It’s a new year, and a chance to take a fresh look at your budget plan to see where your money is going. With so many avenues for your money to be spent, where does print media fall? In this blog, we’ll take a look at a business budget planning and help you spend your money wisely.
What is a Business Budget Plan?
Whether your business is large or small, having a business budget plan is essential to being profitable. Your business budget should contain this information:
- Fixed Costs (rent, utilities, licenses and other monthly costs)
- Variable Costs (materials and production expenses)
- Semi-Variable Costs (wages and marketing expenses)
- Expected Sales (a forecast of what you plan to make based on previous year(s)
- Profits (sales and income minus costs)
If you have multiple businesses, or stores, create a budget for each location, then create a company wide plan based off the information from the locations.
Plan Strategically
As a business, you should have an idea of where you want to be. Use a written mission statement to stay on track of what you are about. Create a strategic plan for the year by forecasting goals you want to accomplish. Write them down and review periodically to make sure you are on track.
Have a Goal
Implement your plan and don’t be afraid to set goals. You want your business to thrive and grow, and creating goals to achieve success is very important. Try not to envision unattainable goals; keep them small, but always progressive. Use your budget to plan resources that will go towards reaching your goals.
Goal Expenses
In your budget, plan for the goals you want and the associated cost of achieving them. As you proceed through the year, review your expenses and can see which goals have been met under budget and which goals need to be rethought because of higher expenses.
Budget Variances and how to deal with them
Real life does not always go as planned. Throughout the year, things will go wrong, and unexpected needs will arise. These are unavoidable but manageable budget variances you will have to deal with. A print job had a glaring error that went unchecked until the job printed and shipped. Add a little into your annual budget to accommodate for these problems. Always look into why a variance happened and see what steps can be taken in the future to prevent these costly errors.
Where Does Print Fall in My Budget?
Marketing expenses are broad and cover a multitude of areas, including print media. If you budget for a new hire, expenses like business cards, name badges and personalized apparel will need to be accounted for. An annual report showing the growth and success of your business is beneficial to attract new clients. NCR Forms for billing and shipping should also be included when budgeting.
A good strategic plan along with budgeting procedures will help you become a more profitable company and allow you to grow and expand your services. A little planning at the beginning and quarterly or monthly reviews will help you stay on track and plan for the future.
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