So you recently started your business or even a side hustle or let's even assume you have been in business for a while now. Congrats! I must say because this is a bold step especially given our country's socio-economic situation.

Inspite of this, have you ever wondered why many promising businesses get started and before long they start struggling to survive and sadly, most do not survive past the first 2 -5 years? Oh true! The government's policies and ever rising cost of items in the market seems to be the culprits of the day.

But oh wait!

While these are some of the culprits, there is a major culprit sitting very quietly at one corner which seems to be very unnoticeable but it does a lot more harm than good to several businesses and sadly might have crept and found its way into your business. This culprit is so deceptive that it comes in like the proverbial bush rat (Asin in yoruba parlance) that blows very cool air on your feet while trying to sleep, giving you the false sense of comfort that the air is very cool for sleeping. It keeps blowing the air so much so that as soon as you fall asleep, it strikes; biting the flesh in your feet whilst still blowing the air to the point that it leaves wounds on under your feet. And then you wake up from sleep the next morning only to discover that you have just been bitten by Asin... So sad!!!

So what's this culprit?

It's none other than POOR RECORDKEEPING! Oh wow, you heard that right.

Starting and running a business in Nigeria is quite hectic especially when you do not have the required funds to operate efficiently. You are simply a one man mopol in your business. You are faced with a lot of activities from sourcing your materials, to producing to packaging, to marketing, to providing customer service, sales and sometimes to delivery. The list is endless and you have to repeat this cycle day in day out, it's very stressful and overwhelming indeed. You get so busy fulfilling these tasks that sometimes you forget to track down your sales and expenditures or better still, you remember, but you are quite to busy to capture all these in your records, you postpone and say, "I'll attend to them later in the day, after close of business". By close of business, you have forgotten up to 30% of the sales and expenses you made earlier, hence leaving your records incomplete. You move on to the next day and the cycle continues, whilst giving yourself a false sense of hope that you will always remember by the close of business.

Well, dear friend and smart business owner, you are doing more harm than good to your business and little by little, this little crack becomes a huge hole in the future for your business.

Does this look like what you are currently experiencing in your business? This is quite dangerous and worse than some of the culprits listed above.

Well, the goodnews is that we have created this thread to help small and medium sized businesses like yours to guide you on how to overcome this challenge of Poor recordkeeping. We will be sharing tips and practical guides on this thread going forward, you have got to stay glued here.

Welcome to RecordKeeping & Data Management Guide For SMEs 101

First things first, as a business owner what challenges do you face with keeping records in your business? Please share them here and we will answer as much as possible!

Are you struggling to keep track of your business expenses and income?

Does your business require you sending invoice to customers on a monthly basis and you are finding it difficult to do this? Then this is for you.

Lots of businesses are struggling to track their expenses. This is because for most small businesses, the business owner is the one making the payments from his phone and he is processing orders from customers and suppliers, handling marketing and wearing several hats for the business with little or no time for rest.

We understand this can be very stressful and time consuming. Hence, we would love to help you manage and keep accurate records of your business expenses and income, whilst providing you with periodic reports so you can make accurate decisions about your business. We will also help prepare monthly billings and invoices for your clients.

How relieving can this be for you?

Get started now for as low as N9,950 monthly. Simply send us a whatsapp message on 08020984377 to schedule a FREE Consultation with us now.

At ProVirtuals Africa, we are committed to helping smart businesses improve productivity. Give us that call now. We are waiting for you.