How Protected Is Your Business?

If you are managing a small business, then you know how important it is to manage your finances closely. You may not yet have a financial accountancy team working with you to keep your finances up to date and managed correctly, which means that you must pay even closer attention to what’s going on. When you fail to do this, you can find yourself in some serious business trouble. You don't have the same capacity for finances as the big dogs on the market. Which means that it’s highly likely that you are working to a much smaller financial budget, too.

When you work on a shoestring budget, it’s more obvious when there are hiccups in your business cash flow. However, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't keep a very close eye on what’s going on in your money and your business. If you aren’t paying attention, you’re going to be at more of a risk than any other business out there. 

Protecting your finances is so much more than having a safe in the office under lock and key. It’s knowing where the threats to your finances are coming from and managing them accordingly. There are several ways in which you can do this, and it’s up to you to ensure that you are paying careful attention at all times – just in case something does go wrong. With this in mind, let’s take a closer look at how you can financially protect your business so that you aren’t worrying about whether your finances are at risk.

Know Your Rights

When you have to manage your business finances, you have to know your rights. For example, if someone was siphoning money from your bank account, you’d contact the fraud team in your business to get the money back, right? Well, there is a DD guarantee in place when the money comes out of your business bank account when you weren’t expecting it to and your bank can recover the funds, protecting your finances along the way. Knowing about your rights when it comes to your money is a big deal, as you will need to be aware of things like this should you notice money disappearing.

Protect Your Credit Rating

Your business will need to borrow money at some point or another, and lenders no longer decide on your financial fate on a handshake and a promise. Now, they turn to credit ratings and if the number is too low, the computer says no. So, if you want your business to continue to be able to borrow, you must protect your credit rating. Demonstrating that you pay every bill and use credit responsibly will be noticed by credit reference agencies, so make sure that you are settling all of your bills on time and you’ll manage to find the right solution to borrow. This will protect your credit rating over time.

Shield From Liabilities

Being sued is no joke, and you can ensure that you avoid this by insuring yourself. You are a business, which means that you need Employers’ Liability Insurance cover to protect you from injury claims from employees and other claims from the public, for which you’ll need public liability insurance. You should also consider professional liability cover, and every other insurance that you have been advised to have, too. Just in case. It’s always better to protect and deal with a problem later than be sued without insurance now.

Worry About Your Data

Customer data is important, but so is yours. Your credit card and bank account information is just as valuable as anyone else’s, and you could be liable for massive fines if your customer data is leaked – it’s not worth not protecting. Make sure that your IT systems are completely covered with a team managing the risks.

Protect Your Relationships

The better your suppliers trust you, you will be able to gain their support. You must always pay your invoices on time, and if you don’t, suppliers will let others know you cannot be trusted. Keep your payments made on time and you can protect those supplier relationships and ensure you gain discounts and offers through sheer trust alone.

Watch Your Cash

So many businesses still choose to use cash and while this sounds risky in this digital age, your cash cannot be hacked. Of course, it can be pocketed by employees or those who don't believe in the same protection for your money. Keep your cash under lock and key, and that way, you don’t have to consider your cash may be stolen.