RETAILING: EXPERT OPINION


IT’S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR …TIME TO PLAN AHEAD FOR SUCCESS


Daley Hub directors, Clive and Kerry Daley, deliver the eleventh instalment of their monthly solutions, this time focussing in on this critical time of budgets and planning for the year ahead


I


t’s that time of year when the world is preparing for


businesses


Christmas, are


preparing budgets


and planning for the year ahead. We love Christmas in our house, the sound of Andy Williams singing “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” resounds in our heads. So instead of having your head down immersed in the figures, take a little time to grab yourself a hot chocolate with marshmallows and have a read of this article giving you some of our top tips for making the budget season a time of reflection of what happened in the past and a time of excitement of the endless possibilities for the future.


Top-down or bottom-up? Top-down are the wishes from the board or senior management, and often they want too much, and bottom-up is the detailed forecast from the team and can often be a little safe, so neither is the correct way on their own. Much better is where the top-down wish meets the bottom-up forecast, which ends in a budget that is both challenging, but still achievable. This approach will keep everyone engaged with the process and the plan.


Give it a great name Budgets are often seen as an arduous task, something that limits parts of your business on what can spent and puts pressure on other areas of the business through targets. We see the budget as the “green light for go”. It is the plan of action to kick-start the year and we have seen some great examples where businesses name their budget. This gives everyone the theme and direction for the year ahead and builds alignment. Examples such as “Get it right first time – for a budget focused


10 DIY WEEK 9 DECEMBER 2019


on profit and efficiency” and/or “Build it big for 2020 – for growth and expansion”…these certainly focus your mind and are a constant reminder of what you wanted to achieve throughout the year.


It is not all about the figures Often when a budget is completed it is centred round the set of figures that maps out the year ahead, the sales,


who will deliver them and when they will happen will help you track performance and importantly understand where you are at any point in time.


The short-term feeds into the long-term


costs, expenses and profit that will be achieved if everything happens as planned. The dictionary describes a budget as a “financial plan for a defined period”. Don’t get us wrong, the numbers are important, but the actions that sit behind them are critical. Bridging your budget, i.e. creating a visual aid of what activities will be annualised, what will not, the initiatives for the year ahead, the value of them,


If you define where you want to be in a few years time and work back, you will probably find you need to start doing things differently today, or even yesterday! The budget for the year ahead should fit into your longterm plans and aspirations for the business. If you do not have a longer term plan, as soon as you have set the budget for the year ahead, start building your five-year plan. A strong five-year plan should be directional, fluid and flexible where it needs to be, clearly defined where investment


is


required,


clear, engages your


business and ultimately inspires you and your team.


It is all in the execution Poor execution of your budget will allow it to fail. We all get busy and stuck in the detail of our day- to-day roles, so giving yourselves a process where you continually check against the budget gives you the opportunity to act and to change the course of the year. So put in place a process that sets deadlines, owners of actions and the track-ability of things and this will give you more chance of being successful.


For more business tips from Clive and Kerry, visit the Daley Hub website at www.daleyhub.com


www.diyweek.net


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36