Can Business Consultancy Help Me?

Companies in every sector are discovering the benefits of business consultancy.

In today's article, we'll discuss how business consultancy works and how it can help you.

A consultant is anyone who advises a business owner on how to improve his or her organisation. Our particular focus is on accountancy, but consultants exist in every field. In particular:

• Security
• Management
• Human resources
• Marketing

Today we're giving our top 5 reasons why hiring a business consultant can help you.

1. A Fresh Pair Of Eyes

It's very easy to get tunnel vision as a business owner.

When you run a small business, it can feel like you spend every waking hour fixing things. Clients need you. Your staff need you. There's a problem with the website. There's a problem with the paperwork.

It can often be really hard to take a step back and think strategically. And, even when you do, you're often too close to the action.

An outside consultant can look at your business with a fresh pair of eyes. They can identify things you might be missing, or areas you can improve. Often things are done a certain way "because that's how we've always done it". A consultant can get you unstuck.

2. Save You Time

There may be jobs, or entire areas of the business, that take your time and energy away from your core activities.

In this case, it's often advisable to bring in outside help. You can even end up saving money (in terms of opportunity cost) by freeing up your day for revenue generation.

For example, our sister company Key Business Marketing offers copy writing services and social media management. These are activities which can quickly overwhelm the rest of the day.

On the accounting side, jobs like payroll or company administration are often best left to someone who can do them quickly and efficiently.

3. Complement Your Skills

As a business owner, you'll always have a greater affinity for some aspects of your industry more than others.

For example, you might be a great salesman who hates paperwork and admin. Maybe you love the day-to-day work of the business, but you don't enjoy the big-picture strategic stuff. Maybe you enjoy the personal interaction with customers, but feel the tech revolution has passed you by.

This is where a business consultant can help. Identify which specific areas you need help in, and then bring in an expert to fill in the gaps.

This doesn't even have to be done in person. For example, we offer an Outsourced Financial Bookkeeper service for clients who are happy for us to work remotely.

4. Access To Technology

Outside consultants will often have access to better technology than you can get as a business owner.

Some technology is expensive to buy or licence. A consultancy company is able to afford the upfront costs, because it can recoup them in fees across multiple clients.

Even if the software is affordable, it's often helpful to work with an expert. For example, we recommend the accountancy and project-management platform Xero. It's not expensive, but setting up a new accounting system, even one as user-friendly as Xero, can be daunting.

We recently were awarded Gold Partner status by Xero. So we're trusted by lots of small businesses to help them manage their accounts online.

5. Peace Of Mind

For some areas of the business, like marketing or copy writing, you can get away with the odd mistake. It might cost you a sale or two, but it's not going to keep you up at night.

But for company admin, finance or compliance, it's a different story. Make a mistake in these areas, and you'll find yourself answering to HMRC. If you're lucky, you'll emerge with a slap on the wrist. Otherwise it could be a fine, or something even worse.

Unless you're very confident in these areas, it's often worth hiring a professional. At Key Business Consultants, we will compliance check your business and represent you well with the authorities.

If you'd be interested in working with us, or you have any questions about our business consultancy services, please get in touch.