How to Improve Your Financial Planning Skills as a Remote Entrepreneur

As a small- or medium-sized enterprise (SME) owner, you probably don’t have a large finance team to manage your business’s cash flow the same way large corporations do. It may be all up to you to ensure any important financial matters regarding your business are properly taken care of—from accepting payments and paying large outstanding bills to coming up with strategies on how to increase your revenues.

But what happens when you have to be out of town or if you maintain a lifestyle that requires frequent traveling? Your business’s financial planning shouldn’t have to suffer. The good news is so long as you have the right tools at your disposal, it won’t be as hard to develop excellent financial planning skills from a distance.

With that in mind, here are some tips on how to stay on top of your finances and flex your financial planning skills more often as a remote entrepreneur:

1) Sign Up for the Right Online Banking Solution

The foremost hurdle you’ll encounter as a traveling entrepreneur who wants to manage their finances in a more hands-on manner is the inability to visit a physical bank anytime there’s a need to withdraw or deposit money. After all, there isn’t a guarantee that the place you’re visiting houses a nearby branch of your bank. If you’re traveling abroad, then the bank itself might not even exist there. Fortunately, small business banking online services are now more prominent than ever, and they’ll be a boon for keeping your financial planning and management skills sharp wherever you are in the world.

A remote entrepreneur should sign up for an online bank account for their business to easily move around money even without the need to visit a physical bank. One such business banking platform you can use if you’re based in the Philippines is that of Maya Business Deposit, which will allow you to easily manage your finances via an online dashboard.

That includes checking your balance, transferring funds to suppliers or business partners on a practical schedule, and disbursing salaries on time to your employees. Best of all, both transfers and salary disbursements from Maya Business Deposit are free of charge. Through online banking, you’ll be able to gain the flexibility you need to fully control your business finances, even if you’re not at home or at your office.

2) Set Up an Efficient Online Payment System

Being able to receive payments in a prompt and efficient manner is crucial for any business, and this goes double if you’re a remote entrepreneur. All the more you’d want to make sure that customers are able to complete their transactions without issue, even if you can’t monitor each one of them.

In particular, having a steady stream of receivables is key to your financial decision-making about your business. Make sure there aren’t any hiccups in your current online payment system so that you can avoid costly delays in receiving customer payments.

Top qualities that you’d want your online payment system to reflect include the ability to accept multiple payment methods, quick yet secure processing of payments, and accurate record-keeping that makes it easy to review past transactions if necessary.

Your system for handling payments while away from your business headquarters will reflect a high degree of financial planning skill on your part. The sooner you can exercise this, the better it will be for your business’s cash flow.

3) Utilize Budget Trackers

Every penny counts, especially for small businesses that rely on constant cash flow to keep daily operations running. However far away you are from your HQ, you’ll want to make sure you know exactly where your money is going. With reliable budget tracking tools, you’ll be able to do this even if you’re frequently traveling.

Find apps or software that will let you log in expenses and arrange them into categories as well as set financial goals and performance metrics that you can keep track of. This could be especially useful if you’re currently saving up for a large business-related expense, such as new equipment.

A budget tracker will give you a clearer picture of how much you’re spending on various categories—whether that be on supplies, wages, marketing, and more—and how much you’re able to set aside from your profits to afford investments that can help your business grow. Use one regularly to level up your remote financial planning and entrepreneurial skills.

4) Consider Automating Your Payables

Whenever you’re occupied during your travels, there may be times when you accidentally overlook important dates like due dates for rent or software subscriptions. To avoid incurring penalty fees for late payments and to strengthen your sense of financial responsibility, even when you’re away from your business, consider automating your payables instead. This will be particularly helpful for recurring expenses like rent or utility bills.

Tap into a software solution, or authorize your banking app to make scheduled payments monthly. That will ensure that you won’t have to worry about potentially missing a payment even if you’re busy and that you’re not in any way tempted to spend your earnings before bills are paid. This will definitely improve your financial planning skills and your financial discipline, as you will build the habit of prioritizing the most important bills before other expenses come into the picture.

5) Strengthen the Security of Your Funds

Security is also a big part of financial planning, especially for businesses where there’s a lot more to lose. While you’re traveling, a stable internet connection may be hard to come by, and it may be tempting to make use of public Wi-Fi to complete quick business transactions. But take extra care not to put your financial details at risk of being stolen by cyber criminals, and make it like second nature to secure your funds.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your connection is always secure whenever you access your online bank accounts or any files related to your finances. You should also outfit your business’s payment system to better detect potential fraud purchases. Exercise this instinct to safeguard your funds, and your financial planning skills will be all the better for it.

Business finances are no walk in the park for any entrepreneur to manage, let alone one who’s working remotely. But better financial habits can be built, and they may actually even flourish if you can weather through the challenge of remote management and gradually become more adept at keeping track of your resources. Don’t reject the opportunity to travel more often when you’re managing your business, and use the tips listed above to sharpen your financial skills on the regular.

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