“My house is always for sale.” That’s what a mentor of our CRO used to say. It’s about always being on the lookout for someone who might buy the house someday, or planning for when the day comes. 

You may not have started your business with a view to selling it, but it’s a good idea for business owners to plan for when they’d like to step down or hand the reins over to someone else. That plan can help the transition to go smoothly as well as make sure you get the highest possible returns. 

Many business owners actually have a plan in place for selling the business even before they begin operations. That’s because the plan affects decision-making throughout the business’ lifecycle—“adding to the value of the house”, as it were. 

In coming up with that plan, you’ll want to think about how long you’re going to run the business, and how much in revenue you plan on generating during that time period. You’ll also have to take your partners or anyone who’s invested into your business into consideration, as well as how big your business is, and the industry you belong to.

1. Sell to partners or managers. Note that high interest rates and upfront capital needed may deter them from buying out the business, so selling down over a vesting period might be an option, where you still retain part control and ownership.

2. Sell to an investor. This might be to your network, one of your employees or relatives. Bear in mind that investors may want you to stay in the business until they can find a suitable replacement, so this is where there could be a longer exit period required. 

3. Sell to another business. Mergers and acquisitions are among the most popular ways of selling a business because of how it can generate cash, quickly.  

4. Sell to someone who wants your team. Business owners who are particularly concerned for the welfare of their employees might choose to sell to a company looking to expand its talent base. They can rest assured knowing their team will be cared for after the business is sold.

5. Sell the business on the market via an IPO. Going public is another popular, high-profile and highly profitable way to sell your business, but note that this may not be the best way during an economic downturn and requires a lot of initial paperwork, money and time to float.

6. Sell the business’ assets and liquidate. This involves shutting the business down altogether and dividing the proceeds of the sale of your business’ assets between you and your stakeholders. You can do this right away, or over an extended period, during which time you “withdraw” your funds from the business until there’s nothing left. 

As a final option that doesn’t involve selling your business when the time comes, you might consider simply handing the business over to loved ones such as your children. 

Whether you choose to hand over or sell using one of the options above, it’s also a good idea to have accountants and legal advisors on hand. You’re likewise going to need a thorough examination of your financial records to help you valuate your business. If you’d appreciate some assistance with your plans for the sale, book a discovery call with us, today.

 

With this year’s halfway point just around the corner, now would be a good time to start taking stock of your business’ financials, and to see whether you’re on track towards meeting this year’s goals.

While forecasts usually go hand-in-hand with planning your annual budget, making frequent forecasts are standard for a lot of businesses. You might hold them every month or every quarter if you’ve been in business for some time, or weekly to monthly if you’re just starting out.

It’s also common practice for businesses to adjust forecasts they’ve made at the beginning of the year as the year passes, particularly in response to current events such as the recent pandemic. 

As many businesses continue their post-pandemic rebuilding efforts, key decision makers may be struggling with the question of whether they should even still be in business. An upcoming mid-year forecast might be able to provide some answers.

1. Refer to your results from the first half. Base your projections on past financial statements that reflect your complete transaction history. Only when you have a clear view of your past performance will you be able to make an accurate forecast.

2. Choose your forecasting method. Established businesses can use the historical method, which uses financial statements that reflect your performance in the past year. New businesses that don’t have a whole lot of data yet can base their projections on research drawing from industry trends. Some businesses use a combination of both methods.

3. Set specific revenue and expense goals. Make sure you know what the value drivers are when you set these goals so that you can monitor the factors affecting your performance. 

4. Document your forecast. Prepare a pro forma income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet which show what your finances could look like for the rest of the year. 

Some businesses use a rolling forecast to give them more flexibility in responding to events as they happen. Similar to making frequent, quarterly forecasts, an example of a rolling forecast is one made at the beginning of the year, and then adjusting it every quarter. This is in contrast to static, yearly forecasts made at year’s end, which some businesses also use as a benchmark together with a rolling forecast.

Making allowances for optimal and not-so-optimal business conditions also form part of making a mid-year forecast, as they likewise enable you to make ad hoc adjustments to your budget.

When the year has drawn to a close, it will be essential for you to compare your mid-year forecast to the actual performance of your business. You’ll be able to gain valuable insight into why you were (or weren’t) able to reach your goals for the year and to plan your budget accordingly.

Book a discovery call with us today to help you make a mid-year forecast that can help you make the most of the rest of this year.

 

If you want to achieve certain growth objectives for your business, having recourse to investors might be the course of action for you. While approaching investors might be commonly associated with businesses that are just starting out, a business in any stage of its growth may feel the need for the kind of funding that investors provide. 

Having recognised this need, many business owners find it difficult to figure out exactly how much they should be asking investors for in an investment proposal. Asking for too much, or even too little can turn investors off and erode your credibility. Knowing the right amount to ask for takes a lot of careful consideration and planning. 

1. How much your business is worth. It’s best to get help from professionals in figuring out the best way to value your business, as there are many different ways of calculating this. Some of the things that go into this calculation are your business’ assets, revenue, how big your team is, and how much potential you have for further growth.

2. What stage of growth your business is in. If your business has been up for some time, you’ll be able to use your business’ valuation in calculating how much to ask investors for. A newly created business won’t have this valuation and may not be able to ask for as much.

3. How much your operating costs are. Add up your operating costs such as equipment, payroll, utilities, and marketing. New businesses will also have to consider registration and related costs. Then factor in any fluctuations in your operating costs and determine a percentage of your total costs to add as a buffer. 

4. The type of investor you’re approaching. Different kinds of investors give out different amounts, so you have to be sure you’re asking the right one. If you’re asking for an investment of $1 million or less, for instance, you should approach an angel investor. If you’re hoping for an investment of more than $2 million, you’ll want to ask a venture capital firm.

5. How many potential investors you have. Being able to secure investments from more than one investor affects how much you’ll be able to ask for. More potential investors mean being able to ask for more, and vice versa. 

6. How you plan on using their investment. Certain aspects of your business such as production or marketing may require more resources, which should be reflected in your investment proposal.

7. How much their return on their investment will be. If you want to be able to provide an ROI of X% for instance, you’ll need to ask for X amount of dollars. Show the investors how much in returns they can expect if they invest X amount, particularly when you exit or sell the business.

8. How much of the business you’re willing to let them own. One way to calculate how much to ask for as an investment is to consider offering a percentage of the ownership of your business. Then you could ask for X amount, plus Y% of your business equity. 

Make sure you’ll be able to back up the amount you ask for with financial records, and that your estimate of your operating costs don’t fall short. Book a discovery call with us to get help with your investment proposal and get the funding your business needs, today.

A business can’t afford to not spend on marketing. That’s because marketing is all about finding new clients and showing them why you’re the better choice out of all your competitors.

Like other tasks or business processes, marketing requires resources, or a percentage of your business’ operating budget. While business owners know they ought to spend on marketing, how much of their budget they should allocate to marketing isn’t always clear.

If your business makes less than $5 million, the US Small Business Administration advises you to set aside 7 to 8% of your revenue for marketing. However, there is no fixed or ideal percentage that applies to all businesses. How much you spend on marketing depends not just on revenue, but on what stage of growth your business is in, and what industry you belong to. 

A new business, for instance, is expected to spend more on marketing than one that’s already been established. Businesses in retail, consumer electronics and financial services, for example, also tend to have a bigger marketing budget than those in other industries.

1. Define your marketing objectives. Before you can determine exactly how much your business needs to spend on marketing, you must first be clear on what you want your marketing activities to achieve. These objectives must be specific and have a timeframe for achieving them, as well as quantifiable outcomes.
2. Identify the marketing activities needed to reach these objectives. If, for example, you want your marketing objectives to generate awareness for your business, display advertising may be one marketing activity you can carry out. If your objective is to generate X leads within X months, you could consider inbound marketing tactics.
3. List what you need to perform these marketing activities. If you choose to run a display campaign, you’re going to need a copywriter, a graphic designer, and a media planner to take care of running the ads and managing ad spend. You’ll need similar resources for inbound and other digital marketing activities.
4. Compute how much these activities will cost. Rates for each resource (whether internal or outsourced) and marketing channel will vary. Even if you choose to do some or all of these marketing activities yourself, a considerable amount of time will still need to be spent on top of the cost of tools and utilities.
5. Have metrics in place for tracking marketing performance. Your marketing budget will need to be periodically adjusted to make sure you’re getting the most out of every dollar, and these adjustments can only be made on the heels of careful monitoring. You should be able to re-allocate resources as needed to marketing activities that are performing better than others.

Prioritizing your marketing activities after adding up these costs are big decisions you’ll have to make. If you could use some assistance in planning your marketing budget against the bigger picture, we’re just a discovery call away.

 

by Matthew Peng, CRO, DoubleRule

It’s a hefty decision, and not one to be made hastily. You’ve either already started a business or you’re thinking about starting one, and you’ve realised that you will need help.

The question is, where is this help coming from? Hiring someone to join you instead may entail resources you aren’t prepared to allocate upfront while trying to grow your business quickly, therefore, finding a co-founder just may be the right course of action.

That’s what I decided to do for one of my own business ventures, and I’d like to share how I undertook this process in the hopes that it might serve as a guide for those of you considering the same.

How to Find a Co-founder

To begin with, I didn’t want to have a huge pool to choose from, and formally advertising for a co-founder isn’t something I’d recommend, mainly because you could literally end up with just anybody. 

You want to handpick somebody for the role, that would be complementary to your skillset so start with your networks when you search. In my case, I approached someone who worked in an adjacent industry to myself and who I played sports with socially, so I knew I could work with him in a team setting.

Once you’ve identified your top pick, make sure you arrange to have multiple meetings with this person in different settings to see how you would both get along on a range of topics and scenarios. Make your decision slowly, so as to really get to know this person as a potential business partner.

What to Look For in a Co-founder

1. Complementary expertise and experience. In looking for my co-founder, I wasn’t looking for someone who was a carbon copy of myself. I needed someone who had experience I didn’t have, and whose skills filled gaps in my own skill set.
2. Value brought to the business. As you continue your meetings, be sure to ask “What value do you think you’ll be bringing to the company?” Steer conversations away from what you want your potential co-founder to do; rather, find out what this person could be doing as part of your business.
3. Matching career aspirations. It’s crucial for your new co-founder to have the same kind of drive as you. You’re also going to want to look at what stage they are in life, i.e. the motivations of a young business owner will differ from those of someone more mature. Ask yourself whether you’d be comfortable being co-founders with someone at that stage.

Other Points for Discussion

1. Networks. Find out what kind of connections your potential co-founder has that your business might be able to leverage. 
2. Capital. Learn how much in capital or resources this person is able to contribute. 
3. Business structure. Talk about what roles might be best suited for one another and delineation of responsibilities and how you might settle in times of a split decision. 
4. Legal. Finally, to make things comfortable for both parties, make sure you agree on how to enter or exit the company and other such details, and that you don’t scrimp on getting professional legal assistance in drawing up a formal agreement. 

These are the points I’ve followed in finding my own co-founder, which I hope will be of some benefit to you. For personalised advice on how to start or grow your own business, I’d like to invite you to book a discovery call with us, today.

 

Double Rule is tech-savvy accounting practice that aims to improve your finances in business and working life. It spent over five years of progressing performance to help you with your books, your financials as well as with your taxes.

As much as we value our clients’ finances, we at Double Rule also give importance to our staff who we believe made every successful transaction possible. After all, they are the ones making sure our cloud system keeps every receipt of yours accounted for and categorized properly.

Strengthening the Team

Last June 1, 2019, we conducted a summer outing and team building activity in Pampanga, Philippines. Our goal is to give our team their well-deserved rest while making them more united. We understand that a team that knows how to work together despite their own differences is key to a greater company.

That’s why most of our key employees have been with us ever since we started Double Rule five years ago. Without their support and sacrifices, we wouldn’t have achieved our company goals.

They were there through thick and thin – literally and figuratively, with a lot of ups and downs, even grieving together when one of our employees, the content writer of Double Rule passed away just last February 2019.

Because of this, we knew we had to do something more. During this company outing, Double Rule founder Marvin Galang talked about aligning our company’s mission and vision with the 17 sustainable goals set by the United Nations.

Good Health and Well-being. We have a gym reimbursement program that promotes good health and well-being to employees.

Quality Education. We started by giving a surprise to our employees who still have children in school by providing them educational aide. This benefit is available moving forward.

Responsible Consumption and Production. As a paperless company, we believe that we have to push ourselves into consuming goods that are less harmless to the environment. No plastics, no styros, only reusables.

Partnerships to Achieve the Goals. It was also discussed that we should collaborate with our contacts in order to help the community. Public Colleges and Universities who are willing to be educated in terms of accounting technology and its ecosystem. Clients who wish to donate their time and resources in order to help educate the poor in the Philippines.

Meeting Success with Our Staff

What we like to impart to our readers is that behind Double Rule are hardworking humans and not robots. They keep the service working smoothly, keeping every client satisfied. We want to make a client feel that they are working with an actual bookkeeper and not software only.

Our service is personalized, and not many bookkeepers can proudly say that. This blog entry is a reminder that Double Rule may be powered by the Cloud but it is driven by people. We take pride in keeping our staff fulfilled with their job. At the end of the day, a happy client and happy staff go hand-in-hand.

Happy Staff, Happy Client

Double Rule is a reliable business accounting and outsourcing firm. Our clients, who are mostly in the United States, avail of our personalized service, when they want an organized and transparent record of their finances, that is safe and secure online.

Having won the Xero US Accounting Partner of the Year last 2014, it inspired us to continuously innovate our processes and services.

Our success and our clients’ success are made possible by the smart workers of Double Rule. Thank you, congratulations, and keep focused in the years to come!

July 7, 2017 – Friday — Xero and Stripe are working together on automating payments for the accounting software to help businesses get faster payments for online invoices.

Image credit:www.xero.com/blog/2017/07/stripe-first-class-payment-experience/

Cashflow Is Vital

Xero believes that a good cashflow is vital when it comes to running a business, and for cash to flow smoothly, invoices should be paid on time.

Considered as their first step in automating payments, Xero added an online payment option to the accounting software. With just a few clicks, you can already accept credit card payments for your online invoices once you integrate with Stripe. Also, once you send online invoices to your customers in Xero, they would have the option to pay it immediately using their debit or credit cards.

Image credit: Xero Blog

Automated Reconciliation for Stripe Payments

Image credit: Xero Blog

Automating Stripe payments is just a start… and it does never stop there.

One of the struggles that most customers are having is reconciling bank statements. This usually starts with identifying payments in the statement line, and searching for Stripe payments/fees via find and recode, before ending the reconciliation process by clicking the Ok button.

Xero believes that this is a long manual process that would take time and effort for users, which is why they included an automated reconciliation feature for Stripe payments!

With this new feature, all transactions in Xero under the Stripe statement line will be matched automatically, allowing you to easily reconcile in Xero. Once there are different amounts found within Xero and Stripe payout, Xero will automatically search for the possible transaction which will act as a partial match.

You can check out this blog to learn more information about this new feature, and be sure to visit the Xero app marketplace to see the benefits of integrating Stripe with Xero accounting software.

By Double Rule

There’s a war out there, and it’s not about guns and bullets — It’s about businesses playing the modern day game of “tug of war” as they recruit the perfect candidate who’ll join the ranks of their company. Yes, there’s a war happening out there, and it’s called The War for Talent.

The stakes are getting higher as competition on hiring the best talents continues to brew between companies. Other factors that add to the pressure are baby boomers vacating positions due to retirement, leaving opportunities for the next generation of talents.

Terminology of “War”

The term “war for talent” is a jargon devised by Mckinsey & Co. during 1997 that uniquely describes the competitive nature of businesses when it comes to recruiting and retaining the best talents a company can possibly find.

In a blog by Fast Company, Mckinsey & Co. stated that talent will be the most important resource businesses will have over the next 20 years, and even though today’s technology can somewhat automate tasks meant for human labor, it will still need people to operate it in order for automation to push through. Just like in the movie “Wolf on Wall Street”, when Leonardo DiCaprio’s character describes telephones like “black boxes” which will “not gonna dial themselves”.

War for Talent Demographics

Based on demographic shifts (primarily in the United States and Europe), the war for talent is characterized by the increasing demand for job opportunities available, along with the decreasing supply of workers suitable for the job.

Statistically speaking, experienced employees are having more options on which companies they will choose, while employers are having a hard time finding talents who will replace retiring employees.

Here are some things that you need to consider in order to win this so called “war of talent acquisition”:

1. Tell A Story

One of the factors which can attract today’s millennial talents is a good story about your organization, and a detailed explanation of the benefits in store for them once they become a part of your team. This way, you’ll be giving them a good reason to apply for your company.

2. Succession Plan

“Never fire anyone until you know who is going to do their job.” This, coming from PrimeGenesis Advisor Rob Gregory, is indeed applicable for this current talent acquisition scenario.

It is important that once an employee shows some intention of leaving the company, a succession plan is in place to ensure that your business will still flow in the right path. Of course, your succession plan needs to include the right guidance and training of employees that will someday become qualified for the position.

3.  Retaining Employees

“I never ask my clients to judge me on my winners, I ask them to judge me on my losers because I have so few.” – Leonardo DiCaprio, Wolf on Wall Street (2013)

With baby boomers leaving possibilities of retirement, and experienced job hopefuls aiming for the “biggest fishes in the pond”, some companies will be busy focusing on the next generation of leaders like for instance a new sales manager, production assistant, or maybe even a new board member.

But there is something that these companies are slowly missing — It’s the faith on their own talents, their employees, whom with proper guidance and training could also handle those positions.

In a 2016 keynote by Amit Walla, Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer of Informatica, believes that some of today’s most successful tech organizations are “successful” because of the people who contributed change and success to a company.

Retaining the best people in your company is truly important as they will someday play significant roles in your company’s success story — “Once you get it right, then you get to reap the reward.”

By Double Rule

Monday, May 1, 2017 — Paypal, in partnership with WooCommerce and Xero, launched Business in a Box, a brand new business solutions platform that aims to help U.S startups in running their business, and attract more customers in using the renowned payment service system.

Image credit:https://www.xero.com/blog/2017/05/paypal-business-box-everything-need-power-online-business/

Where Do I Begin?

“Where do I begin?” is always the first question that comes into mind whenever startup hopefuls decides to open up a business.

Imagine the things that a startup business would need:  concrete business plan, employees that will help on running everyday business operations, an online store for order management, selling and marketing, an app that will accept payments and an accounting software which will track financial data.

Choosing applications alone is already time consuming, that’s why Paypal, along with WooCommerce and Xero, launched this amazing platform that could solve all these problems.

Introducing Business in a Box

Business in a Box is a bundled solution platform with a set of tools designed on helping you manage your startup business. From building your online store to taking of payments and managing financials, you’ll find it all here in this unique business toolset.

This efficient platform is widely applicable for beginner startup owners and other businesses that wants to adapt with the digital shift. So if you’re already decided on what products or services you wanted to sell, have a business plan in mind or wanted to transform your offline franchise into an online business giant, then this startup toolset would be perfect for you!

What’s Different?

Paypal has been working with various ecommerce platforms like Magento, Shopify, Bigcommerce and WooCommerce, starting up by adding a Paypal button to their online shop.

The only difference is that this time, things will go on a much centralized approach, as Paypal have established an official partnership with WooCommerce; giving this new platform (Business in a Box) the ability to not only allow users to experience the magic of WooCommerce and Xero accounting software, but also to be able to promote the other services that only Paypal could offer. The best example of it is the Paypal Working Capital, which had helped several businesses worldwide.

Another good thing about Business in a Box is that business owners who’ll sign up for this new service from Paypal will get discounts from its partners, such as an additional 3 month and 1 year pressable subscription from WooCommerce that comes with a free plugin; or a 30 day trial and one hour advisor consultation courtesy of Xero.

With Business in a Box, you can already create an online store, accept payments and track your finances at the same time. Sign up and start your business journey today!

By Double Rule