Business financial planning: how to do it, strategies

By BUKINGPROPERTIES
10th September, 2024

One of the most important management tasks in business is corporate financial planning . After all, strategically distributing available capital, understanding risks and defining growth objectives are what guide companies' activities in the market.

Ideally, every business should start its operation by making a strategic plan, followed by a financial plan, to have a clear vision of the opportunities in its niche and understand whether the prospects are favorable.

This way, your company can avoid the unfavorable statistics that fall on poorly managed businesses.

The main reason for failure is inefficient management, resulting in bankruptcy for 25% of companies.

Anyone who starts their own business has to overcome many challenges. Therefore, seeking knowledge about management and planning is a differential that can positively influence results.

Continue reading the article and understand what it is, its importance and how to carry out and monitor your business's financial planning.

What is business financial planning?

Corporate financial planning is the document that organizes and records the objectives and goals of a business related to the use of available capital resources, allowing results to be monitored in a systematic way and strategic decisions to be made, reducing financial risks .


The objective of the work is for managers to have a scenario of the financial growth they wish to achieve after a certain period. Remember that this is not a document that is shelved once it is ready.

On the contrary, the financial management team is responsible for monitoring each stage of planning and reporting to the rest of the team whether the actions are actually leading to the defined objectives.

How important is business financial planning?

Financial planning is important because it acts as a tool for controlling business expenses and investments, executing each action as planned to achieve the best results.

Instead of investing thoughtlessly in a project just because someone suggested it, those responsible first check whether there is available capital, whether the risks are worth it and also analyze the impact that the results can cause.

In this way, the business is based on reliable forecasts and guidelines that have been duly studied and not on guesswork or “ feeling ”.

The analysis method is the same regardless of the company's sector, hence the importance of integrating all managers and employees into the financial planning process.

Thus, each decision can be well planned and made after careful analysis of all variables.

How to do business financial planning?

The steps of business financial planning are quite simple and easy to put into practice. Check out the five steps to set up your business:

1. Evaluate the company’s current situation

The first step in corporate financial planning is to assess the company's current situation to find out whether there is capital available, whether the margin is small or whether the company is in a state of complete financial health.

One tool used to guide the analysis is the SWOT Matrix , which analyzes strengths and weaknesses in relation to market opportunities and threats and how these factors influence financial performance.

2. Set financial goals

Knowing the current scenario, the team can define financial objectives for a given period, considering the existing possibilities.

This makes it possible to establish goals for revenue, profit, investment, new customers, savings on suppliers, electricity, among other indicators.

Objectives help ensure that decisions are well thought out, avoiding impulsive and risky solutions.

3. Define action plans

Each goal must have an associated action plan , which works as a roadmap of activities to achieve what was planned.

For example, if one of the objectives is to save electricity , it is necessary to list the actions to seek, evaluate and choose the solution that offers the best opportunity for savings.

4. Make the company's annual budget

The next step is to create the company's annual budget with the total expenses for the period, as well as the ceiling for each sector, considering the necessary investment in work towards the objectives.

This definition must be discussed calmly and carefully so that the values ​​are compatible and truly promote growth.

5. Anticipate financial scenarios

In addition to the ideal scenario, aiming at expected growth objectives, corporate financial planning must anticipate other financial scenarios .

Outline one or two alternative scenarios, one optimistic but suboptimal, and one pessimistic, in which potential losses are manageable.

This way, the team will be ready to act in both cases, avoiding surprises and delays in resolving problems.

Tips for keeping your business financial control up to date

Now that the planning is ready, pay attention to financial control to keep all data organized and accessible:

  • Invest in good software to organize financial data : digitization makes it easier to organize, search, access and share across the team.
  • Get quotes before hiring services : encourage the team to seek up to three quotes before hiring services or purchasing supplies.
  • Know all costs and expenses : knowing what the company needs to remain operational is also essential for successful financial planning.
  • Monitor cash flow : another fundamental control is knowing what and how much leaves the company's cash flow to identify abnormal movements.
  • Keep pricing up to date : making adjustments is essential to ensure competitiveness in the market in a fair and well-planned manner.

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