Accounting & Finance COVID-19 and Small Business

Keeping competitive during COVID’s second wave

Written by Emma Worden

The business sector has had to adapt as countries around the world went into lockdown and the second wave of COVID-19 has meant that more full time workers are losing their jobs.

We’ve compiled some effective solutions that you can leverage to keep your business afloat and drive customers through your doors when you reopen. Let’s take a look at five key tips to implement to help your business retain its competitive edge.

Running a thorough financial analysis

Be meticulous with your financial management to maximise cash flow, solidify your financial position and minimise expenses. Make sound investment decisions and invest in the right departments, strategies and innovation plans in order to keep generating leads and sales for the duration of the crisis. The first step is assessing financial damage incurred by your business.

Create comprehensive financial reports detailing the impact of COVID-19 on your cash flow. With this information in hand, you can start cutting out any extraneous or non-mission-critical expenses and  start allocating the existing capital towards more lucrative projects. Run thorough financial projections that are based on socio-economic forecasts in the regions where you have a brand presence.

Managing a remote workforce

Small business owners have had to guide their employees into a work from home (WFH) model. For your employees to be able to work from home like pros, you have to provide them with the right technology to streamline and organise workflow and allow for seamless project and task management in the digital realm.

Start researching project management tools that let your team members collaborate on  centralised platform in real time. You should also invest in an employee monitoring tool so that you can keep a watchful eye on your employee’s productivity levels as they work remotely.

Integrating better communication technology

To run a successful digital business and a thriving remote workforce, you need to have better communication tech at your disposal than the traditional email-plus-phone combo. While email is good for general, low-priority communication, phone communication is necessary for real-time collaboration and boosting productivity among teams. VoIP (voice over internet protocol) systems are the best option for digital work environments.

This is especially important for decentralised customer service departments that can rack up quite a phone bill. So how much does VoIP cost compared to traditional phone systems? This cloud-based technology can save you hundreds of dollars on a monthly basis whilst bringing numerous handy features to the table. With VoIP, you can facilitate seamless and affordable communication between teams and customer service agents and your customers from anywhere in the world.

Taking your business online

The COVID-19 crisis has significantly increased the rate of Ecommerce integration across the business sector.  One of the best ways to preserve your financial future is to sell your products online and create a thriving digital presence. This will keep up your conversion rate until you’re able to reopen your physical business again.

Focusing on innovation

Now is not the time to stop innovating. Even though the lockdown and the economic shift have forced many companies to put their innovation plans on the backburner, global consumers want their favourite brands to deliver exciting developments. Keep customers interested by allocating your resources towards bringing new products to market in the digital realm.

Wrapping up

COVID-19 has permanently altered the business landscape. Many companies will not make it through but ensuring your business has a fighting chance starts with taking the right steps now. Use these tips to improve your processes, solidify your financial standing and set the stage for growth after the crisis is over.

“The opinions expressed by BizWitty Contributors are their own, not those of BizCover and should not be relied upon in place of appropriate professional advice. Please read our full disclaimer."

About the author

Emma Worden

Emma Worden is a business manager from Sydney. Also she is a
blogger at Bizzmarkblog.com. She enjoys writing and giving advice about
small businesses and finance.