Last month we published our guide on ‘Using Fathom when it’s not business as usual’ as a complete eBook. This gives you all 12 of our useful tips for using Fathom to help your clients or business in one single document.
Within its 80 pages we’ve included quality tips and tactics on everything from Consultations to Cash Flow. We think it’s pretty neat, but don’t just take our word for it.
Here’s what Paul Barnes from UK accountancy firm MAP said.
The @fathomhq "Business Unusual Guide" 👏 pic.twitter.com/VxNNngGmEX
— Paul Barnes (@Paul_BarnesACCA) May 26, 2020
Chartered Accountants Johnston Carmichael were another happy firm, saying “I've downloaded my copy of the Business Unusual guide, there's really useful info in it."
We’ve concentrated on 12 key areas in the guide that we feel will best help your business or your clients the most.
Monitor breakeven and profitability – A critical tool for assessing profitability is the ‘Breakeven analysis’. Many businesses are reviewing the impact of different revenue scenarios and adjusting overheads to preserve breakeven or minimise the losses.
Controlling costs – Preserving cash during this period of business uncertainty is crucial, this section looks at how to review all business expenses.
Track profitability of business units – The Breakdown analysis in Fathom enables you to drill deeper and gain insights into the performance of business units within your company. Using this tool you can see important metrics and identify those that are vulnerable or need attention.
Understanding your cash flow – Cash is the fuel that keeps the engine running, the lifeblood of the business. Using the Cash Flow Analysis Waterfall Chart it is easy to visualise the flow of funds into and out of the business.
Monitor drivers of cash flow – There are seven key financial drivers for cash flow. This section tells you what they are, and how adjusting each of them enables business managers to control the availability of cash in their business.
Moving the levers with Goalseek – The Goalseek analysis tool in Fathom helps you to answer the ‘How do we get there?’ question. For a range of financial metrics, you can identify what changes to drivers are required to achieve your goal.
Undertake forward projections – Forward projection trend charts and forward projection Profit & Loss statement (Income Statement) will be useful for clients. Both of these combine actuals and rest of year budget to provide a projection of the expected end of year financial results.
Create action plans – Action time! In the current business environment, cash flow projections and scenario planning are more important than ever. This section tells you how to create a workable plan for your clients.
Enhance communication to stakeholders – Regular communication with key business stakeholders, such as team members, investors, board members, lenders, and shareholders is now more vital than ever. Here’s how to keep everyone informed.
Know your at-risk clients or companies – The final tip is specifically relevant for business advisory firms and multi-entity organisations, such as franchise groups, and shows how Fathom’s benchmarking analysis enables you to compare the performance of multiple businesses (or business units) in a single view.
And so far, our Business Unusual Guide has been downloaded over 1,200 times, by accountants and small business owners from all around the globe. If you want to know how you can face a highly dynamic and at times, uncertain future, you can download the guide here.
And if you’re not currently using Fathom, you can take out a free 14 day trial by clicking the button below.