If you find yourself questioning your decisions when it comes to your process, or you just need to remind yourself exactly what it is about you and your work that sets you aside from the rest, check in with yourself by asking these questions:

• What do my customers get in return for working with/buying from me?
• How does my work improve their lives?
• What specific outcomes can my clients expect from our work together?
• What is my USP that influenced them to buy from me in the first place?
• What do I do to continually improve myself and my brand?
• What do I have/ do that my competitors do not?

We all know that people buy from people, if your potential client trusts you and what you can deliver, your prices can be justified no matter its range. Getting these messages across in your branding is just as important as getting them into your pitch to customers, it needs to be a reflection of yourself. Your brand is often someone’s first impression, and it can validate or influence their decision to work with you.

When you are charging based on your worth, you’re also setting a high standard for the type of people you are looking to work with. The audience that perceives you as valuable are the same people who would benefit most from working with you, being able to resonate with your values is crucial.

Knowing Your Worth Will Allow You to Grow as A Business

When you understand your worth and are enthusiastic about how you can help others, the sky’s the limit. There are endless opportunities and connections to be made with the right people, especially through networking. When you believe in yourself, the universe shows up for you!

Whether it is a power pose or saying, it is always a good idea to have something that reminds you to stay true to what you are worth and attract those clients who recognise that.

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

So, with that in mind here are 3 strategies for approaching business goals for your business in 2021:

Revisit your long-term goals and objectives

The first step is to review your progress in 2020. Spend some time taking a step back and re-assessing where you are heading, and why. It is important that you are realistic about the current status of your business and the future outlook.

That is not to say you need to change your long-term goals and objectives. The goals and objectives may not need to change, but the timescales might.

Review your outgoings

Are there ways you could reduce your outgoings for 2021, or perhaps there are places you really need to invest? It is important that you put your business in a position where you can be agile and adaptive to changes in the marketplace.

Establish short, medium and long term goals

Having looked at what you achieved in 2020, compared to your business goals at the start of the year, build the strategy and plan on how you will progress towards your long-term goals in 2021.

Break down the long-term goals into smaller, short term goals. Then, identify the work that will be needed to hit them.

What do your goals look like when broken down monthly, weekly, daily? What will you need to do to achieve your targets? What are the KPIs that will ensure you will be on track to hit short, medium and long term goals?

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

But no need to panic just yet! There are several ways to manage an overdue invoice without compromising your professional relationship with your client.

10 step action plan for chasing late invoices:

It’s not Rude To Chase Your Invoices

In the early days, it can feel rude to contact a client to ask for payment on various occasions, and you might let small payments slip to avoid the risk of losing them as a client. As you become more experienced in business, you come to understand that chasing invoices is all part of running a business, you’ve delivered a service and they need to pay for it.

Set Payment Terms Expectations Early

No one likes to talk about money but setting the client’s expectations by discussing your payment terms early on can prevent problems further down the line.

Explain when you will invoice the client and what the payment terms will be. Most small companies tend to opt for a 30-day payment term, while larger companies might be happy with 60.

Warn your Clients About Interest Charges on Late Invoice Payments

Government legislation has been introduced that allows small businesses to charge up to 8 per cent interest plus the Bank of England base rate on late payments. They can also pass any debt recovery costs onto the client.

However, you should warn your clients from the off that interest will be charged if your invoices are not paid on time.

Don’t Work Yourself Up

When a payment is not made on time, the temptation is to think the worst and assume the client is trying to get away without paying. This is rarely the case. In most instances, the client will have simply forgotten to pay or have a prescheduled date when their payments are made.

Instead, we advise you to wait a couple of days after the payment was due before sending a polite reminder.

Send Them a Late Invoice Letter or Reminder

Your initial payment reminder should be polite and written in the right way. Simply stating that the payment is now overdue is often enough to prompt payment.

Send a Statement of Outstanding Cost

If no payment is forthcoming and you do not receive a response from the client asking for an extension, you should then send another email. This time explain that the invoice is now overdue and include a statement of the outstanding cost.

Give them a Polite call to Chase Payment

It’s a lot easier to ignore an email than it is to dismiss a request for payment made over the phone. If you have followed the advice above and still haven’t received the money, you need to speak to the client to ask if there’s an issue with the payment.

It may be that the client is experiencing cash flow problems of their own and wants additional time to pay. However, putting the client on the spot in this way should give you a clearer idea of their intentions, and help you decide what course of action to take next.

What if They Still don’t pay the Invoice?

If the client still doesn’t pay, then you need to continue to chase. Don’t let it consume your life or take too much time out of your working day, but make sure the client knows you are not willing to let it lie.

If payment is promised, ask for the date it will be made by. You should also cease all work for the client until the invoice has been paid.

Hire someone else to chase for you

Having someone else that doesn’t have a relationship with the clients makes the demand more formal. This person can also hold the client accountable and keep in contact with them when they say they are going to pay.

Should I Consider Legal Action for Unpaid Invoices?

If they still haven’t made the payment you may need to consider more drastic action like taking County Court action. A County Court Judgement against a company can adversely affect the credit rating of a company for six years. Often the threat of a CCJ will get the desired response within the processes 28 day period.

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

Organise your Christmas closure

If you are 100% closed over the Christmas break ensure that you have informed all of your clients and customers well in advance to allow them to prepare too.

Get your self assessment sorted

Ensure all of your accounts are prepared and ready for submission before taking a break, as business owners we all know that a looming deadline means that we can never relax and we all deserve a break over Christmas.

Plan your social media

Ensure that you continue to stay present on social media even if you aren’t working, schedule your posts to go out so that your name is still being seen online.

Update your Google My Business page with your opening times

You can add temporary opening times to your Google My Business profile to let customers know when you aren’t operating, but you can also direct them to the right contact if they needed to get in touch.

Promote your Boxing Day sales now

If you are having a Boxing day sale, or any type of sale for that matter, ensure you are promoting online as much as possible on the lead up to Christmas. When people are scrolling through social media on the days between Christmas and New Year, you want to make sure you are directing them to the specific sites pages they will find those unmissable deals.

Plan for holidays between Christmas and new year

If you have staff that have booked holiday between Christmas and New Years ensure that you have spoken to other members of your team to ensure a hand over has been completed and checked before distributing the work accordingly. Ensure plenty of notice to avoid any unexpected complications which could risk the work not being completed.

Send out gifts before you close up shop

If you are sending out Christmas gifts to your customers or clients this year, ensure you have them delivered to them before your business closes, you don’t want to be stressing about it not arriving and fighting with the supplier on Christmas eve. If your clients are local, it might be worth getting the gifts delivered to you and you give them out yourself to reduce the risk of the gift not being received.

Update your voicemail and out of office responses

Ensure that you record a new voicemail before closing your business that gives the details of who to contact in an emergency, your current operating hours (if any) and when you will be returning to the office. Also replicate this in your automatic email responses on the day you close your business. (don’t forget to turn this off when you are back, we have all done that before)

Plan your Calendar for January

Ensure all meetings and calls that are due to happen in January are planned fully before Christmas to relieve some stress of when you come back from your break. Ensure all Zoom calls, Phone calls and team meetings are scheduled and accepted in everyone’s diary now with exact dates and times so you know what you are coming back to.

Set your 2021 goals

Plan out all of your business goals that you want to achieve in 2021 so when you come back in the New Year you have an action plan, are motivated and can implement them immediately with the help from your team or associates.

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

However, leaving it to the last minute comes with so many risks, the biggest being that there might be something preventing you from completing it on time. With an instant fine of £100 if you miss the deadline, and daily fines of £10 (for up to 90 days) if you haven’t filed by 30th April – there are plenty of financial incentives not to be late.

Besides the obvious problems shown above, we at Jaxstar solutions know there are a few more very persuasive reasons why you should complete your Self-Assessment before the Christmas holidays…

It gives you more time to save for your tax bill

Unfortunately, there is no getting away from the fact that we all have to pay taxes, it’s good to know how much you owe and then be able to plan accordingly. Christmas is an expensive time of year, so it helps to know what future liabilities you have coming up, and how much you have leftover to play with.

You might receive your refund in time for Christmas/New Year
Obviously, we can’t promise that this will happen! However, if you are due a tax refund, wouldn’t it be lovely to have it in your bank account instead of HMRC’s? The sooner you provide all the information, the sooner your tax calculation can be completed, and that means you might get a nice cash bonus to enjoy during the festive season!

You have time to ask for help if needed

Self-Assessment forms can be complicated, and if you leave it until the last minute, there will be less time to sort out any queries, and you will be putting yourself, and your accountant, under unnecessary pressure to provide all the information in time.

You can relax over the Christmas break

We all know having a looming deadline in the back of your mind can drive you mad, especially at Christmas when you are supposed to be relacing with your family. If you get your Self-Assessment filed before the Christmas break you’ll be free to relax with a clear conscience, to fully enjoy the festive season with the satisfied feeling of having all your ducks in a row.

You can start the new year free to focus on plans and objectives

January is the perfect time to step back from your business, to think about what’s working well, and also what you’d like to change. Setting goals and sketching our a plan to achieve them is the most important thing you can do to bring success to your business. If you have got your Self-Assessment tax return out of the way, you will be able to dedicate time at the start of the year to planning your business success, rather than worrying about tax deadlines.

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

I use this time of year to do just that, so I thought I would share a few helpful tips of how I research and plan what I want to buy for the best price as well as some tips to ensure you are getting the best product and service from these retailers.

If you’re shopping for tech, know the life cycles

Most technology, including smartphones, TVs and tablets, is released on a one-year cycle, so you only need to wait 12 months before there’s a shiny new device to get excited about. Big tech companies will do their best to tempt you into buying their latest release, but the forgotten device celebrating its first birthday could still be more than adequate and it’s also far more likely to be on sale.

Research your favourite products’ price history

There are useful web tools you can use to check how much a product has been sold for previously so you can work out whether the ‘sale’ price really represents good value. CamelCamelCamel, for example, provides price history for products sold on Amazon, whereas PriceRunner has wider market coverage.

Make a list of different retailers selling the same product

The rush in activity on Black Friday can cause websites to crash and retailers to run out of stock. If this happens while you’re trying to buy a product, having a pre-prepared list of stockists will mean you can try others, so you don’t miss out.

Start your Black Friday shopping early

Many retailers have already launched deals a week before Black Friday and this year some retailers are running promotions through the whole of November. If you are waiting for Black Friday itself to search for bargains, remember the best deals are likely to be snapped up quickly – especially big-ticket items – and some products may already have sold out.

Check the returns policy

The one good thing that has come out of lockdown is that everyone will be shopping online which gives you more rights than shopping in store. You have 14 days from the date of delivery to cancel an order and a further 14 days to return it for a full refund. You should also get the original standard postal costs back. Many shops offer extended returns periods in the run up to Christmas – handy if you are buying a gift.

Ensure to check whether the policies entitle you to the actual money back or just a store credit/exchange!

Set up online accounts in advance

It is not unheard of for websites to slow to a crawl on Black Friday and for popular deals to sell out quickly, so you’ll want to get in and out as swiftly as possible.  Open online accounts with your favourite retailers, pre-enter your payment and shipping details, and save them to your account so you can complete purchases quickly once deals are live.

It’s also worth signing up to your favourite retailers’ newsletters and following them on social media as this may give you early access to deals.

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

Dropbox

Who else can relate to carrying around a bag full of paperwork, laptops and tablets because they contain different information you need? Dropbox is the multitaskers saviour, creating a virtual link between all of your Internet connected devices. Using the cloud allows users to save all images, documents, and videos of any size into their account, which can be accesses from anywhere and shared easily with other users.

Google Analytics

When you start your business, you know it’s all about the numbers. How many people visited my website? How many enquiries did I get? What page got the most traction? All these questions play a major role in the success of a small business and tracking them is no easy task. With Google Analytics, it is made simple with clear charts and graphs so that the least savvy individual can feel confident understanding their data.

Zoom

Zoom has revolutionised the long-distance relationship, and that is not just referring to the romantic ones. With everyone working remotely it has allowed the world to go on virtually, it’s video capabilities are great for large groups, break out rooms are ideal for networking and it’s customer usability is so simple that anyone and everyone can join.

Adobe sign or HelloSign

When sending contracts, emailing your clients or simply printing documents to store you should always have an electronic signature somewhere on the page to legally bind that document. Both these tools are really easy to use and moves you away from pen and paper.

Toggl
You should always have a document that highlights any meetings, tasks or projects you worked on to ensure you don’t prioritise your time in the wrong area’s. There are many time tracking apps, but I always recommend Toggl as it allows you to track your daily activities across different platforms; providing you with detailed insights and an opportunity to optimise your workflow by identifying areas where you can improve.

Xero

Ensure you have a good invoice management, it encourages regular cash flow, eases accounting woes, and saves you time. There are many to choose from, however one I know best and recommend is Xero. One of my favourite aspects of Xero is that it is ‘on the cloud’. That means you can access the software no matter where you are, and if you ever did not have access to your own computer, you can use an alternative. Xero can also be easily kept up to date as it takes its information directly from your online banking, you can see exactly where you stand financially, whenever you want.

Receipt bank or Hubdoc

Receipt Bank is an easy way to capture all the information needed for a set of accounts. By simply sending all invoices and receipts to your own personalised email address or taking a photo and sending through the app, Receipt Bank captures all the information and reports it back into Xero.

Hubdoc is Xero’s version of Receipt Bank. It isn’t as intuitive as Receipt Bank but does a good imitation and can  save lots of time

LastPass

A password manager makes your internet experience easier and safer. With a password manager like LastPass to manage your logins, it is easy to have a strong, unique password for every online account and improve your online security. It stores login information of various accounts and automatically enters them into web forms to save you time.

GoCardless or Stripe

GoCardless is an online tool which makes it easy for your regular customers to pay you by Direct Debit. GoCardless removes the need for customers to view, approve, and action any invoices you send, so you don’t need to wait around for clients to authorise payment upon receipt of a new bill – the payment is made automatically.

Google My Business

Having a GMB page is free advertising for your business, that you simply apply for and verify to appear in local searches. All you must do is regularly update your profile and when people google keywords that are relevant, you will be at the top of the list.

If you have any questions about any of these tools please send us a message and we would be more than happy to help set, you up or help you to fully utilise your account. As we are partners with many of these providers we may be able to offer at a reduced rate too.

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

Have a clearly written payment policy to prevent problems. Have customers sign the agreement, which states when payment is due and what consequences there will be for late payment.

Include specific due dates on your invoices. Adding the phrase “payable in 30 days” is less firm than “due on 30^th”. So remember to include a specific date.

Set up company procedures for collections. Define whose job it is to follow up with custom

So, here are my top 10 tips to improve your credit control process:ers and exactly when statements and reminder letters should be sent and phone calls made. If you can give someone else the job of chasing invoices it can ensure your relationship with the client is not affected.

Email invoices instead of mailing them to shorten the collection cycle. Discuss with your client during the onboarding process of how they would like to receive their invoice, but I would always recommend pushing to do it online.

When a payment date has passed, follow up by phone and email and agree timescales.

Emails and paperwork can easily be forgotten or lost. Phone calls and face-to-face meetings are more effective and ensure you get a response from your client and hold them accountable to their promises.

Remain calm and professional. This is a business transaction -You delivered a product or service, and the client owes you money. Do not let your emotions get the better of you, ensure you stick to your process no matter what your relationship is with the client.

Be precise. Do not let a client end the conversation by saying, “I’ll send something soon.” Get a commitment to a specific amount by a set date. Then summarise the conversation to the client so there is no misunderstanding and send a follow-up email.

Document every point of contact with clients.

This can include emails, letters, phone calls, etc. It can make it easier to track how many times they have been contacted, what they have promised and when the process began to monitor when more serious action needs to be taken.

Follow up each time a customer does not honour a payment commitment.

If for some reason you haven’t been paid and there is an acceptable reason, explain that you must be notified in advance when a payment will be late and then ask when you can expect to receive it.

Hire an external member of staff to do the chasing

Outsource the job can get this done without letting it affect the day-to-day running on your business. Its that simple!

If you are struggling to chase your invoices or maybe you have had relationships ruined with your customers over late payment, please give me a call at 07811393520 and I can help you to implement a process that ensures your business gets paid without any hassle.

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

Try these 10 ways to help you manage your time better so you can push through distractions and get things done:

Make a to-do list:

Lists keep us organised, keep us on track, and keep us on top of where we are and what still needs doing.

Prioritise

At first, you’ll find yourself assigning top priorities that really aren’t the most critical.  Like with everything else, learning to prioritise is a trial-and-error process.

Set SMART goals

By setting goals for what you need to get done before lunch, before quitting time, or by the end of the month, you know how fast you have to work and how much time should be spent on each project.

Track your time

Keep track of your time on each task for a couple days, you’ll get a feel for when you’re spending your time appropriately on goal-oriented activities and when you’re simply wasting it on non-productive things.  This will also allow you to think about, do you need to be doing this task or can it be someone else in the business.

Do not attempt to multitask

Stay focused on one thing and one thing only, and only move on to the next task when the first one is complete.

Minimise distractions

Shut the door, close the widow, put your headphones in and stay away from social media and other Internet distractions.

Delegate responsibilities

Having another responsible person take over some of your tasks is like getting twice as much done in the same amount of time.

Give yourself rest periods

You are simply not going to be able to perform at 100% all the time.  To prevent the inevitable burnout, you have to give yourself the freedom to rest and recoup.  Not only will you be able to perform more efficiently when you approach a problem fresh-faced, you may actually come up with solutions and better ways to approach a problem while you’re not actively working on it.

Plan for tomorrow today

Use the last 10 or 20 minutes of the day to plan at least the first part of tomorrow, this will let you start the new day with momentum.

Use the Pomodoro technique

The pomodoro technique is when you set yourself a task and set the timer for 25 minutes turning off phones, emails, anything that could distract you. After 25 minutes you take a 5 minute break and then do another task for 25 minutes. It’s a really productive way of working and its small chunks of time which work really well. If there’s a larger task which you know will take more than 25 mins then you set timer for 50 mins but you should never go longer than 50 mins without a break.

If you would like to find out more about this technique, you can find all of the amazing advice and tricks here https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique.

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.

Before the pandemic when I met a new client we would talk over the phone to set up a meeting, have a meeting where we discussed what they needed support with I would be on my way. I would go back to my office, complete my tasks and regularly catch up with the client to let them know when tasks were completed.

Do not get me wrong, all of my clients were extremely happy with my work but working through Zoom has opened a new door.

Now, I meet with my client via Zoom where we discuss what needs doing and do it then and there. We simply share screens and work through the problems together and come up with a solution. By showing how I operate and solve these problems not only allows my clients to recognise where they went wrong, but also learn new skills that can help them to run their business.

By showing people how I solve their problems highlights how easy some processes can be when you take the right steps, so although people say I am an ‘expert’ when it comes to things like Xero, physically showing people how to build the foundations helps them to understand how easy it really can be and encourages them to practice these new found skills.

Jackie Forster

Jaxstar Solutions is a valuable resource used by Small Businesses and Corporate organisations to help in the day to day running and operational side of their business, enabling them to get back out there and do what they do best…sell their products and services to make money.