With only six weeks to go, now is the perfect time to plan for FY2026.
If you're looking for inspiration on where to begin, here's what we suggest:
- Start with your WHY and determine whether you are on that course or need to navigate a different path.
- Then REFLECT. How did your business perform over the last 3 to 6 months? Are you proud of what you've achieved and entirely in control? 90% of business owners would give a resounding "no". And that's totally ok. It's what you do next that changes things.
- What are your high-level PLANS for FY2026? The current economic climate is bringing caution across the globe. A common outlook is a conservative one. This could involve scaling back, holding off on a capital raise, or thinking twice about launching a new product. Scaling back doesn't always mean less profits; in fact, it can often mean higher profits from a more efficient revenue generation model
- IMPLEMENT. Take the next step. Set yourself some achievable goals and stick to them. Whether that's sales targets, number of new customers, streamlining inefficient processes, implementing new software or increasing your financial awareness.
Suppose you want to increase your financial awareness and keep on top of your numbers. In that case, so many finance software options are available, and they are improving exponentially with the impact of AI. Here are some ideas:
- Xero Analytics - Cash Flow forecast: This software has come a long way recently, and now provides a basic (yet super helpful) 30 or 60-day (I'd hesitate looking further out with this tool) cash flow forecast based on an intelligent (AI) forecast using prior numbers, Xero driven actual Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable payment dates, as well as the function to add your own upcoming budget numbers.
- Syft - This is not a new program, but Xero has purchased it, and so now it comes free with your Xero subscription: great-looking dashboards and smart reports.
- Xero Budgets & Tracking: If you're selling multiple product types, or operating in different regions and want to know which ones are delivering you more profit, consider using Xero Tracking. Here you can track each income and expense to the relevant eg. region, and create it's own Profit & Loss statement, as well as create a mini-budget in Xero and track the particular region monthly to budget.
If you are looking for assistance with getting started with your FY2026 planning, financial coaching, or a more complex set of reporting, please don't hesitate to contact Sean, Michael or me at the Melbourne office on +61 3 9870 9050.
