Some people think that the buyer of a business is only looking at the profitability of the targeted business; however there are a number of other matters to be reviewed to assist a prospective buyer make their decision. The reduction of the perceived risk is a very important factor.

Astute buyers will look beyond the profit and loss account.

If you want to sell your business, you have to make yourself replaceable.

•  What does the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the business indicate?
•  How does the business compare when it is benchmarked against other businesses?
•  What written systems does the business have?
•  Can the current business owner be replaced or is he/she making all the critical decisions and carrying around “in their head” vital information for the business.

If you want to sell your business and maximize its value, attention needs to be given to the peripheral aspects of a business:

•  Key Performance Indicators.
•  Benchmarking.
•  Written systems.
•  How effective is the current management team in running the business?
•  Do they have regular meetings?
•  Do they compare their performance to the KPIs?

Business buyers are very interested in systems, management and the people involved in the business.

Management and people are normally rated at a higher benefit factor than the product the business is selling. This is because management and people make businesses work – “products” can’t do that on their own. So the key questions that a buyer will be looking at are:

•  Is there stability in the business?
•  Does the management team know what they are doing?
•  Is there a loyal work force?
•  Are there systems and controls in place?
•  Will there be alarms triggered if certain KPIs are not achieved?

Therefore, to minimize the perceived risk in the business, it is a good idea to take some “time out” to review and document the systems that are necessary for the affective management of your business. If you want to sell your business, you have to make yourself replaceable. Therefore the key factors are:

•  Prepare a detailed list of what you currently do.
•  What, of the current workload, can be delegated to other members of the management team or to external part-time consultants or staff?
•  What additional training is required for your team members?
•  Have they kept up to date with technology and systems?
•  Do other members of the team know the key customers and suppliers to the business?

In summary, written systems and adherence to those systems, will make your business more efficient, with less risk, and therefore more attractive to potential purchasers. The high number of businesses currently for sale, and the higher number of businesses likely to go up for sale in the next decade or so, means that business owners, wishing to sell, should seriously review all aspects of the business to ensure that the business will pass a due diligence review.

If you would like us to review your business’ systems or have discussions relevant to the suitability of your business for sale, please do not hesitate to contact us on 1300 35 22 35.

The purpose of one of these meetings is to obtain feedback from a group of customers on the products, services, sales process and general impression of your business.

You can organise the customer advisory meeting yourself or alternatively some clients ask an independent person, such as their accountant, to act as the facilitator of the customer meeting and to prepare a summary of the matters discussed.

Some of the items that could be raised at a customer advisory meeting could include:-

• How do you rate the firm’s services?
• Are there additional services that the business could supply to you?
• Have you asked the business to supply these services to you?    
• What do you like about this business?
• What do you dislike about this business?
• How does this business compare to competitors?
• Do you receive prompt replies to telephone calls, emails and fax contact?
• Would you like to receive periodic information on products and services being offered by the business?
• What are the strengths of the business, as compared to its competitors?
• What are the weaknesses of the business, as compared to its competitors?

Many businesses are conducting customer advisory meetings 3 or 4 times per annum, and using the meetings to gain valuable feedback on the perception that their customers have on the business operations.

If you are interested in commencing a series of customer advisory meetings and you would like our input, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Debtors

This post marks the half-way point for our series on questions to consider when it comes to writing your business plan. I keep coming back to cashflow as a critical issue for business and this is especially true if you will be providing goods or services on account. What are some things to consider when it comes to debtors?

 • Is there a system to ensure that debtors’ tax invoices are prepared accurately?

• Are the tax invoices sent to the debtors as soon as possible after the product/service is delivered to the customer?

• Are debtors’ statements prepared promptly at the end of each month?

• Are they immediately sent to the debtor?

• Does the business offer discounts for early payment?    

• Does the business refer problem debtors promptly to a debt collection agency?

• Has your business considered debtors’ financing or factoring to improve cashflow of the business?

• How long after the end of the billing period do you forward your debtors’ statements to customers?

• Have you confirmed in writing your terms of trade with your customers?

There are over 50 questionnaires relating to the preparation of a business plan……….. in the next issue we will consider Stock.

Business Plans – Some Questions to Consider

FOLLOW THE WHOLE SERIES

This post is part of the 50-part series “Business Plans – Some Questions to Consider” (yes, there will be 50 of them!).

Be sure to read the other parts of the series to get a full picture. You can follow the series along on the blog or read them first by subscribing to our popular Business Plus+ newsletter.

With Debtors Days Outstanding still being an issue of concern for many small business operators,  we’ve been looking at the A-Z of cash collection tips for small business.

Today wraps up the series with the letters W through to Z.

W

Willing.

Assist the customer in every way possible with any problem they may have. This will be remembered when payment time is arrives.   

X

Xenophobic.

Avoid the fear of strangers – they owe your company money. Get to know them well.

Y

Youth.

Never let a receivable account get too old. It is not wrong to telephone on the due date to confirm that the invoice has arrived and been passed along for payment.

Z

Zone.

Keep to the credit zone you are dealing with. Always pass other quereies to the correct person for action.

Would you like a complimentary PDF copy of the A-Z Guide to Cash Collection?

Simply email christie @ lewistaxation.com.au – use the subject line A-Z so it’s not misplaced in the inbox – or leave a message in the comment section below.

Did you miss a post?  Here they are:

Part #1 A, B, C = Ask, Bold, Confidence.

Part #2 D, E, F = Deliberate, Emphatic, Friendly.

Part #3 G, H, I = Goodwill, Honesty, Intervention.

Part #4 J, K, L, M = Joke, Knowledge, Liaise, Money.

Part #5 N,O,P,Q = No, Objection, Polite, Query.

Part#6 R, S, T, U, V = Result, Stop, Tenacity, Understand, Vernacular.

This will be the second to last post in our A-Z of Cash Collection for Small Business series of quick tips.  Today we’ll consider R through to V.

R

Result.

Each call should have a satisfactory result. Don’t get so caught up in being friendly that you hang up without some form of agreement.    

S

Stop.

I cannot emphasise this enough: stop supplies immediately if a satisfactory promise of payment is not forthcoming.

T

Tenacity.

Telephone every day if need be.  Obviously you should use your own discretion here. You don’t want to be hounding good customers just a couple of days after their account falls due with daily collection calls (or maybe you do?). If the account is getting old and you are not getting paid, it’s time to be tenacious.  

U

Understand.

A genuine understanding of the customer’s problems can help ensure that you are the first on the list to be paid when they next prepare a cheque run.

V

Vernacular.

It helps if you are able to communicate at all levels; the machine tool operator might also be the business owner.

Tomorrow will be the final instalment in this A-Z series of cash collection tips for small business. Previous posts include:

Part #1 A, B, C = Ask, Bold, Confidence.

Part #2 D, E, F = Deliberate, Emphatic, Friendly.

Part #3 G, H, I = Goodwill, Honesty, Intervention.

Part #4 J, K, L, M = Joke, Knowledge, Liaise, Money.

Part #5  N,O,P,Q = No, Objection, Polite, Query

As we continue to look at the A-Z of cash collection for small business, I wonder if most small (ie. probably already stretched and wearing multiple hats) operators actually confirm terms of trade in writing with customers prior to supplying anything on account?  Do you have your customer sign a copy of this?  Just a thought.

Today we’ll look at N through to P…  

N

No.

Never take ‘No’ for an answer. Persevere until you get agreement.

O

Objection.

Be ready to counter any objection with a sound reason why payment should be made.

P

Polite.

Always keep your composure and remain polite.

Q

Query.

Never let an unresolved query stand in the way of payment being made. Help resolve the query and ask for a part payment if it is appropriate.

Previous posts in this series:

Part #1 A, B, C = Ask, Bold, Confidence.

Part #2 D, E, F = Deliberate, Emphatic, Friendly.

Part #3 G, H, I = Goodwill, Honesty, Intervention.

Part #4  J, K, L, M = Joke, Knowledge, Liaise, Money.

We are nearing the mid-way point in our alphabetical guide to collecting overdue accounts.

J

Joke.

Use your personality and sense of humour to lighten the mood and win over the customer.    

K

Knowledge.

Know the account thoroughly.

L

Liaise.

Liaise with everyone at the customer’s business if need be in order to get the account paid.

M

Money.

Remember, it is YOUR money they are holding onto!

If you missed previous posts in this series, here’s what we have so far:

Part #1  A, B, C = Ask, Bold, Confidence.

Part #2 D, E, F = Deliberate, Emphatic, Friendly.

Part #3  G, H, I = Goodwill, Honesty, Intervention.

Many small business operators struggle with cash collection from debtors.  In this series we are running through the alaphabet to consider the A-Z of cash collection for small business.

In The A-Z of Cash Collection for Small Business #1 we considered A, B and C: ask, bold and confidence.

In The A-Z of Cash Collection for Small Business #2 we considered D, E and F: deliberate,  emphatic and friendly.

Today we’ll look at G through to I.

G

Goodwill.    

Sometimes a small concession helps speed up payment. Use your own judgement here and consider on a case by case basis. You don’t want future account payments delayed because the customer is holding out for a discounted arrangement.

H

Honesty.      Always the best policy.

Always be totally honest with the customer. You cannot expect them to keep a promise if you don’t keep yours.

I

Intervention.    

Intervene in any dispute early to remove any objection over payment.

Have you ever offered a small discount in order to secure payment?

More than a few small businesses have gone under as a result of cash flow issues arising from outstanding debtors. In this series we are running through the alaphabet to consider the A-Zs of cash collection for small business.

In The A-Z of Cash Collection for Small Business #1 we considered A, B and C: ask, bold and confidence.

Let’s take a peek at D through to F.

D

Deliberate.     Be deliberate in your actions.

Have the customer give you a promise of payment. “So we can expect your cheque to be mailed to us on Tuesday, Mr Smith?”    

E

Emphasize.     Be emphatic.

“Your account is already overdue, Mr Smith.”  This is where the C = Confidence comes into play.  Remember, have your facts on hand. 

F

Friendly.     Honey catches more flies…

A polite call is more likley to get results than if you lose your temper. The trick here is to be friendly, but firm.

Discussion:  Do you have any small business collection tips or stories to share. We’d love to hear them!

Cashflow is a critical key to the success of any business, especially those who sell goods or services on terms of account. 

If you are like most business operators, the mere thought of having to pick up the phone and chase debtors for payment fills you with dread. With this in mind, we’ve put together a brief A-Z guide to give you some quick pointers before you dial.

Let’s take a look at the first three. I’ll continue to post a few tips each day until we’ve covered the entire alphabet.

A 

Ask.     If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

Be proactive. While patience may be an admirable virtue, the reality of small business is that often you may need to actually ask your customers to pay you. 

B

Bold.      Fortune favours the bold.

Don’t be afraid to quote to previous account history where you have been let down by the customer.

C

Confidence.     Always have your facts on hand.

Having all of the details in front of you will help give you confidence and instill confidence in your customer.

Discussion:  Do you ask customers for payment? Are you naturally bold and confident or do you struggle with this? I’d love to hear your own small business collection stories and tips.   

With debtors’ days outstanding being in excess of 54 days, debtors’ management has never been as important as it is today.

If you are giving credit to your customers, then an effective debtors’ management is very important:

•  Ensure any payment arrangements with a debtor are confirmed in writing, including details of any key dates.
•  Follow up with the customer to ensure that payments are made on the key dates.

•  Review dealings with a private company.
•  Obtain individual directors’ guarantees.
•  Ensure tax invoices are prepared correctly in accordance with the customers’/clients’ format requirements and sent to the customers’/clients’ promptly by the stipulated dates.
•  Ensure follow up of customers’/clients’ invoices from the due date to ensure prompt payment or, if the customer/client has a query, resolve the query as soon as possible.
•  Monitor debtors’ aged analysis on a weekly basis, calculate debtors’ days outstanding and maintain your business’ terms of trade (e.g.30 days).
•  If payment is not received, ensure prompt referral of problem debtors to a debt collection agency.
•  Utilise a “debtors’ days outstanding chart” to identify the cashflow improvements that would occur if debtors paid in accordance with your stated debtors payment policy.

If you would like to receive a debtors’ days outstanding chart, feel free to contact Christie from our office (see the author box below for contact email or phone 1300 35 22 35).

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In the post titled, Stress and the Small Business Operator #1, we listed some of the common causes of stress for small businesss owners.

These include:

• Inability to find workers who do the job as well as you do;
• Employees not always turning up – leaving you with more to do;
• Insufficient earnings; 
• Long hours;
• Inability to get away for a break or holiday as there’s nobody suitable to manage the business;

Last time we discussed Managing Employees. This week, we’ll consider profits.

Insufficient Earnings

If your business isn’t making enough money for you to survive comfortably on,  it’s time to do some tough thinking.

Can you build it up or is it time to give it up?

If the problem isn’t that severe, get ready to rally! Explore ways to increase your takings and cut back on costs. As an example, can you offer a service level that’s better than your competitors? If so, your customers probably won’t baulk at a small price increase – and that small price increase can actually translate into a large change in the profit level. 

If you’re likely to make more money and work less hours in a day job, the chances are you’re also under a great deal of financial stress. 

I firmly believe that resilience and persistence are most-have attributes when it comes to business. That said, sometimes it is better to jump ship than go down with a sinking ship. If you’ve lost interest, and find yourself getting deeper into debt just to meet basic living expenses maybe it’s time to talk to your accountant about options regarding selling or closing down.

The truth is that a large number of small business operators are working very long hours for what amounts to a pretty ordinary take-home pay. If you are buckling under the strain and can’t remember the last time you woke up looking forward to your day, it’s time to seek some professional advice.

There are so many advantages to operating your own small business, it’s easy for a small business owner to ignore or tolerate the disadvantages. One of the big disadvantages can be stress.

If you’re a small business operator, some of the things that contribute to your stress levels might be:

• Inability to find workers who do the job as well as you do;
• Employees not always turning up – leaving you with more to do;
• Insufficient earnings; 
• Long hours;
• Inability to get away for a break or holiday as there’s nobody suitable to manage the business;

Recently, I spoke with a retail operator who was feeling the pressure of cashflow and staffing issues. They just weren’t their usual self and the stress was taking an obvious toll. Yes, stress is a frequent reality when you’re in business for yourself.  

Let’s look at a few of the common complaints and hopefully find some solutions. We’ll start our series with employees.  

Managing Workers

This might be difficult to accept but the chance of finding someone who’ll do things just as you do is minimal. It’s likely you’ll always have to supervise to a certain degree. You’re the boss and that’s your job, so you might need to just accept that and move on. If employees were perfect, you wouldn’t have to be there at all. Some business owners just throw new staff into a role without any real instruction or support and seem surprised by the mediocre employee performance and high staff turnover…. to make the most of your team, you have to be willing to invest some of your time in training and feedback. It will benefit you, your staff and your business.

Solve the problem of unreliable employees by widening your search and thinking outside the square when you’re hiring. A small business needs reliable employees and young, cheap staff don’t necessarily mean better profits. Increased profits might be better obtained by a higher level of productivity, and less time wasted on errors or lost by poor attendance. That is not to say that young employees can’t be a valuable asset, but don’t limit yourself to what you think is the ‘cheaper’ option.

Consider hiring people who need a regular income, have the skills, but might not find it easy to obtain work – like those nearing retirement or returning to the workforce after a long absence. The chances are they’ll be pleased to have the opportunity, will work diligently and won’t walk away from their employment without a significant reason.

Next time, we’ll take a look at insuffcient earnings…

Question: What are the biggest causes of stress for you as a business owner? How do you deal with it?

Understanding financial statements is a task that many business owners often put aside to concentrate on something more interesting. This results in many business owners not really knowing what is going on with their business, especially the cashflow control within the business.

Cash is the lifeblood of any business and it is the fuel that keeps the engine running. It is vital that business owners understand all there is to know about the flow of cash into their business and the flow of cash out of their business.

The movement of cash is recorded within the financial statements. Financial statements are very useful as a tool to help in the management of the business. Financial statements are required by the business owners to understand how the business is performing. As well, there is normally a requirement to produce them for banks and investors. Preparing financial statements for taxation purposes should not be the priority – being of assistance in business growth is more important!  

Financial statements concentrate on measuring profit or loss. They may then facilitate the preparation of cashflow reporting and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that enable meaningful management information for your business. The key components of financial statements are:-

• Departmentalised Trading Profit and Loss accounts with gross profit percentage calculations for each department
• Balance Sheet
• Supporting verification workpapers for each item in the Balance Sheet
• Source and Application of Funds Statement
• Debtors’ Aged Analysis
• Stock on Hand Analysis
• Work-in-Progress Analysis
• Creditors’ Aged Analysis
• Capital Expenditure Summary
• Bank Account Analysis

Preparation of financial statements on a regular periodic basis can contribute greatly to the management of a business. Some businesses find it very useful to produce a weekly performance report and detailed monthly financial accounts.

If you have any queries on any aspect of the interpretation of your financial statements, please do not hesitate to contact us on 1300 35 22 35.

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Successful small business operators allocate the time each month to fully review their financial data so that they clearly understand the financial health of their business and are able to take remedial action – if any is necessary.

As I was home sick today, it gave me a chance to throw a screencast together… (you’ll have to excuse my editing).  Often small business owners want to stick their head in the sand and ignore financial reporting altogether or consider it the accountant’s problem to deal with at the end of the year. Unfortunately, by not regularly monitoring your KPIs and finacial situation, you are losing out on valuable insights and opportunities – not to mention, missing any big red flags being waved in your direction!

I have focused this particular clip just on the Profit & Loss Statement, however some of the material comes from our “Management of the Business of Business” seminar series. This is a comprehensive series of 5 x 3-hour advanced management seminars we will be conducting with small groups later in the year.

The schedule includes:

• INTERPRETATION OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS

• USING KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS TO CREATE VALUE FOR SMEs

• PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS FOR SMEs

• CHECK LIST FOR KPIs THAT MIGHT BE SUITABLE FOR A SME

• INTERVIEWING APPLICANTS

• WHAT TYPE OF EMPLOYEE DO YOU WANT?

• KEY MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED IN A CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT

• CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT

• EMPLOYMENT GUIDELINES TO OFFICE STAFF

• EXCELLENT STAFF MANAGEMENT, MOTIVATION AND COMMUNICATION

• CUSTOMER KNOWLEDGE AND SERVICE

• CUSTOMER DATABASE

• ADVERTISING – AN OVERVIEW

• INSURANCE – AN OVERVIEW

• WHAT IS A NETWORK?

• INTRODUCTION TO NETWORKING

• BUDGET AND CASHFLOW FORECASTS

• CREATING EFFECTIVE MEDIA RELATIONS

• MARKETING FOR SMALL BUSINESS

• CORPORATE GOVERNANCE ISSUES AFFECTING SMEs

• FAMILY BUSINESSES – WHAT ARE THEY?

• FAMILY BUSINESSES – MAKING THEM WORK

• RELATIONSHIP WITH BANKS AND FINANCIERS

• STRATEGIES FOR MAKING PROFITS

• EXPORTING OVERVIEW

• PERSONAL LEADERSHIP CAPACITY AND DEVELOPMENT

• BUSINESS PLAN OVERVIEW

• PLANNING TO SUCCEED

• BUSINESS PLANS – KEY POINTS TO BE INCLUDED

• EXPERT PRESENTATIONS
? Insurance
? Adverting
? Media
? Banks
? Development Association
? Governments

• FORUM – MANAGEMENT OF THE BUSINESS OF BUSINESS

These workshops are completely FREE and with no obligation. If you are a client of Alan Lewis Accountants or a business on the Central Coast and would like to be kept informed of when these workshops will be taking place, please email me at christie@lewistaxation.com.au and put “SEMINAR” in the subject line. I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop.

Alternatively, I’m happy to toss some more screencasts together for anyone unable to make it to a live event (if you can put up with my crappy editing and incessant “umms”)…  just use the comment section below to let me know what you want to hear more about!

The last few days we have been asking questions to encourage you – the small business operator – to analyse how your business is going and identify areas that may need change. So far we have considered Market Conditions, Industrial Relations and Business Performance. Finally, we are up to the numbers…

Financial Reports

Has your business prepared departmentalised financial accounts? 

Are financial accounts distributed to team leaders and other members of the team? 

Could your business’ profit and loss accounts be sectionalised into departments or teams so as to make financial accounts more relative to individual sections or teams? 

Have key performance indicators been prepared for all sections or teams? 

How did the KPIs compare to budget expectations? 

Have you reviewed the balance sheet, especially supplementary information such as debtors’ days outstanding, stock turn achieved, investment in stock, bank exposure (overdraft loans and other financial commitments, leases and hire purchase agreements etc.) as compared to budget expectations?

Perhaps an even better question is do you know what all these terms mean and understand why they are important? If you’re not clear on any of the “accountant-speak” in this post, please post a comment to let me know and I will expand on definitions.

So far we have asked review questions concerning market conditions and industrial relations. Today we’ll discuss your business performance.

Again, don’t just skim the questions and leave it there. Take a moment to put your responses to paper.

Review of Performance

Have you sat back and reviewed the performance for the January-March quarter? 

Are you happy with your business’ overall performance? 

Have you celebrated successes? 

What changes need to be made to your business operations? 

Have you systemised (developed systems for) what worked well so that you do not have to “reinvent the wheel” next time?  

How Did Your Business Perform?

Did you achieve the targets that you set? 

What were the results of marketing/advertising campaigns? 

How did staff productivity compare to expectations? 

What lessons were learnt from the last 3 months’ activities?

If you would like to have a discussion with us regarding your business’ performance to 31 March 2010, please don’t hesitate to get in touch on 1300 35 22 35. Tomorrow, we’ll move onto one of my favourites (but not most peoples): the financial reports.

Yes, it is business review time again. Incase you missed it, yesterday we took a look at the impact of Market Conditions on your business.

As you’ll know, there have been some significant industraial relations changes over the past year.  Today, we’ll take a moment to review where you are in dealing with that.

Industrial Relations Rules

Have you reviewed the new industrial relations rules that are now in operation? 

Have you conducted an audit on the implementation of the procedures in your business that comply with the new industrial relations’ rules? 

Have you incorporated the implications of modern awards and national employment standards (NES) into your industrial relations’ system?  

Have you implemented a Fair Dismissal Code within your business?

A great place for quick access to information regarding the new legislation is the Fair Work Autsralia website at www.fwa.gov.au.   (If you would like a copy of a Fair Dismissal Code Checklist, please contact me). Tommorow we’ll consider your business performance…

The third quarter of the 2009/10 fiscal year is over (didn’t it go fast!). It is a good time to take some quality time out to analyse your business’ performance and plan any changes you want to make.

Over the next few days I’ll be bringing up issues designed to encourage you to ask yourself about your business’ performance. I would really encourage you to do more than simply skim over the issues. but to actually commit your response to paper.

The economy has been front-of-mind for most small business owners in Australia this past year, so let’s start with a quick overview of market conditions.

Market Conditions

How did you find the market conditions?

Were the conditions what you expected or were there changes?

Did you talk to customers and get their thoughts on the products and/or services that your business is offering?

Have you monitored your competitors’ performance?

Are there any lessons to be learnt from your competitors’ activities?

Tomorrow we’ll look at questions relating to the new industrial relations provisions.

The ordering of pens, note pads, stationery, printing can seem a minor expense.  However, printing and stationery orders can end up costing SMEs a considerable sum of money. The cost of consumables some businesses go through still astounds - especially for trades and retail areas when it should not be a significant operating cost.

I think it is because a lot of these purchases are made in small quantities, that the expenditure doesn’t traditionally attract close cost control. Maybe it should!

It is an often overlooked area where, in most cases, significant savings can be achieved by:

• giving one person the responsibility of purchasing stationery, so that there is not an open slather of everyone in the business being able to purchase stationery, as they require.
• give one person the responsibility for ordering all printing requirements for the business as well as ensuring that all of the old printed material is used first.  Many businesses waste thousands of dollars each year by throwing out stationery that they have deemed no longer suitable to use, when in many cases it could have been used for another few weeks or months, so as to use up the investment that has been made in the old stationery.
• lists should be prepared of items that are regularly used so that these can be ordered and obtained at one time, so getting the benefits of quantity discounts.
• regular orders should be placed on a frequent basis so as to ensure that stock is purchased at the best possible price and that it is available when staff wish to use it.
• it’s a good idea to establish a stock of stationery so as to avoid running out and having to buy at higher prices.
• the inventory of stationery should be kept at one location.

Keep an eye out for specials and clearance items you are going to need (don’t stock up on anything you won’t use just because it’s cheap). When placing orders, give some thought to the benefits of buying extra when your usual products are on sale.

I have to admit, I’m a bit of a stationery addict myself so it’s hard to keep a tight reign on myself at times. What’s the stationery situation like in your business? Do you have a system in place or do you rush to the local Newsagent as needed and pay for the convenience?