DRIVE FOR SHOW, PUTT FOR DOUGH

The phrase above often pops into my head. Clients will often put their numbers together to discuss with me, but only have what is coming into the practice, not the actual profit. Monitoring how many patients you’re seeing and how much you’re invoicing is important but it’s far more important to be monitoring the bottom line (Sales less expenses) Just like in golf, it doesn’t help if you have a perfect shot off the tee box but can’t putt!

BOTTOM UP

As Stephen Covey, author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, said, start with the end in mind. Think about what you need / want from your business each month and create your budget and forecast accordingly. Having a clear goal in mind will help focus your activities and motivate you to monitor progress. If you want to take £5000 from the business each month and your expenses are £3000 for example, how many patients would you need to see to make that work? (Don’t forget to take tax into account!)

STASH IT AWAY MONTHLY

Tax Lalaland is dangerous. Make sure that you know what your tax liability is every step of the way. A good discipline is to have a separate bank account which you transfer funds to monthly to cover your annual tax bill. I have a client who has a separate bank account for tax at a different bank so that it’s not visible on his most used online banking profile, avoiding temptation to ‘borrow’ the tax money. Here’s a great book to help with cash management: Profit First

HAVE A DASHBOARD

Keeping your finger on the pulse is a lot easier when you have the relevant numbers in a format which is easy to view regularly. This could be as simple as an excel spreadsheet or it can be custom designed through your practice management software system / accounting package. We recommend considering which numbers need to be monitored weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annually and putting a system in place that allows you to do that painlessly!

MAINTAIN YOUR SIX PACK

Keeping on top of the numbers is not just a once off. Just like going to the gym once in while or being healthy on and off does little to keep you in shape, monitoring the numbers occasionally, is not nearly as effective as having a good system in place and paying attention to it. And just like having a personal trainer in the gym to help you find the right programme and keep you on track, having a business coach to support you in your business and keep you accountable is a great idea. (There are loads out there but we do of course hope you choose us!)