Firstly what IS a purchase order?

It’s a written record of types, quantities, and agreed prices of any goods or services that you buy in for your business from external suppliers.

When the supplier accepts the purchase order, it forms a contract between you. This means clarity for both you as the buyer and the supplier as seller because:

You, the buyer have clearly and specifically communicated your requirements and intention to buy

The seller is then protected in terms of recouping money owed for goods or services supplied.

Here’s 5 good reasons to use them:

1. You are organised – instead of trying to remember phone conversations or search through various emails, both you and your supplier can find all the details relating to your purchase in one document such as prices, quantities, contact details and delivery address etc.

2. More efficient – especially if you have electronic versions of your purchase orders, you can easily manage your expenditure on your computer rather than rifling through reams of paperwork, which may or may not have been filed in the right place!

3. Avoid mistakes! There should be minimal mix ups or misunderstandings relating to what you ordered or the prices agreed if it’s all there in writing for everyone to see. It’s a legally binding document.

4. Easily keep track of orders – as each purchase order has a unique number, your supplier can quote this number on their delivery note so you can match up the goods with your order when you receive them.

5. Keep in control of your accounts – you will have the figures for all your purchase expenditure at your finger tips. If you use accounting software, you can transfer this information into your accounts at the click of a mouse. This will help you be in control of the money which has gone and is due out of your business and help keep on top of cashflow.

The example above, illustrates the kind of information you should include on your purchase orders. You can create your own templates or use simple accounting software to automatically create and edit your purchase orders.

 Promotions, marketing, advertising, selling – they’re all about the same thing: getting your  message across.

 The easiest way to start promoting your business is to create your LIFT SPEECH. Have you heard of this? A LIFT SPEECH (or elevator speech) is another name for a concise description of you and your business. The idea is that when you first meet someone, you have a very short amount of time, say 10-15 seconds,  in which to tell them about your business and hopefully interest them in what you do. So, it’s the equivalent of meeting someone in a lift and making an impact in the time it takes to travel between floors. No pressure then!

 If you take a little time to plan what to say in advance, you can reap the benefits over and over again. You can also use the description in written form for your website, social media and advertisements.

 Here’s the key things to include in your LIFT SPEECH:

 1. Your name

2. Your business name

3. Where you’re based

(this can often be left until later depending on the situation. It may be relevant to mention if you are at a local meeting or if overseas, to mention your business base country)

 4. What You Offer

Don’t get bogged down in details of the features of your product or service. The key thing is you are just giving a brief summary, allowing the other person to ask you for a card or more information if they’re interested. Also try and think of what you do solely in terms of how it can benefit the listener. This will need to be tailored according to the situation and type of audience. In a business networking environment, bear in mind that the main concerns that business managers have are:

• How to save money
• How to increase income
• How to save time

 Frame your description with these things in mind.

 So, an example for an invoicing software product might be: “Helping small businesses sort out their finances simply and quickly.”

 When you’ve had a go at writing yours. Try reading it and asking “so what?”. This sounds quite harsh but it’s a good way to guage whether the content of your speech will strike a chord with it’s relevance.

5. Engaging ending

A great way to end with impact is to ask the other person an open question (ie. not one that requires a yes or no answer). The obvious is “and what do you do?” but if you’re at an event you can also ask what they hope to get out of the meeting, or what they are interested in. Hopefully the conversation will flow and you and your business will have created an impression.

Here’s some other tips for getting your LIFT SPEECH right:

• Stick to the KISS rule – “keep it simple stupid!”. Make every word count. No waffling or you’ll lose people’s attention. Being concise will portray your competence. And short statements have much more oomph. Aim to keep it to 20 seconds maximum length.
• When delivering your lift speech, be confident and speak clearly. It helps to have a positive, upbeat tone and convey your passion for what you offer. Couple this with sincerity to create a good impression.
• Make eye contact with the other person. Also keep an eye out for their body language. You may pick up signs that they’re interested in a particular point you’ve made and you can then follow this up with them.

Please feel free to share your LIFT SPEECHES here and let us know what works for you.

Keeping on top of your accounts is vital for any small business. Take a look at our top accounting tips for SMEs to see how you can make sure your business is in the best financial shape it can be.

1. Open a business account

When you start your small business you should open a separate bank account for it. This will make it far easier for you to keep track of your finances and will help you reconcile your bookkeeping figures with the amount in your account.

2.    Keep up-to-date with your bookkeeping

Reconcile your books and accounts regularly to avoid any accounting errors. Try to check your books on a weekly or monthly basis. If you’re using online accounting software, make sure you regularly back up your financial information. Keep your paper accounts in good order – it may even be worth scanning any paper records to keep electronic versions. Make sure you log every expense and every piece of income

3.    Produce a monthly cash flow statement

By producing a regular cash flow statement, you will be able to see exactly what state your accounts are in. This will make it far easier when you come to submit your Tax Return as you will have all your figures and documents in place. It will also help you to keep track of how much you are spending and whether you are overspending in any area, as well as helping you to see trends such as seasonal increases and decreases in profit.

4.    Research whether you’re entitled to pay less tax

Find out if you are entitled to any tax relief as a small business owner. There are some circumstances in which it may be possible for you to pay less tax. These are if you are entitled to Working Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, buying equipment to use in your business, research and development tax reliefs and direct investment incentives.

5.    Look into accounting software

Consider using accounting software to help you keep your accounts in good order. This can often save you time and money.

6.    Think about hiring an accountant

Consider hiring a business accountant. Do your research and make sure whoever you use is registered to an official accountancy body or organisation.

7.    Invoice as soon as possible

Ensure that you send an invoice out within 24 hours of a service being delivered, as some businesses have a 30 day or even 60 day payment cycle. If you delay sending an invoice by even just a couple of days you may face a long wait to be paid, which can impact the rest of your business.

8.    Have a range of payment options

Try to make things as easy as possible for all involved by having a range of payment options available to your clients. Consider introducing online payments, such as PayPal, and credit cards, which may incur a small cost, but could help prevent cash flow problems.

Do you have any small business accounting tips? Leave a comment and let us know. For help managing your finances speak to SliQTools (http://www.sliqtools.co.uk/contactus.aspx) for our easy-to-use invoicing software.

[Photo credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.Net]

One of the main things added to version 3 of SliQ Invoicing Plus was the ability to create purchase orders. The new purchase order feature lets users create POs in a similar way to invoices and quotes. As well as storing a list of purchase orders already raised, version 3 also lets you store a list of suppliers with their addresses and contact details. When adding items to the purchase orders, you can optionally choose to add the items as standard products into SliQ’s product database. When items such as suppliers and products are stored in SliQ’s database, they can easily be reselected when editing a new PO – just enter the first few characters of a supplier name for example, and SliQ will autofill the remaining part of the supplier’s name as well as include the correct address details on the PO.