The capital asset pricing model (CAPM) calculates the trade-off between the two elements and is commonly used by portfolio managers and other…

What Your Finance Team Needs to Know About Cybersecurity

When I perform cybersecurity assessments, my attention quickly turns to the finance team. It doesn’t matter what the industry is. It doesn’t matter the size of the organisation. It doesn’t matter where…

Zero-Based Budgeting Revisited: A Practical Guide for 2024

Along with bell bottoms, hoop earrings and shaggy fringe bangs, another ‘70s trend looks to be making a resurgence in 2020: zero-based budgeting (ZBB). And, like shaggy bangs, it’s hard to pull off…