4 Tips for Building Better Business Money Habits in the New Year

In the world of money management, the minute you decide to start a business is the minute you become tied to the financial responsibilities that come with it.

This doesn’t mean you have to be a perfect budgeter or understand every finance-based nuance right out of the gate. You do, however, need to make an effort to learn and apply what you pick up along the way into everyday practice.

It’s one thing to know and another thing to do. Luckily, these tips for building better money habits should help.

Block Recurring Time Slots on Your Calendar

Consistency is key when building new habits. If an action has been ingrained into your daily routine that you’d like to change, you must train yourself in a different direction.

By taking a new action on repeat—over the course of at least 21 days as some might argue—you rewire your brain. So, as it relates to business money habits, make it a personal goal to check in regularly on your finances over the course of a month.

To keep you in check, set up recurring blocked time on your calendar for bookkeeping, pulling reports, and budgeting. Then, try to stick to the actions you’ve established for yourself throughout the month more often than not. The idea again is consistency, not perfection.

Set Budget Goals

There are wrong and right ways to grow your business. Just because you’re experiencing rapid growth doesn’t mean you’re succeeding, especially if the financial numbers don’t add up.

Having a budget allows you to respond to money scenarios from an informed, thoughtful place. And as you build historical data around your finances over time, you’ll be better equipped to pinpoint trends and identify opportunities that can truly take your business to the next level.

If you’re a spreadsheets person, there are basic expense budget templates available to get you started. Alternatively, test out a tool like QuickBooks or FreshBooks to help streamline all your financial processes.

Save and Organize Receipts in Real-Time

One of the biggest motivators behind building better business money habits is taxes. If you normally dread that time of the year, ask yourself why.

For many, it’s the time intensiveness. There’s a lot of information needed and, if it hasn’t been organized properly over the year, a lot of time spent tracking it down.

Make sure you have a system in place to store and organize financial-based paperwork so that it’s easy to locate and retrieve when needed. In terms of expenses, make a habit out of saving receipts as well.

If you have finance software, receipt capturing functionality is likely built in. Otherwise, downloading a tool like the Adobe Scan mobile app is a great option for creating digital versions of your physical receipts in real-time.

Commit to Learning or Outsourcing

As you become more mindful of your money habits, get real about what you can and can’t do. Or, to put it another way, what you can and don’t want to do.

There’s only so much time in the day and as a business owner, you have to be selective about where you commit your effort. If you're passionate about keeping finances close to the chest, commit to learning how to manage them properly. There are plenty of small business resources to tap into.

Alternatively, if you’d rather focus your time elsewhere, consider outsourcing. The investment you make upfront to bring in outside help will be worth the efficiency long-term.

Looking for more guidance on how to grow and streamline operations? Staples SBHQ is a great small business resource for community insights, tips, exclusive deals and more. Learn more.