Création d’entreprise

Opstart af virksomhed

Starting your business

Comptabilité 

Regnskab

Accounting

Facturation

Fakturering

Invoicing

Développer son entreprise

Vækst din virksomhed

Growing your business

Financer son entreprise

Finansiering af din virksomhed

Financing your business

How healthy is your business? How do you even begin to measure its health and how frequently should you undertake a full physical of your company?

Here at Zervant, we have the answers to these questions and many more that will help you to appreciate the benefits of undergoing a business health check and investing in private medical insurance for your company.

You might not always receive a clean bill of health, but medical insurance is certainly better than an autopsy at the hands of a business coroner. It’s also beneficial to your mental wellbeing.

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## What is a business health check?

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As the global business advisory firm [RBNC](https://www.rbnc.global/business-health-check) states, a business health check “is a review of your entire business operations and is designed to find areas for growth, cost savings, more productivity, and better profitability in your business.”

Regardless of the industry in which your company operates or its size, all firms should consider taking a business improvement health check every few years to diagnose any potential business problems and ensure the company is meeting its objectives.

![Business-health-check_Blogpost_UK_Visual.png](https://broad-malicious-back.media.strapiapp.com/Business_health_check_Blogpost_UK_Visual_23f0bd1e46.png)

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## What does a business health check cover?

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A business health check covers many areas, which can be overwhelming at first. However, several online business advisors and consultants are ready to offer help that suits your business.

Free online health checks, such as [this one](http://www.applebyconsulting.co.uk/business-health-check/) by the Newcastle-based firm Appleby Consulting & Coaching, take you through a series of questions covering:

*   Business strategy and planning
*   Sales and marketing
*   Customers
*   Financial management
*   Business happiness<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700; color: rgb(49, 53, 52);">
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### Business strategy and planning

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A business has a lot in common with the human brain, [suggests](https://www.forbes.com/sites/taraswart/2018/07/13/why-business-is-like-the-brain/?sh=e050b676c966) Forbes, who compare the complex interconnected networks that ensure the free flow of information, ideas and operations.

Here are three questions for your brain to consider:

*   Does the business strategy and [business plan](https://www.zervant.com/en/blog/business-plan-template/) still align with your vision?
*   Do you have enough time to realise your business plans?
*   Do you have a clear idea of where your business will be in 3-5 years?

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### Sales and marketing

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“Without air, the lungs can’t breathe, the heart and the brand stop and the brand dies. Therefore, no brand can sustain or develop in the long run without a strong sales force,” [says](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/without-good-sales-force-company-can-breathe-michaela-merk-ph-d) Alain Dominique Perrin, former CEO of Cartier International.

To ensure your sales and marketing can breathe as deeply as possible, consider the following:

*   Have your sales revenue and profitability increased over the past three years?
*   Does your business have a unique selling proposition and is it understood by your team?
*   Does your marketing make you stand out from competitors?

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### Customers

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Customers can be the eyes and ears of your business. While feedback can be uncomfortable to hear, it can point your business in the right direction, [states](https://gaininggoodwill.com/guides/improving-the-eyes-and-ears-of-your-company/) business website Gaining Goodwill.

Here are some questions you should contemplate about your customer base:

*   Who are your ideal customers and are you able to understand their needs?
*   Which of your customers are the most profitable and drive the success of your business?
*   How do most new customers find your business?

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### Financial management

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Finance is the lifeblood of every business organisation. Without proper administration, no business enterprise can reach its full potential for growth and success, [writes](https://medium.com/@financekernel/finance-the-lifeblood-of-every-business-organization-543c4454abed) social publishing platform Medium.

With that in mind, ask yourself:

*   Does your [company stick to a clearly defined budget](https://www.zervant.com/en/blog/how-do-you-finance-a-new-business-uk/)?
*   Are there regular business cash flow problems?
*   Is your bookkeeping up to date and are all invoices paid promptly?

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### Business happiness

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Quality leadership, engagement and culture are the heart of the organisation, [believes](https://www.notjustnumbersltd.co.uk/blog/people-are-the-heart-of-your-business) UK accountancy firm Not Just Numbers. It is the people who go above-and-beyond to build your business or even hinder its progress.

Here are three questions to get you thinking about the climate of your company:

*   Does your business deliver personal satisfaction or business happiness?
*   Does your team have the environment, resources and training to realise their full potential?
*   Can every team member comfortably share business ideas and suggestions?

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## What is a healthy business?

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There are a number of ways to measure business health. However, it requires both accountability and a modicum of objectivity that are difficult for the ego to sometimes handle. Remember that there is no shame in seeking professional advice.

As to the key components for a healthy business, we like the seven [listed](https://alexander.co.uk/news/7-key-components-of-a-healthy-business/) by chartered accountants Alexander & Co:

1\. Concentrate on leading effectively
2\. Make a (flexible) plan
3\. Invest in the right employees
4\. Don’t fear failure
5\. Embrace the things you’re good at
6\. Be a master in effective communication
7\. The importance of learning and evolving

Here at Zervant, we know that if you are a sole-trader business, your health and wellbeing is important. A healthy business does more business, which means you will have more clients to invoice using our [free invoicing software](https://www.zervant.com/en/free-invoicing-software/).

We also believe that every business should undergo a regular physical and we hope that our guide has encouraged you to search for one of the many free online business health checks.

If you have any questions about Zervant or online invoicing, please get in touch and we can help you!

Looking for more tools to nurture a healthy business? Try Zervant’s [free invoice templates](https://www.zervant.com/en/blog/free-uk-invoice-templates/) or our [free invoice generator](https://www.zervant.com/en/invoice-generator/).

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Headlines over the past 2 years have given the impression that the pandemic was all doom and gloom for business.

While the 2020 lockdowns did decimate the high street, entrepreneurs still managed to set an all-time UK record by creating 770,000 new businesses throughout 2020, [reported](https://www.businessleader.co.uk/2020-named-year-of-the-start-up-as-a-record-770000-uk-businesses-created/118781) Business Leader Magazine.

To look at the [long-term impacts of Covid](https://www.zervant.com/en/blog/covid-19-economic-impact-survey/), as well as dive into the entrepreneurial and technological trends of the future, Zervant spoke to Aria Babu. She’s a senior researcher with [The Entrepreneurs Network](https://www.tenentrepreneurs.org/the-way-of-the-future), a London-based think tank for the ambitious owners of Britain’s fastest growing businesses and aspirational entrepreneurs.

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## React to problems on the horizon

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“Trends that were already changing pre-Covid were accelerated by the pandemic, such as e-commerce, healthcare, remote working and hiring employees from abroad. We saw elderly consumers suddenly figuring out how to do their grocery shopping online. They may never have started if it wasn’t for the lockdowns,” observes Babu.

While the “elderly population online-shopping” trend would have eventually happened, it has arrived decades ahead of time and is not going to stop now that lockdowns have ceased.

<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700; color: rgb(49, 53, 52);">One way you can prepare is by switching to an intuitive invoicing software:</span> [create a free Zervant account](https://secure.zervant.com/login/signup/en) today and join the invoicing revolution.

However, she warns that not all the trends brought about by Covid will remain: “There was a big uplift in the number of businesses making hand sanitizer, an increase in cleaning businesses and al fresco restaurants, but these won’t stick around.”

The pandemic also proved that many businesspeople should have been thinking about their risk and flexibility more than they already were, says Babu, who authored a report ([PDF](https://www.thewomensorganisation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/The-Female-Founders-Forum-Resilience-and-Recovery-report-October-2020.pdf)) on how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted female entrepreneurs.

“Findings from the 2008 global financial crisis and early evidence from the pandemic found that those who spotted problems on the horizon and responded quickly did quite well. Businesses don’t only need a very well-structured risk protocol but must also be flexible moving forward, and not just regarding coronavirus,” she states.

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## Ensure that your business innovates

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Babu suspects that green tech will be an area in which the UK government will continue to have a growing interest and believes that entrepreneurs who take advantage will probably end up [doing very well](https://www.zervant.com/en/blog/what-makes-a-healthy-business/). “The UK have also been doing lots of research into health tech and life sciences, which are also likely to keep growing.”

She adds: “Healthcare is going to get so much better over the next couple of decades to the point where we’re going to be healthy in ways that we can’t imagine. It’s something that has come on leaps and bounds during the pandemic because suddenly there was the extra pressure to get [mRNA tech better](https://time.com/5927342/mrna-covid-vaccine/). We’re going to need entrepreneurs and scientists to make this technology viable.”

<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700; color: rgb(49, 53, 52);">Fight for new horizons with the oldest acquisition tool in the book: </span>[quotes and estimates](https://www.zervant.com/en/quotes-and-estimates/) can win you new business.

AI and 5G are two other key sectors that she sees as continuing to become much bigger stories over the next decade.

“I’m a big advocate of both, since they increase the number of options for businesses. There are many smart people who are concerned about the AI risks, but I am personally optimistic that it will initially be used to make us richer and more innovative, plus we’ll get many helpful and practical applications as it improves,” Babu continues.

She goes on to say that 5G is going to be good for [entrepreneurs](https://www.zervant.com/en/blog/types-of-entrepreneurs/): “I can’t really imagine many reasons to be concerned unless your business doesn’t innovate and isn’t entrepreneurial. You must change to compete with other businesses. The application of 5G means no restrictions on internet speed or cloud computing capacity. You can have more start-ups doing AI- or data-rich tasks.”

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## Encouraging entrepreneurship

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The government’s Covid-19 restrictions devastated bricks-and-mortar stores across the UK in 2020 and with retail moving increasingly online, is there a future for the high street?

“I live in West London where we have many mini high streets and lots of people living in flats around them. You’re never more than a 5–10-minute walk from your nearest pint of milk or nearest pub,” describes Babu.

<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700; color: rgb(49, 53, 52);">See where you line up in our article</span>: [what type of entrepreneur are you](https://www.zervant.com/en/blog/types-of-entrepreneurs/)!

However, she states that shops not wanting or not needing space on the high street doesn’t mean that local governments should leave those properties empty and dilapidated: “It’s an opportunity to be flexible and create more housing units and office space, especially since the UK is one of the most expensive countries for both.”

‘Opportunity’ is also the word she uses when asked for policies to encourage more people to become entrepreneurs, especially women. Babu, who is also head of the [Female Founders Forum](https://www.tenentrepreneurs.org/aboutfff), says the government is genuinely interested in trying to understand why the UK has a lower rate of women starting businesses than Canada or Sweden, for example.

She also suggests making it easier for innovative and high-skilled people to immigrate to the UK because the tech sector is facing a skill shortage, especially in AI and computing.

Finally, she advocates making the government’s [New Enterprise Allowance](https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/new-enterprise-allowance-campaign) (NEA) scheme more generous with its financial support: “Its predecessor, the Enterprise Allowance Scheme, used to pay more than the Jobseekers’ Allowance, but now it is a lot less generous. If you want people to start more businesses, then you should make sure that they have the resources to do so.”

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# Business automation: the productivity enabler

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As a small business owner you should – and can – automate business processes to save time, increase [profits](https://www.zervant.com/en/blog/what-is-profit-in-a-business/) and [improve your work-life balance](https://www.zervant.com/blog/entrepreneurship-work-life-balance-infographic/). We discuss the benefits of business automation and share our pick of the best automation tools for entrepreneurs.

Automation in business is now a multi-billion-dollar market and it’s estimated that by 2021, digital process automation will generate USD 214 billion worldwide, [according to Statista](https://www.statista.com/statistics/257170/global-automation-market-revenue-by-end-market/#:~:text=Global%20automation%20market%20%2D%20revenue%20by%20segment%202019%20to%202021&text=In%202021%2C%20the%20automation%20industry,billion%20U.S.%20dollars%20by%202021.). Furthermore, Forrester predicts that BPA can cut operating costs by up to 90% – offsetting the cost of digital transformation in the first place.

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## What is business process automation?

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<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">According to </span>[Gartner:](https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/glossary/bpa-business-process-automation)

> “<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">Business Process Automation (BPA) is defined as the automation of complex business processes and functions beyond conventional data manipulation and record-keeping activities, usually through the use of advanced technologies.</span>

<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">In simple terms, it means finding an automated solution to problems which you normally tackle through manual labour. Replacing a time-consuming, manual task with automation software, like using software to send automatically recurring invoices for example, is a form of BPA.</span>

Business process automation can focus on all key business areas including marketing, sales and human resources. The traditional approach to any process can be mapped and evaluated before deciding whether to automate part or all of the process.

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## Why should you automate your business?

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Automation is the future – keep up or catch up. <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">Artificial intelligence will take over many of the manual tasks we take for granted today and, although the increasing presence of robotic process automation in our everyday life hasn’t gone unnoticed (looking at you, self-checkout robots), we’re only just seeing the tip of the iceberg.</span>

[A recent survey](https://www.thinkautomation.com/automation-advice/the-global-process-automation-market-statistics-you-need-to-know/)<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;"> </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">by ThinkAutomation found that in the UK, 90% of employees report being burdened with boring and repetitive tasks that could be easily automated. However, only 38% of UK business practices are automated. While a quarter of UK businesses are still only in the early stages of automation, 74% of organisations say they are actively looking for new use cases for automation.

The advantages of automation in business are numerous – let’s look at few:</span>

*   <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">Increase efficiency</span>
*   <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">Boost productivity</span>
*   <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">Allow your business to get more done in less time with less resources</span>
*   <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">Reduces the risk of manual errors</span>

<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">By automating processes you can free up valuable time and resources to work on the more meaningful aspects of business management.</span>

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## How to automate tasks in a small business

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<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">Business automation tools are transforming the way brands operate, allowing them to ditch manual processes altogether and scale in new ways.</span>

Automation isn’t reserved purely for big business – and the selection of tools designed for smaller enterprises is ever increasing. Smaller brands can gain an advantage when it comes to automation, as they are often able to react to new trends faster than larger businesses and with [fewer costs](https://www.zervant.com/en/blog/top-5-tax-deductions-for-uk-self-employed/).

The process has been mentioned briefly – identify an aspect of your business which could be automated and work out the input effort/time/cost vs the profitable outcome. You’ll quickly realise that the time you spend doing many manual tasks is wasted and, especially as a small business owner, you know better than anyone that time is money.

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### Our top 5 picks for tasks you need to automate and the tools you can try out

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Note: none of the tools we discuss below are paying us for being mentioned in this article – these are just tools we genuinely use and think everyone could benefit from trying out. Some have a free trial, others are just free to use – if you try one out and find it useful then let them know that you seen it recommended here!

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#### 1. Send less emails

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<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">Cut out the back-and-forth emails when arranging meetings, appointments and [office phone calls](https://callhippo.com/office-phone-system) with </span>[Doodle](https://doodle.com/en/)<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;"> or </span>[Calendly.](https://calendly.com/pages/features)

<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">You simply set your availability preferences in the [calendar management](https://bordio.com/online-calendar-planner/) system for your next meeting and embed a link in your email invitation. The recipient then chooses the times which suits them best and the event is automatically added to your calendar.</span>

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#### 2. Connect your apps together

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<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">Create automated actions between essential apps and automate your workflows with </span>[Zapier ](https://zapier.com/how-it-works)<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">or </span>[Integromat](https://www.integromat.com/en/)<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">. These app-linking tools are great for a number of things.</span>

<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">Do you want to automatically save attachments in Gmail to Google Drive? Or how about sharing all of your blog posts to LinkedIn as soon as you hit the publish button? Or perhaps you want to save all new Microsoft Docs files to OneDrive and then back them up to your cloud?</span>

<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">You can set up thousands of automations, cutting out repetitive manual tasks and freeing up your time for more profitable actions. Check them out – you’ll be kicking yourself for not knowing that such a thing existed.</span>

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#### 3. Increase lead generation

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<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">As an entrepreneur, you need to automate your sales process so you can handle a higher volume of leads and turn more of them into sales – but without a sales team.</span>

<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">The answer here is combining a marketing automation platform such as </span>[ActiveCampaign](https://www.activecampaign.com/why-ac)<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;"> or </span>[Mailchimp](https://mailchimp.com/resources/mailchimp-101/)<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;"> with </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">a lead generation form generator such as </span>[Leadformly](https://leadformly.com/integrations/)<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;"> or </span>[LeadGen](https://leadgenapp.io/features/)<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;"> to systemise your </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">sales process.</span>

<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">These tools can help you increase your form conversion rates, as well as segment your leads, and keep track of all your customers’ actions in the CRM platform of your choice. </span>

<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">You can also automate your responses using the segmented email lists and automation features offered by ActiveCampaign or Mailchimp. This streamlines the majority of the early sales process and lets you focus on dealing with potential clients who are closer to making their final purchases.</span>

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#### 4. Chatbots improve customer service

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<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">Maintaining a 24/7 response system is often outside the means of a small business owner. However, a chatbot such as </span>[Botsify](https://botsify.com/white-label-chatbot)<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;"> or </span>[Chatfuel](https://chatfuel.com/pricing/)<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;"> can offer instant, consistent and recorded answers to your customers’ queries on a 24/7 basis.</span>

<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">Studies show that engaging with your customers on social media can lead to improved customer satisfaction and </span><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">increased customer spend of between 20% and 40%.</span>

<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">You can set up your chatbot with a list of questions and answers relevant to your business. This allows your customers to have real-time conversations with your bot and get answers to most of their questions right away.</span>

<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">While chatbots haven’t yet replaced live chat, they are certainly getting close. Check out this BBC article on [how AI is running M&S call centres](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45272835).</span>

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#### 5. Automate your invoicing with Zervant

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<span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit;">Zervant’s invoicing software is part of a new wave of tools designed to automate one of the more boring and repetitive tasks in business. Free up valuable hours and spend more time working on your products and services.</span>


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