Your finance functions those functions in your business that look after your finances.

They include all your book-keeping and record-keeping as well as sales and buying functions. Often small businesses leave everything to one person - a book-keeper, or perhaps the business owner "keeping the books" after hours.

Yet, efficient finance functions save you money and provide all the early warning information that could move your business from also-ran to successful.

Here are 7 ways to improve the performance of your finance functions.

1. Set a goal

Set a goal of what you want to achieve. What do you want to be done and when by? What reports do you want to be produced and how often? Which parts need improvement and by how much?

There is no point in starting to improve your finance functions without knowing what you want to do.

2. Look at all your finance functions

Don't just restrict your reviews to one part. Keep an open mind and look at all finance functions to see what can be improved.

For example, if you restricted your review of improvements to debtor collection, you might miss the fact that customers are paying late because the customer sign on process doesn't effectively discuss payment terms.

3. Take the right time

Don't rush your review. It takes time to work through what's not good enough yet, and to come up with ideas on how to improve.

4. Dedicate resources

Make sure that you set aside time for the people involved to work on the projects.

Ensure that they have sufficient resources including outside assistance if required. Your external accountant could help you sort through efficiency issues faster than you could internally - use their expertise.

5. Do things in the right order

Once you have identified improvement opportunities, make sure that you understand how each system may affect another. Then tackle them in the right order so that the benefits flow on to the other.

6. Measure progress

Review progress against your goals. Make sure you are on track from time to time.

If you believe your finance functions are inefficient or include bottlenecks, contact us to have a discussion about how we can help you identify what needs improvement and work with you to put a process into place to improve your finance functions.

Go to our website at otsmanagement.com.au and click on the "Contact Us" tab.