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    • Action plan

    Planning finances during periods of growth

    Medium effort

    Medium impact

    Periods of growth can be tumultuous because of the gap between investing in additional capacity and receiving the income it generates. This puts pressure on cash flow and means financial planning is critical.

    • We’ve designed our action plans to be completed in the order of steps laid out and explained why each step is important
    • Customising your action plan lets you set your own completion dates, assign tasks to others and get notifications
    • Helpful tools are provided for certain steps while a tracking metric at the end will help you determine the long-term success of your effort
    • A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available if you’d like to compete it offline
    What's involved? Ways to use this action plan Measuring impact
    1

    Create and maintain financial forecasts

    Impact: high

    Why will this help?

    It’s difficult to grow without effective forecasting. Financial modelling allows you to document and explain your growth plans, and understand the investment that’s needed.

    Creating and maintaining a financial forecast

    Our free template will help you prepare and maintain a financial forecast, including profit and loss and cash flow.
    2

    Plan for different scenarios

    Impact: medium

    Why will this help?

    Growth creates uncertainty and it can be hard to understand the impact it will have. Scenario forecasting allows your management team to make evidence-based decisions.

    Using scenario planning to inform your decisions

    Scenario planning is a great way to visualise and assess the potential impact of decisions. Use our useful template to get started.
    3

    Make a business case for investment

    Impact: medium

    Why will this help?

    Creating a formal business case for any investment that’s needed adds rigour and makes sure you’ve properly considered the implications. It’s also a helpful tool to communicate with stakeholders such as shareholders and key team members.

    Your guide to writing a business case

    Writing a business case is a useful way to think a potential project or investment through in a step-by-step manner.
    4

    Set cash flow KPIs and get buy-in from staff

    Impact: medium

    Why will this help?

    Managing cash well frees up resources. Setting KPIs for metrics like cash runway and debtor days makes sure your team understands the impact they have and makes being careful with cash a priority.

    Using the SMART methodology to set goals

    Use our SMART goal-setting template to make each goal specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound.
    5

    Create a financial one-pager to send out on a monthly or quarterly basis

    Impact: medium

    Why will this help?

    Communicating effectively with stakeholders is critical during periods of growth. Developing a habit of regularly sharing a financial summary keeps them up to date, so buy-in is high and they can offer relevant support and advice.

    Sharing financial information with employees

    Sharing your company's financials allows employees to see how their work makes an impact. Our template will get you started.

    What can I do with this Action Plan?

    Start this Action Plan

    Add some extra information to this plan and we’ll help you get it done.

    • We’ve designed our action plans to be completed in the order of steps laid out and explained why each step is important
    • Customising your action plan lets you set your own completion dates, assign tasks to others and get notifications
    • Helpful tools are provided for certain steps while a tracking metric at the end will help you determine the long-term success of your effort
    • A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available if you’d like to compete it offline

    Download and print

    Get a printable template for this Action Plan, fill it in with some target dates, and share it with your team. Pin it on the wall where everyone can see it.

    Get the printable Action Plan

    Learning Groups

    We also run Learning Groups on these topics where you can join other leaders tackling the same challenges.

    Find a Learning Group

    How will I know if my action plan is working?

    Board meeting performance

    Board meetings are an opportunity to share and sense test your strategy

    Why this metric?

    Navigating periods of growth requires business owners to have a comprehensive understanding of their finances. Board meetings are a great test of that.

    How do I start tracking?

    Reflect on your performance at board meetings. Did you feel confident about your assessment of company performance? Could you answer financial questions easily?