Financial Management – a scary term for some but one that must be understood by all business owners. It’s perhaps one thing that gets overlooked as we blame the fast-paced world of business. Whether you’ve just started or years into it, understanding and monitoring your margin is crucial for long-term success. In this blog, we’ll explore why calculating your margin is so important and how it can impact your bottom line.

Profit – a term we all understand!

At its core, calculating your margin allows you to understand the profitability of your business. Your margin represents the difference between your revenue and your costs, expressed as a percentage. By knowing your margin, you can assess how efficiently your business is operating and identify areas for improvement. A healthy margin indicates that your business is generating sufficient profits to cover expenses and invest in growth initiatives.
It helps you quote.

Calculating your margin is essential for developing a sound pricing strategy. By understanding your costs and desired profit margin, you can set appropriate prices for your products or services that ensure profitability while remaining competitive in the market. Without a clear understanding of your margin, you risk underpricing your offerings and leaving money on the table, or overpricing and alienating potential customers.
Allows you to see if running your business is costing you more.
Monitoring your margin allows you to identify and control costs more effectively. By analyzing your margin over time, you can pinpoint areas where costs are creeping up or margins are shrinking. This insight enables you to take proactive measures to reduce expenses, negotiate better deals with suppliers, or streamline operations to improve efficiency. Ultimately, effective cost control can have a significant impact on your bottom line and
And in summary

Calculating your margin is not just a financial exercise; it’s a critical component of business success. By understanding your profitability, setting prices effectively, controlling costs, and making informed decisions, you can position your business for long-term growth and sustainability. So, don’t overlook the importance of calculating your margin. Take the time to crunch the numbers and unlock the insights that will propel your business forward.

In today’s fast-paced tradie world, time is money. As we the business owners strive to juggle multiple responsibilities, the burden of administrative tasks can often become overwhelming. However, what if I told you that outsourcing your administrative work could not only alleviate this burden but also save you money in the long run? In this article, we’ll explore how outsourcing administrative tasks can be a cost-effective solution for businesses of all sizes.

Outsourcing administrative tasks allows you to leverage the expertise of professionals who specialize in these areas. Whether it’s bookkeeping, data entry, appointment scheduling, or customer support, outsourcing to specialists means the job gets done quickly and accurately, freeing up your time to focus on revenue-generating activities. 

Hiring and maintaining an in-house administrative team comes with significant overhead costs, including salaries, benefits, office space, equipment, and training. Not to mention the headache when they take a day off. Outsourcing eliminates these overhead expenses and allows you to allocate resources more efficiently and invest in areas of your business that drive growth and innovation.

One of the key advantages of outsourcing administrative tasks is the scalability and flexibility it offers. Whether your business is experiencing rapid growth or seasonal fluctuations in workload, outsourcing allows you to scale your administrative support up or down as needed. This flexibility ensures that you have the resources you need to meet demand without the fixed costs associated with hiring and maintaining an in-house team.

By outsourcing administrative tasks, you and your team can focus on core business activities that directly contribute to revenue generation and business growth. Instead of spending time on administrative chores, you can devote your energy to strategic planning, sales and marketing, product development, and customer service. This focus on high-value activities can lead to increased productivity, profitability, and competitive advantage.

Outsourcing your administrative tasks is not just a cost-saving measure; it’s a strategic investment in the future success of your business. 

Greg Smith

Greg Smith, the founder of Admins The Answer, created this business from personal experience having owned his own successful trade business for 7 years. During that time he bought a second business and just 2 years later, sold that for 2.5 times what it cost him. Now Admins the Answer provides a complete admin and paperwork solution for tradies all over Australia. This immediately allows them to spend more of their valuable time planning and they do end up making more money. 

We know that quoting a job for a specific fee is a standard practice. However, just as quoting a job for $0 would be a quick pathway to bankruptcy, failing to invoice for additional work is no different.

When you provide additional services or go above and beyond for a client without invoicing for that work, you’re essentially giving away your time and expertise for free. While it may seem like a small sacrifice in the moment, the cumulative impact of unpaid work can be significant. It erodes your earning potential, undermines the value of your services, and sets a dangerous precedent for future engagements.

Imagine quoting a job for $0. It’s absurd, right? Yet, by not invoicing for additional services, that’s essentially what you’re doing. You’re signalling to your clients that your time and expertise have no value beyond the initial agreement. It diminishes your worth and we all know you are worth it!

Invoicing for additional services isn’t just about securing fair compensation; it’s also about fostering healthy, mutually beneficial relationships with your clients. When you charge for all the work you do, you set a precedent for transparency and accountability. Clients who understand and respect your value are more likely to be satisfied with your services and become repeat customers.

If the conversation is a bit scary, here’s some tips to get paid for that additional work;

1. Communicate Clearly: Clearly outline your pricing structure and any additional fees for extra services upfront to avoid misunderstandings later on.
2. Document Everything: Keep detailed records of all work performed, including time spent, tasks completed, and any agreements made with the client.
3. Be Assertive: Don’t be afraid to assert your worth and insist on fair compensation for all the work you do. Your time and expertise are valuable, and you deserve to be paid accordingly.

Greg Smith

Greg Smith, the founder of Admins The Answer, created this business from personal experience having owned his own successful trade business for 7 years. During that time he bought a second business and just 2 years later, sold that for 2.5 times what it cost him. Now Admins the Answer provides a complete admin and paperwork solution for tradies all over Australia. This immediately allows them to spend more of their valuable time planning and they do end up making more money. 

Hi guys, thanks for visiting the Admins the Answer blog! My name’s Greg Smith and this week I wanted to share how we as a business are changing the “norm” of the trade industry and negative work/life balance.

I started Admins the Answer to change the mindset of trade business owners and give them their time back. As a tradie myself, I know what it’s like to miss family events, your kids football games, or even just getting to bed at a reasonable hour. I got to a point where the pressure, stress and overwhelming to-do list absolutely crushed me, and I found myself thinking, “There has to be another way!”.

Thankfully, I created one with Admins the Answer. On the surface, this business aims to help tradies with their admin work such as chasing quotes, answering phone calls and creating invoices. On a deeper level, I wanted to allow small trade business owners, such as myself, to be able to have a healthy work-life balance.

Whenever I speak to clients that have been with Admins the Answer for a long period, I love to ask, “How has my business changed your life?”. The most common answers are stress relief, more family time and peace of mind that their paperwork is being looked after. Our clients know that if they’re finishing up a job at 3pm, the invoice for that job will be in their customers inbox by the time they’re done.

We take all of your customer phone calls for you, because we know how difficult it is to finish up a job when your phone is ringing off the hook and distracting you all day. We chase invoices for you, so you don’t have to work weekends or overtime. We are available over holiday periods, so you get to spend some time with your family and not catching up on paperwork.

We want to revolutionise the trade industry and make it a healthy, happy place. At the moment the trade industry is notorious for negative mental health, with many Australian men suffering from panic attacks, anxiety, insomnia and depression. These are brought on by various factors, mostly long, demanding work hours, project deadline pressures and lack of job security.

This should not and does not have to be the “norm”.  We can change the industry for the better. Take it from a fellow tradie, do yourself a favour and improve your life and business today.

Call us on: 0412 831 401

Sources:

https://theconversation.com/risky-business-how-our-macho-construction-culture-is-killing-tradies-122867
http://mengage.org.au/suicide/mates-in-construction-suicide-in-the-construction-industry

G’day guys, welcome back to Admins the Answer for another trade business related blog post. This week’s topic is all about technology and how it can improve your business productivity.

It’s 2020, and the digital world is rapidly changing and improving every minute. The days of paper diaries, sticky notes and boxes of paperwork are behind us. Tradies are notorious for steering clear of technology they haven’t used before, but this needs to change. Experts tell us that tradies must embrace technology in order to stay relevant and competitive with over 50% of business coming from online searches and social media.

Technology gives us endless possibilities in how we can improve our businesses with computer systems that can help with payroll, data analytics, invoices, quotes and so much more. Research has shown that tradies who have utilised technology into their business have found their costs have reduced and their productivity has improved.

My advice for the most important technology tools to adopt into your business, are a computer-based job management system, a digital calendar and the trusty smart phone. These tools will improve your business’s productivity, efficiency and will save you a whole lot of valuable time.

At Admins the Answer, we use the best computer-based project management systems to track our client’s jobs, invoices, quotes and more. This means we can get your work done faster and keep on top of everything much more effectively. Having digital calendars allows us to access your schedule and book in jobs for you without hassling you on the phone.

We live in a digital age where our devices are portable and can be used almost anywhere. They can also “talk” to each other, sending over documents or invoices from computers to phones to tablets. A recent survey showed that 96% of construction business owners said that introducing automation technology and computer-based management systems into their businesses, made their lives easier and freed up their time.

At Admins the Answer we are all over the technology for your business, so that you don’t have to be. Trust that your business is in good hands and give us a call today.

Greg Smith, Admins the Answer: 0412 831 401 

Sources:

https://tradies365.com.au/digital-shift-for-tradies/
http://www.tradies-mag.com.au/2020/08/26/the-rise-of-the-digital-tradie/
https://insidesmallbusiness.com.au/growth-development/technology-a-tradies-best-friend