‘Budget’ is not exactly an attractive term. To most of us, it brings to mind the need to watch our dollars, be frugal and curb activity. But a business owner could imagine ‘budget’ more creatively. Instead of thinking in static income and expense terms, see your capital, operations and costs singing in a symphony choir– and you are the conductor.

The chorus never stops singing. And if you choose to ‘tune out’, expect that your business’s performance may not sound as great as you imagined it could be, when you stop to examine it more closely.

Gone are the days of sitting down once a year, traditionally in July or January, to hash out what your expected income and expenditure will be and dividing it by 12 – then filing it under ‘B’ in the cabinet.

Fortunately, keeping that ‘conductor’s eye’ over your finances is easier than it’s ever been. That’s where your accountant comes in. Whether you work best in longer-term plans like quarterly or half-yearly, or whether you want to know week to week how your business is performing, we can set up the analysis and reporting functions for total transparency.

Making decisions based on real-time information is essential for every business, and it’s absolutely crucial in our very fluid and dynamic business environment. What we’re talking about is the power of being able, at the flick of a finger, to take advantage of a business opportunity or to spot a vulnerability and eliminate it.

We teach our clients to stay in control using Xero. As Peter Shonhan, Partner, explained in Kennas’ February podcast episode, “What we try and do here at Kennas is essentially give the power of accounting back to the client so they can understand their figures.”

If there is a question or issue, Xero is cloud-based accounting, so your accountant can jump in at the same time as you. Peter explains, “What you see is what I see so we can fix it for you right there and then.” People like graziers and tradies really enjoy using Xero from their phone, right in the paddock or on the building site.

There’s no need to wait till the end of the week or month to ‘sit down and do the books’ anymore. Invoice your clients straight after you’ve delivered your product or service and get paid sooner! Bank reconciliations? Ledgers? Almost bywords of the past, because real-time transacting means that you know your current balances all the time.

As Xero Gold Partners, Kennas have specialist certification and an extensive client base that use Xero and its massive associated ecosystem of applications. They can advise on helpful add-ons to the basic system that can be customised for different industries, activities and actions. You can trust that our dedicated Xero team will keep your financial systems operating at peak efficiency.

 During the year that was (not mentioning any names that we’re all tired of hearing), Kennas helped a client to get their finances singing sweetly all the way through the crisis. The team analysed the client’s real-time data of their Xero file monthly and ensured that their finances were shaped realistically based on the current trading environment. This meant that the business was able to keep its staff members employed whilst also being able to set themselves up for long-term stability.

It may be the end of February, but it’s never too late to improve your budgeting know-how and improve your bottom line. Our monthly podcast, ‘125 Years and Counting’, will regularly feature Xero hints and tips, so it’s always a good listen.

If you have a question or issue, pick up your conductor’s baton by calling us to talk about getting your income and expenses totally tuned up and singing sweetly.