10 Essential Tips for Managing Small Business Finances in 2024

Effective financial management is the cornerstone of any successful small business. As we move through 2024, staying on top of your small business finances has never been more crucial. Whether you are in start-up mode or looking to scale up a small business, handling money correctly will mean the difference between thriving and surviving. With changing trends in finance and the available new tools in the market, this is the prime time to look again at your financial strategy and to ensure your business is on sound footing. Following are the 10 crucial tips that will help you manage the finances of your small business in 2024.

1. Budgeting Like a Pro

A budget forms the cornerstone of all good financial plans. It helps allocate resources and estimate expenses, including planning for future investments. All you need to do in budgeting is make a practical budget. List all the sources of your income and expenses. Include fixed and variable costs, with a buffer for any unforeseen expenses.

Flexibility is one of the chief tenets of budgeting in 2024. The economy may experience a different slump or stamp of growth at any time; hence, frequent reviews facilitate readjustment. Consider using financial software like QuickBooks or Xero, which offer budgeting tools that help you keep track and make real-time piecemeal adjustments in the budget.

2. Monitoring Cash Flow Frequently

More actual words were never spoken about small business: cash flow is the lifeblood. With a good bit of profitability and without good cash flow, any business can strain to pay the bills. Keep your cash flow in good health by observing your periodic cash flow statements: where the money comes from and where it goes.

One of the very best strategies is to work out a cash flow forecast, projecting what money you expect to receive and pay going forward. This affords you the opportunity to pre-plan for any possible shortfalls and be better prepared with the appropriate corrective action that needs to be taken in advance. Tools like Float or Pulse help make the cash flow forecasting process more manageable, yet much better and far more accurate.

3, Smart Debt Management

While debt can often be handy in fattening growth, how well an organization manages the same will call for the difference. If not handled properly, high-interest loans soon pocket large sums because nobody likes seeing the harsh end of high-interest loans. The key to managing your debt is to focus all your effort on repaying high-interest debts and, second, to seek consolidation of the debt to bring down interests.

On the other hand, having good credit also allows one to get more favorable loan terms. Be sure to periodically review your credit report for errors or other problems and fix them immediately. Keeping a low debt-to-income ratio is another way to stay solid financially.

4. Cut Unnecessary Costs

Reducing these expenses will significantly improve your bottom line. Start by carrying out an extensive audit of the business expenses. Categorize between the non-essential costs and costs to negotiate better terms with the suppliers or service providers.

Regular financial reviews will help you cut costs without sacrificing quality or service. Some examples include swapping out costly software applications with cheaper ones or renegotiating your lease — hopefully, you aren’t running your business out of a brick-and-mortar location.

5. Investment in Financial Technology

Finally, in 2024, fintech will be more accessible than ever and a more beneficial form of financing. Invest in the correct fintech tool to finally handle finances more simply—loading most time-consuming jobs and slashing relative risks.

Examples of using Expensify for expense management, FreshBooks for designing invoices, or Gusto for managing payroll provide much more functionality: time-saving and automating routine tasks. Most importantly, these tools can give you precious small business financial health insights, which you can leverage in decision-making.

6. Preparing for Tax Season

Most small business owners stress this during tax season. However, it does not have to be so, provided one has kept his or her records in order the whole year round. A smooth tax season involves keeping all financial records updated throughout the year and maximizing all available deductible expenses and credits.

You may also want to see a tax professional who can help you get through the thousands of pages of the tax code to be sure you’re receiving every benefit. Consider using tax prep software, like TurboTax, or a certified public accountant as 2024 comes to fruition to ensure the accuracy and timeliness of your taxes.

7. Establishing an Emergency Fund

Every small business needs an emergency fund to float when there are unexpected expenditures or in case the revenues fall below expectations. It can save you financially when times are hard without turning to expensive loans or credit lines.

Building an emergency fund involves saving a small percentage of your income every month. Set a goal of storing away at least three to six months’ worth of operating expenses. This fund should be kept in a separate, easily accessible account to be available when you need it most.

8. Growth Planning

The most exciting part of running a small business is planning for expansion, although it comes with its unique set of financial challenges. If you are considering expanding, you should understand the financial implications, which include the costs of new equipment, additional staff, and increased inventory.

Develop a detailed growth plan regarding your financial requirements and how to finance them. Consider ways such as reinvesting the profits in your business, taking on business loans, seeking investors, and the like; hence, growth should occur deliberately, ensuring your business grows within its means and does not compromise its overall financial health.

It’s useful to know about possible tariffs and updates happening in the financial domain of business, not just locally but internationally, so your business can adapt.

9. Securing Funding Options

Access to finance is vital to any small business that wants to grow or recapitalize from financial managers. There are various funding options 2024, ranging from traditional bank loans to alternative finance options such as crowdfunding or peer-to-peer lending. Consider factors such as interest, pay terms, and your possible credit rating when choosing which funding option to go with. Then, of course, you need a strong business plan that you can show lenders or investors how the funds will be applied to develop more growth and profitability for repayment.

10. Maintaining records of financials

Before a business can decide on and abide by fiscal regulations, up-to-date and accurate financial records are scintillatingly de rigueur. At a minimum, do book updates regularly, conduct bank reconciliation statements, and financial statement reviews to put your business in perspective regarding its financial status. You can look at it this way: investing in a robust bookkeeping system can save you much time if done correctly and circumvent many costly mistakes. Periodic reviews of your financial books can also assist you in detecting the trends, issues, or emerging financial problems ahead of time to enable you to adjust their operations.

Have a Billing Strategy

Every business needs revenue to operate, which means billing customers. Having a solid billing strategy in place is an essential part of making this as easy and seamless as possible. Make sure you have one in place from the start to manage your cash flow. This can be difficult for many entrepreneurs, especially in certain industries. Healthcare companies could invest in medical billing services, with appropriate alternatives being available in other industries. This could be a great investment going forward.

Conclusion

Effective management of small business finances is more than a requirement—a way to Success. Using sound budgeting, monitoring cash flow, controlling debt, and guided innovation by FinTechs, the business wants to ensure it doesn’t reach just 2024 but surges on high. Not forgetting to plan and arrange for the tax season, padding up an emergency fund, and growing sustainably. By keeping your financial records up to date and exploring various funding options, you’ll be well-equipped to navigate the financial challenges and opportunities that come your way.

This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

More Recommended Ebike/Scooters

Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:

Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.

More Recommended Investing App Bonuses

For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:

M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.

More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses

If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.

Upgrade ($200) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $200 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $200 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
US Bank Business ($900) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.

Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.

Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.

Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:

SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $900 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.

Feel free to send Kevin a message here.