Expanding your business is an excellent way to reach more customers and increase your profit margins. This means you’ll be able to boost your market shares since more people will become more aware of your brand and purchase your products or avail of your services.
However, before you start the business expansion, you must consider your company’s finances. This includes calculating the cost of the growth, identifying the resources required to achieve this goal, and determining whether it’s in line with your budget.
You also need to identify potential risks associated with the expansion, such as credit availability and other factors that can affect the success of your business.
Furthermore, here’s a list of financial considerations you need to keep in mind as you plan to expand your company:
Working Capital
To expand a business, you must have the funds to do so. This means you must assess if your company has enough capital to support this growth. However, if you don’t have the money, one of your options is to get assistance from banks or other financial institutions.
This includes lines of credit or credit cards that can help you with business expansion. You can compare these two options by reading articles, such as ‘business line of credit vs credit card,’ to find one that best fits your company’s needs.
Once you have obtained these loans, it’s essential to keep track of all your expenses and earnings and how much money remains available for expansion. You also need to understand how much debt you have on hand and what type of credit rating it has. If your business has high debt levels or insufficient cash flow, it may be difficult for your company to support long-term expansion and growth.
On the other hand, if you cannot take out loans, you may raise additional capital by selling shares on the stock market. This is known as equity financing, and you could use it for expansion purposes and other reasons, such as buying back shares and making distributions.
Potential Sales Revenue
Another financial aspect you must consider before expanding your organization is its potential sales revenue. After all, the goal of a business expansion is to tap a larger audience to generate more money from its products and services.
That said, one way to determine whether expanding is good for your company is by forecasting how much profit you’ll get from this. You’d want to know if your company can recover from the expansion investment by determining your potential sales revenue. You can do this by evaluating your sales figures over the past six months and the previous years and then comparing the sales to your cost of production.
Expanding is a good idea if you have been running a profitable business. However, if your forecast tells you that most of your profits will be spent on other expenses, such as employee salaries or marketing costs, then it may not be in your best interest to expand. You may need to wait until your business finance grows and stabilizes to ensure you have enough funds to support its growth.
Projected Expenses
Expanding your company means increased demands and responsibilities within your organization. This means you may need to invest in more tools and resources to assist your company’s growth.
Here are some of the potential expenses you need to be prepared for:
Onboarding of additional staff
If your company involves selling products, your inventory workers will have to fulfill orders more efficiently, and your customer service team has to always be available for new customers. Your staff may need help handling the additional responsibility and some training or assistance from outside sources.
But before you start hiring new employees, consider if you have enough funds to pay their salaries. You can calculate your current monthly expenses and add the amount for each employee hired. This way, you’ll know how much money is needed for each employee’s salary and benefits package.
If you don’t have enough money right now, you may have to wait until later before you expand so that you’ll have the funds to do so. On the other hand, you may outsource these tasks to third-party agencies providing you with temporary workers to help you carry out those additional tasks.
They can deliver services, such as project management and accounting, usually handled by full-time employees but at a lower cost than hiring and training in-house staff.
Purchase of extra machinery or equipment
When expanding into a new market, you may have to purchase extra equipment or tools like a new machine or fleet of vehicles to help with your operations. This can be costly, especially if you’re buying modern models. As such, you should weigh the cost of adding these items to determine if an expansion is what your business needs.
To do this, calculate how much money you’ll need for each piece of equipment or vehicle, and then consider how it can boost the productivity of your operations. In addition, it can also help to figure out when you’ll receive its return on investment (ROI).
On the other hand, you may not always need to invest in a newer model, as you may also consider purchasing used equipment and vehicles to save money on these costs. However, ensure these vehicles are in good condition before purchasing them, as they may need repairs or maintenance later, which can be costly in the long run.
Final Words
Your company’s finances are critical in determining if your business is ready for expansion. That said, before expanding your business, ensure your business has the financial capability or enough working capital to support the growth and pay for the additional expenses associated with an expansion.
In addition, it can help forecast your business’s potential sales revenue to know how feasible and sustainable the expansion will be. You must also consider possible expenses since a business expansion may require hiring more staff or buying new tools and equipment to aid your operations.
Hopefully, the insights above can guide you in making a more informed decision for your business’s growth.