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COLORADO BUSINESS ADVISORS
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Does Your Business Have an Emergency Plan in Place?

3/16/2020

 

By Peter Holtgrieve, Partners in Business Excellence
​

Reading the news on any given day can create fear of the next big thing for us to be concerned about. Terrorist attacks, virus spread, natural disasters, workplace violence, and more can all be unsettling. While there is no possible way to plan for everything, having an emergency plan in place, and the ability to be agile and adjust, are very important.

The better documented and managed your current processes are, the easier it will be to make adjustments in order to keep things moving as seamlessly as possible.
When an emergency hits, your physical office could be shut down, supplies could be limited, income could slow or boom, demand could become higher than you can keep up with, and communication needs are heightened.

What Do You Do in Emergencies?
First, start by documenting processes. What are you currently doing and who is doing it? What is required for each worker to do their job? What supplies or equipment is needed? Identify your mission critical tasks and what is required for them to function.

Second, take note of your risks. What part of your processes are at risk? For example, do all supplies come from one chain? Consider what natural or man-made disasters the company may face. For example, if tornados are more prevalent in your area than a tsunami, you may want to make a plan for that and not others. Start with the highest risk first.

Third, create an emergency management plan. Create a plan for chain-of-command and expedited decision-making. Create a communication tree so information can be quickly spread to those who need it most.

Fourth, build your plan. Decide who needs to be part of building your emergency plan and meet to do so. Consider supplies needed for both evacuation and taking shelter. Determine how to communicate the plan to employees, customers and vendors.
Document your plan and let people know how to access it. If relevant, keep disaster sheets in appropriate areas for quick access, such as near specific equipment or safety areas. Some organizations keep emergency supplies in specific places throughout the building. Be sure these are marked and accessible.

Finally, practice and reassess. Once your plan is in place, consider practicing it to work out any bugs and find any gaps in protocol. Plan for times to re-evaluate the plan to update it for changes in business processes or new threats or risks.
 
Uncertain times will ebb and flow, so having an action plan in place will help you move forward during these times with more ease. It all starts with identifying your needs and documenting your processes, which is exactly what I have expertise in. Schedule today to begin a conversation about your emergency preparedness plan.

​
PBEX, LLC can provide training on root cause analysis and problem solving to provide the means to prevent problems from reoccurring. Contact us today to learn more about lean business management and to schedule your review with a process improvement expert.

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Not Everything is About Taxes

3/3/2020

 
By Bill Jones, Fractional CFO and CPAIf you are like a lot of businesses you just spent a considerable amount of time inputting data, reconciling accounts and taking other steps necessary to file a tax return or at least make an estimated payment and extended the return.  You may be relieved that is over or surprised at the results, but now that it is over what should you do now?

This is a great opportunity to evaluate the past year and focus on the year ahead.  The financial statements you prepared told a story about what happened in the past.  Ratio analysis and a little research will at a minimum tell you how you compare to your competition.  Further interpretation of specific ratios and trends can answer questions about the future including ideal inventory levels, when you can expect to cash collections, whether you can meet future obligations timely and when to hire the next employee, just to name a few. 

It is a perfect time to identify metrics that you wish you knew and establish systems to track the relevant information going forward to continue to provide better insight in managing your business.
Also consider the current legal and tax structure of your business:
  • Is it still appropriate for your current situation? 
  • Does a change in ownership, service line or business environment warrant amending your bylaws or operating agreement?
  • Is the retirement plan you have in place to right plan to not only attract good talent, but provide the most flexibility for the owners to maximize contributions?  Are you positioned to take advantage of the recent changes to the tax code?

Other things to consider: 
  • Is your business still in line with your vision? 
  • Is the company holding true to core values?
  • Identify you most significant achievements, what made them possible?
  • What were some things that went wrong, what was the cause and how did you overcome those obstacles?
  • Do you need to make a change in direction, improve a process or adjust expectations?
  • Are you prepared for growth, succession, or do you have a plan if there is an economic downturn?

 
Whether it is the questions above or others based on your own priorities and values, my message is that it is important to continuously look at your business, both historically and prospectively, with objectivity and make changes as necessary.  Business big and small are impacted everyday by the constantly changing business environment.  Those that proactively adapt and change will thrive. 
 

William F. Jones, Jr. CPA, CGMA (Bill) and the team at Jones & Associates, P.C. have over 28 years of experience helping companies and their owners through a wide range of business and financial issues. Bill is also more than happy to discuss the best trails to run or cycling routes in Boulder and the Colorado front range.  He can be reached at bill@jonescpapc.com or directly at 720.506.5337.
 
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Best Practices for Procurement Part 4 - Understand the Market

3/3/2020

 
By Sandy Chockla, Franchise Owner, Expense Reduction Analysts
​

This step may be the hardest for individual organizations because of resource and time constraints: understanding the market.   It is important to understand the market trends, what drives the cost in the product or service you want to purchase, and what new technology is available.  You also need to understand the terminology that is common in that industry.   If you do not have the expertise within your staff, a good resource is the industry profiles which are available at many public libraries in their online resources for Business and Finance.  You also should research what discounts are available if you were to join an Association or possibly Group Purchasing Organization (GPO).   For example, if you are a member of a Chamber of Commerce, there may be discounts available to the members for some of the local merchants. 
 
This knowledge and insight is Expense Reduction Analysts’ most valuable asset.  Because our experts are conducting negotiations for many clients throughout any given year, we have real time price benchmarks and knowledge of the latest processes and options available.  We can also guide you on which suppliers or what alternative products or processes to consider.

Sandy Chockla is a franchise owner and Principal Consultant for Expense Reduction Analysts (ERA).  ERA has a network of experts in more than 40 overhead expense categories which I leverage to benchmark prices, review supplier agreements, and optimize our client’s purchases or services.  This is done without compromising supplier quality or service.  If you would like to have a discussion, you can contact Sandy at schockla@expensereduction.com or call direct at 970-232-4860 .

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the participants in Colorado Business Advisors firmly believe that customers/clients will find much value in, and enjoy working with, any individual who participates in Colorado Business Advisors, no individual or business that participates in Colorado Business Advisors is expressly endorsing any other individual or business.  Colorado Business Advisors is not a company, partnership, joint venture or other type of legal entity, and none of the individuals who participate in Colorado Business Advisors are authorized to represent or otherwise act on behalf of any other participant.  As always, potential clients or customers should do their own due diligence before hiring any individual or company who participates in Colorado Business Advisors. ​