As a business owner, you’ll need a solid understanding of your financial situation. Unless you keep on top of things you could be wasting money or risking financial losses. To create a plan for financial success, check out these ten ideas to protect your business finances.

#1: Liability Insurance

To protect your business assets, you’ll need to purchase general liability insurance. This type of insurance will protect you against legal claims, for instance, negligence, injuries, or accidents. If your company sells retail products, this means that you are responsible for the safety of these products. Product liability insurance can protect your company if a defective product causes bodily harm. Unless you have the right business insurance in place, you could risk having to cover expensive lawsuits.

#2: Workers Compensation Insurance

There are many different types of business insurance, your business will also need a workers compensation insurance policy. This type of insurance covers you if an employee becomes sick or injured, it typically includes medical bills, loss of wages, and in some cases, disability benefits.

#3: Data Security

Protecting your business isn’t just about your physical assets, you’ll also need to think about your data. You probably collect analytical data, to help you improve your products as services. Most businesses also collect private data about their company and customers.

To keep your business data safe, it’s important to put security measures in place. You’ll need to use antivirus and malware software and multi-factor authentication. You’ll also need to train your staff on cybersecurity best practices, to ensure that they are up to speed.

#4: Accounting Solutions

Accounting software is used to process transactions, for example, accounts receivable and payable, payroll, invoicing, tax compliance, and balance sheets. With automated accounting solutions, companies can streamline their accounting processes, and reduce the risk of error.

Accounting software can help companies to create in-depth financial reports, to make better financial decisions. When you have access to great accounting solutions, you ensure tax compliance and avoid associated fees.

#5: Budgeting and Forecasting

All businesses need a strict budget in place, with the help of a budget it’s easy to arrange your expenses into categories and visualize your financial situation. There are several budgeting apps available for SMBs, and many of them also include forecasting tools. Forecasting can help your business to analyze financial data, and use this data to make decisions for the future. With the help of financial predictions, businesses can create a strategic growth plan to achieve their goals.

#6: Financial Advice

If you’re keen to protect your business finances, it’s worth hiring a financial advisor. A financial advisor can help your business to assess your financial situation, helping you to remain financially healthy. Your company can get support in many different areas including:

• Strategies for spending and saving.
• Support with cash flow management.
• Planning for your financial future.
• Analysis for profit and loss.
• Support with tax compliance.

#7: Legal Support

To protect your company and your finances, it’s advisable to work with a lawyer. Working with a professional lawyer can help you to avoid legal issues, and ensure compliance. A lawyer can support your business in many ways, including:

• Determining a legal structure for your company.
• Supporting your company with trademarking practices.
• A lawyer can help you to review legal documents, for instance, property agreements or warrant documents.
• A lawyer can support your business to settle any disputes that arise.

#8: Manage Your Debts

Getting into debt puts a strain on your business finances, unless you manage your debts, it’s difficult to achieve financial health. If your business is looking for debt management advice, it’s best to talk to a financial advisor. If your company is looking to get out of business debt you may consider the following options:

• Refinance or renegotiate your bank loans.
• Negotiate with your creditors.
• Look into reducing your business expenses.
• Brainstorm fast tactics to increase your revenue.
• Try debt reduction strategies.

#9: Spend Wisely

If you’re a small startup you’ll probably want to keep your costs low in the beginning. With wise spending decisions, you’ll reduce your expenses and boost your profits along the way. Here are a few general ideas to help your business save money:

• Keep your team small, consider outsourcing, and only hire permanent staff when you really need to.
• Run a remote operation as opposed to renting a physical premises.
• Go digital and eliminate the need for paper and printers.
• Use free software tools to streamline your business operations (project management tools, email marketing software, etc).
• Switching to renewable energy is a great way to save some money and go green.

#10: Resources to Help

If you’re looking for further advice on protecting your business finances, check out these useful podcasts:

• Ask An CFO: Tune into this weekly finance podcast, brought to you by James Vanresuel, CEO of Vanreusel Ventures. Every week James answers questions on topics like entrepreneurship, investments, and corporate finance.
• Inside Corporate Finance & Risk Podcasts: This series explores various topics and trends in the world of business and finance. If you’re interested to learn new things and get plenty of expert insights, this is the podcast for you.

#11: Protect Your Equipment

Businesses tend to have a lot of expensive equipment, and so it’s important to have these possessions insured. A property and contents insurance policy should cover most of your assets. Certain specialist equipment may need a separate insurance package or extra protection. For example, if your company uses flow measuring tools, you can protect these devices with the help of Fiberglass Sun Shades. When you’ve invested money in specialist equipment you’ll want to ensure that you keep your assets safe.

Ideas like these will help you to protect your business finances and improve your financial health. Paying close attention to your finances will help you to make predictions for the future, and boost your small business. When you’ve put lots of time and money into your company, it’s important to protect your interests.