Business finance essentials

Learn the basics of managing finances for your business, including start-up costs, budgeting and record keeping.

Improving your financial performance

If you've covered the essentials, visit our section on improving your financial performance.

Set up your finances

Plan your finances

Learn the basics of managing money in your small business.

Costs to start and run your business

Learn about common start-up and ongoing costs for your business.

Accountants and financial advisers

Find tips for choosing a professional to help you with your tax and finances.

Business tax requirements

Learn about your tax obligations for running a business, including payroll tax.

Record keeping

Find out about your business record keeping obligations, and how to keep good records.

Fund your business

Understand the basics of raising capital for your business.

Manage your money

Cash flow, invoices and payments

Learn about cash flow in your business and how to best manage payments.

Break-even and profit

Read about how to start and run a profitable business.

Financial statements

Learn about profit and loss statements, cash flow statements and balance sheets.

Budgets and forecasts

Find out how to prepare budgets and forecasts for your business.

Manage risks

Read about the types of financial risks you might face and how to manage them.

Monitor your performance

Track your performance

Learn how to track and analyse how your business is running.

Benchmarking

Find out how to apply benchmarking to your business practices to stay competitive.

Tools and resources

Use our interactive resources to better understand your finances.

Finance health check

Use our finance health check to identify changes you can make to improve your financial management.

Calculators

Use our interactive calculators to work out financial ratios and figures for your business.

Glossary

Find a list of key financial terms and what they mean.