Dreaming of a game-changing product and building it with your founding team is the fun part. However, now that you have a revenue-generating startup to run and keep afloat, there’s no denying that managing spending would inevitably determine if your startup has what it takes to shoot for the moon and stars.
But how do you ensure that you’re able to keep the metaphorical lights on while achieving the amazing goals you’ve set out for your business?
This is where managing your company’s bottom line comes in.
What is your company’s bottom line?
The bottom line refers to the bottom figure found on your company’s income statement. To calculate your bottom line一otherwise known as a net profits一all you need to do is:
Revenue - expenses = Net profits
In this case, it’s important to note that cutting out unnecessary expenses would mean a higher net profit overall, thereby boosting your company’s performance and enabling you to grow much faster.
Why is it important to keep your bottom line in check?
Founders need to pay attention to your startup’s bottom line as it gives you an idea of how well it is coping with various company expenses and operational costs that are needed to keep your business running smoothly. The best course of action is to spend smarter by plugging the leaks in your budget, otherwise known as hidden costs.
How to avoid hidden costs that’s hurting your bottom line?
#1. Set limits on company spend
Issuing cards is one thing as it empowers your team to make purchasing decisions. What you should do next is to set spend limits on each card. This is important because setting a limit to your marketing, recruiting, SaaS subscriptions and various other company expenses prevents you from overspending where you shouldn’t. While this depends on the different applications that you use, an all-in-one finance stack like Aspire gives you the real-time data and insights you need to spot unnecessarily expensive spending patterns before it accumulates. When the bill eventually arrives, use Aspire’s Billpay feature to get it taken care of instantly simply by forwarding an email.
#2. Choose your business account and credit card wisely
These days, corporate cards with high interest rates and sign up fees are a thing of the past. If you find that your credit card company offers high charges on everything from simply signing up for an account to making FX transfers as well as maintenance fees, it’s time to make the switch as that’s money down the drain. On the bright side, opening an Aspire Account is completely easy, fast and transparent. Upon approval, you’ll receive an account number and virtual card at zero cost. You can also be assured of the lowest transfer fees in the market with transparent pricing and no monthly fees.
#3. Switch to interest-free business financing
There may come a time when you may face a working capital gap. To solve this problem, a financing solution is required to fill this gap so it won’t stop the revenue-generating rocketship you’re currently on. Unfortunately, traditional financing options often come with sky-high interest rates and rigid repayment plans that would inevitably cost you more. A better solution is to opt for interest-free financing such as Aspire’s that’s designed to supercharge your growth.
Once you have an Aspire account, it only takes a few clicks to gain access to credit directly with your Aspire card一with zero annual interest and subscription rates. Better yet, settling the outstanding amount is easier than ever through a flexible monthly settlement process that doesn’t require tops up or setting aside cash. Everything is done seamlessly on the Aspire app.
#4. Automate your invoices to reduce human error
Traditionally, invoices are created through an Excel spreadsheet一this takes up unnecessary time and energy. On top of that, the manual way of invoicing could only expose you to a higher risk of human error. Fortunately, this can be solved with the use of automation. No matter how meticulous your team is, nothing beats automation. Aspire’s invoicing feature comes with automatic reconciliation that automatically syncs matching incoming transfers and marks them as paid.
#5. Manage business spending with an integrated finance stack
Opting for an integrated finance stack where you can get a bird’s eye view of team expenses, SaaS subscriptions, pending bill payments, claims, invoices, transactions and more is crucial if you want to better manage business spending. By having everything in one place, it makes it much easier to pinpoint what’s going right (or wrong) and making the timely decisions you need to correct what could be impacting your bottom line before it gets out of hand. Aspire provides crystal clear real-time insights so you’ll always be informed on who has paid, when it was paid and what’s pending your approval.
#6. Delegate tasks to avoid bottlenecks
Nip bottlenecks in the bud as early on as possible as delayed or overdue payments can limit growth. While it’s common to experience them at the hyper-growth stage where approvals start piling up, it’s not feasible for you to make high-level decisions while your workload is increasingly weighed down by tedious administrative tasks. To prevent bottlenecks, delegate these tasks to your trusty finance team via Aspire. Aspire lets you set up transaction approval flows and advanced permission settings that gives you complete control on who gets access to the company’s account information.
Pro tip: Delegate finance activities faster via Aspire’s Finance (Submit only) role that allows users to set up payments for your approval一freeing you from laborious tasks.
Keep tabs on your bottom line with smarter spending
To ensure that you’ve successfully weeded out the unnecessary spending that’s potentially hurting your bottom line, the main thing it comes down to is transparency. With the Aspire Business Account, keep track of team expenses and leverage data to make smarter finance decisions. Search transactions, track budgets or approve spend一all in one place and on any device.
Frequently Asked Questions
