Making smart decisions for your business is all about knowing how valuable your operations and resources really are. But how do you figure out that value? At a time where we have access to a lot of information, the secret is to make the most of understanding and utilising your underlying data.
Maximise real data
Say goodbye to the days of relying solely on instinct and estimation. Data-driven valuation empowers business owners to extract and analyse the data generated by their daily operations to inform decisions.
Imagine having the ability to dissect your revenue streams, target cost efficiencies and interpret trends with ease. This is what data-driven valuation brings to the table – a clear, concise and quantified view of your business’ position.
Build metrics that matter
The journey to data-driven valuation is lined with metrics and factors that reveal the true value of your business. Consider it a puzzle, where each factor is a piece that tells a story about your business’ financial health and position.
When I say metrics, you might immediately jump to traditional assessments like revenue growth and profitability – which are essential in their own right. However, each business is unique and therefore your metrics should be too. It makes no sense for your metrics to borrow a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, as you want the meaningful data to show the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities available to you specifically.
That’s where Harold Sharp come in. You don’t just want to be sieving through multiple spreadsheets of data at every turn. Consider us the ‘puzzle solvers’, armed with the ability to produce the information for you and to help you interpret it.
Navigate using insights
Now, I love Excel more than most, but it’s tedious and time-consuming. Enter Cloud Accounting apps – the tools that can manipulate and present your insights in a meaningful way.
Great, you have some Cloud Accounting software, which is the perfect place to start. However I’ve previously spoken about the downside of software like Xero – where the ‘plug and play’ is so easy to use that too often people simply stay at that stage and neglect progressing with customising the software to complement their own business.
From tracking expenses and identifying sales trends, to adding formulae to your standard reports – the likelihood is that you have access to this data without any additional subscriptions needed.
With apps like Xero, you are presented with a very numbers-heavy presentation. So, what’s the alternative? Our go-to start point would be Syft. You can use Syft to manipulate and present your data in the way you want by:
- creating custom dashboards of relevant data for each necessary member of your organisation.
- visualising your KPI targets and progression.
- benchmarking against competitors.
Next steps
The ‘what’ and the ‘how’ are two really important parts of the puzzle:
- What data do you want to have access to?
- How do you plan to decipher the data and how do you want to present it?
Then it’s the ‘who’. Who can help you to answer these questions and help you turn the results into an actionable strategy for growth? As accountants, we are uniquely placed to draw on our experience from working with other clients in your industry and outside of it.
Any good accountant is more than just a number cruncher; they’re a valuable partner in helping you to understand your financial data to make your business more successful.
How can we help?
Looking to drive more informed decisions using meaningful data?
Contact our digital advisory team by emailing fintech@haroldsharp.co.uk, call 0161 905 1616 or contact Ryan below.
Ryan Alderson, Lead cloud specialist
T: 0161 905 1616
DD: 0161 926 0512
E: ra@haroldsharp.co.uk