How much does it cost to get things done?

I recall a conversation with an employee from one of our suppliers, that for their own sake should remain anonymous, who told me with a straight face that it cost them £15 to process each invoice they produce – as if to justify their insistence on quarterly rather than monthly billing.

To this organisation it was seen as cost prohibitive to bill their customers on a more regular basis.

The idea that a web form and direct debit payment might to do the trick in seconds, be easier for all concerned, and could be achieved for fraction of a penny was beyond comprehension.

But it got me thinking about how much we all tolerate these minor inefficiencies in our working lives and their combined cost on how we do business.

So, I have come up with a handful of questions, that I would encourage everyone reading this to consider.

 1.       How reliant is your business on manual finance processes?

 2.       Does your business rely on others to process simple tasks like staff payroll?

 3.       What more could your accounting and payroll software do for you?

 4.       What tasks and processes can be automated?

 5.       Where does outsourcing cause duplication?

 6.       What would your customers / suppliers prefer to do for themselves?

 7.       How much is all of this costing your business?

 8.       How much appetite is there for challenging the status quo in search of a better solution?

Challenging established ways of working will reduce the frictional costs of doing business, and make everyday life easier for our customers, suppliers and colleagues.

If the answers leave you thinking about the skills you and your colleagues may need to develop, I’d love to have a conversation about upskilling and how straightforward improvements can drive bottom line improvement for your organisation.