How To Prepare a Budget for a Service Business

Budgeting is a tool for dealing with the future. It helps you turn expectations into reality.

An increase in profit should be the first consideration when you think about the prospect for your business in the next year. Working up a budget helps you to determine whether or not your profit goal is within reach.

When the figures are all together, you have answers to questions such as: What sales will be needed to achieve the desired profit? What fixed expenses will be necessary to support these sales? What variable expense will be incurred in producing the services?

Because business is not a cut-and-dried affair, the first budget often will uncover problems and suggest choices. Working up additional budgets will help you decide what changes to make in order to have a workable plan for next year.

Many owner-managers run their businesses without a planned goal. In trying to survive from week to week and from month to month, such owner-managers overlook an important management tool-budgeting. Whether the plan is for next year, for the next 3 years, or for the next 5 years, budgeting can help just as a map helps you to keep on the right road.

Why Budget

A budget is a plan that enables you to set a goal and list the steps which are necessary to reach that goal. Thus, a budget helps you think about what you want your business to do in the future. By planning, you are in a better position to act to prevent crises.

In its simplest form, a budget is a detailed plan of future receipts and expenditures - projected profit and loss statement. Thus, once the period for which you have budgeted is completed, you can compare actual results with anticipated goals. If some of your expenses, for example, are higher than you expected, you can start looking for ways to cut them. Conversely, if you have fallen short of your goal, you may want to look for ways to increase your income.

Budget makers can start either with a forecast of sales and work down or with a forecast of profits and work up. Most businesses use the latter method. In other words, you decide what profit you want to make and then list the expenses that you will incur in order to make that predetermined profit.

A Plan For Increased Profit

Before you can use a budget as a plan for increased profit, you have to be sure that your present profit is what it should be. In a service business, the year-end profit should be large enough to make a return on your investment and a return on your own work-pay.

Value Of Owner's Service. Skilled crafts people who own service businesses are kidding themselves if their firms' profits are less than they can earn working for someone else. Your net profit after taxes should be at least as much as you can earn if you worked at your trade for a weekly pay check.

Return On Investment. The year-end profit is too low it does not also include a return on the owner-manager's investment. That investment includes the money you put into the firm when you started it and the profit of prior years which you left in the firm - retained earnings. You should check to be sure that the rate of return on your investment is what it should be. Your trade association should be able to provide guidelines about the rate of return on investment in your line of business. Your accountant and banker are also sources of help.

Your Targeted Income. After you know what you made last year, you can set a profit goal for next year. Be sure that your goal includes a return on your services and a return on your investment. Your goal should also include an amount for State and Federal taxes. For example, if you want to make 10,000 after taxes, your goal before taxes should be about 13,333. You have to add this 3,333 to take care of State and Federal taxes. Keep in mind that the larger the goal, the larger the amount which will have to be added to account for taxes. Your accountant can help you determine that amount.

Can You Reach The Goal

Once you have decided on your profit target, the next step in preparing a budget is to determine whether you can achieve this. To do this, you must project your fixed costs and your variable costs. From these three figures - profit, fixed expenses, and variable expenses - you can determine your "hoped for" total income.

In gathering figures, keep in mind that without accurate information planning becomes guessing. The owner-manager who has never budgeted should talk with an accountant about a recordkeeping system. Changes may be needed to provide the necessary budget information. It may be that your present system does not break costs down into fixed and variable expenses, or it may be that you need to have a profit and loss (or income) statement at more frequent intervals to determine the seasonal fluctuations of your revenues and expenses.

Fixed Expenses. Regardless of sales, fixed expenses stay the same. Several examples of fixed expenses are insurance, rent, taxes on property, wages paid to salaried employees, depreciation of equipment, interest on borrowed money, building maintenance costs, office salaries, and office expenses.

Variable Expenses. This type of expense varies with sales. In some service businesses, the cost of labor is the biggest factor. Sales commissions, payroll taxes, insurance, advertising, and delivery expenses are other examples of variable expenses.

Determine Your Expected Service Income. Your expected service income contribution is the difference between sales and the variable expenses that are necessary to produce these sales. When this difference equals fixed expenses and the desired profit, you have a workable budget.

Compare your financial plan occasionally with real operations figures. With powerful records you can accomplish this. Then, where
discrepancies appear it is possible to take corrective actions before it's too late. The right decisions for the ideal corrective
action depends upon your own understanding of management methods in purchasing, pricing, selling, selecting and training staff,
and tackling other management issues.

You probably are thinking you are able to employ a bookkeeper or a Accountant to deal with the record keeping for you. Yes, you
can. But remember two very important facts:

1. Supply the accountant with true input. If you buy something And don't record the sum in your organization checkbook, the
accountant can't enter it. Should you sell something for cash and don't record it, then the accountant won't know about it. The
documents the accountant prepares will probably be no greater than the information you provide.

2. Utilize the documents to make decisions. If you moved to a physician And he told you you were sick and needed certain medicine
to get well, you would follow his advice. Should you pay an accountant and he informs you your earnings are down this season, do
not hide your head in the sand and pretend that the problem will go away. It won't.

Business Management Roll in Personnel Selection. If your business Will be large enough to require outside assistance, a
significant responsibility will be the choice and coaching of one or more workers. You may begin with relatives or business
partners that will help you. But if the company grows - as you hope it will - the time will come when you must select and train
personnel.

Careful selection of personnel is vital. To Pick the right Employees decide beforehand what you need each one to do.

Then search for applicants to fulfill these particular needs. In a small Business you may need flexible employees who can shift
from task to task as needed. Include this in the description of the jobs you would like to fill. At precisely the same time, look
ahead and organize your hiring to assure an organization of people capable of performing every crucial role. In a retail store, a
salesperson may likewise do stock-keeping or accounting at the outset, but as the business grows you'll need sales people,
stock-keepers and bookkeepers.

Once the job descriptions are written, line up applicants whom To make a choice. Do not be swayed by clients who might suggest
relatives. If the applicant does not succeed, you may drop a client in addition to an employee. Some sources of potential new
employees are:

1. Tips with friends, business acquaintances. 2. Employment agencies. 3. Placement bureaus of top schools, business schools, and
colleges. 4. Trade and industrial institutions. 5. Help-wanted advertisements in neighborhood papers.

Your next job is to screen want ad answers or application Forms delivered by employment agencies. Some applicants will be
eliminated sight unseen. For each of the other people, the application form or letter will act as a foundation for the interview
that ought to be conducted in private. Put the applicant at ease by describing your business generally and the occupation in
particular. As soon as you've completed this, invite the applicant to speak. Selecting the proper person is very important.
Consult your questions carefully to learn everything about the applicant that's pertinent to this job.

References are a must, and should be assessed prior to making a final decision. Check through an individual visit or a telephone
call directly to the applicant's immediate previous manager, whenever at all possible. Confirm that the information given you is
correct. Consider, with conclusion, any negative remarks you hear and what is not said.

Checking references may bring to light significant Details Which may help save you money and future inconvenience.

Personnel Training. A well-selected worker is only a possible Asset to your business. Whether or not he or she becomes a true
asset is dependent upon your training. Remember:

To allow adequate time for instruction. Not to anticipate too much from The trainee in too brief a time. To let the employee learn
by doing under actual working conditions, with close supervision. To follow up on your training.

Check the employee's operation after he or she has been at work For a time. Re-explain important points and short cuts; bring the
employee current on new developments and encourage inquiries. Training is a continuous process which becomes constructive
oversight.

Personnel Supervision. Supervision is the third essential of employees control. Fantastic oversight will reduce the cost of
operating your business by cutting back on the number of employee mistakes. If mistakes are corrected early, employees will get
more satisfaction out of their jobs and perform much better.

Motivating Employees. Small businesses sometimes face particular Problems in motivating employees. In a large company, a Fantastic
employee can see An chance to progress into management. In a small company, you are the management. One thing you may wish to
Think about would be to give good employees a Small share of their proceeds, either through part-ownership or a profit-sharing
plan. Someone who has a"share of the activity" is going to be more Concerned about helping to make a success of the business
enterprise.

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