Avoiding Financial Stress in a Nigerian Business.
August 2016, I started a small business. Being the meticulous person [I like to think I am], I had everything in order. Company papers, TIN, etc. Given the size of the business that it was, I didn’t need a big team at the time. I handled strategy, growth, finance, and every other area of the business myself. As the business grew, I [obviously] couldn’t handle these things myself, so I began hiring. For HR, I used the HR Manager who was in the shared office which I was in. I brought in some other people to fill different roles, however, I held on to the role of the accountant/finance manager.
As work piled up, I couldn’t handle the finance alone anymore, so I decided to hire a friend. I figured I’d save some money on hiring a full-time accountant, whom I’d have had to pay much more than my friend. Although my buddy didn’t live in the same city, I hired him because he was good with numbers and could get the job done; the only problem was he was also busy. He had quite a demanding job, so I couldn’t utilise all of his skills.
Fast forward to a few months later, I decided to let him go. It wasn’t just working out. I needed something simpler, yet very effective. I found MASAL. Well, didn’t necessarily “find” them out of nowhere; in full disclosure, I have very close ties with the owner. Anyway, when she commenced business, I decided to try out their services. Best decision. Besides raising money, I haven’t had to worry about anything finance since then. NOTHING. Basically, here’s how they work.
Upon reaching out to them, they’ll set up a meeting with one of their consultants (A free session), then they’ll carry out a full diagnosis on your business just to find out where and how to begin if you were to hire them. After this session, the send you an email with a full summary and what it might cost to manage your finances. Here’s the best part; they assign a dedicated accountant to your business, then charge you only based on what you can afford. If I were to hire just another accountant, I’d have to pay a standard salary, no matter if the business was going up or down. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that, as that’s the way it works, but I found it pretty unsustainable, due to the kind of volatile business I was in.
How exactly do I avoid stress using MASAL?
Well, not only do they handle my accounting, they handle my TAX as well. Filing monthly, paying the right tax, etc. I don’t have to do any of that myself anymore. I had been to a tax office once, and I‘ve avoided going back ever since.
My accountant also sends me financial reports, detailing financial opportunities and liabilities in the business. So if I have the financial resources and I’d like to hire a new team member, they’d let me know if it’d be sustainable or not. Sounds pretty straight forward, but after going through this process multiple times, I can say there’s a lot you miss when making those decisions yourself. I’ve learnt that just because you have the money to purchase something doesn’t mean you can afford it.
Another great thing about MASAL Accountants is the fact that I don’t cover ANY overhead costs. No laptop, phone credit, internet, transportation, etc. I only pay that one salary every month. That’s also because the accountant doesn’t work from my office; however, there are 2 meetings a month where we go over the financials, growth plans, strategy, etc.
When I started, I was paying N40,000/Month. Based on the work they do, — which is honestly more than just keeping your books in order — that’s very good value for your money.
As a registered business, there are A LOT of things you need to do to keep your finances in order. Regarding your tax alone, there are ample taxes to paid at various times. I’ve noticed quite a lot of business owners don’t actually know this. Heck, to be honest, I didn’t know a lot of them; well, I still don’t, but that’s the least of my problems now.
Basically, MASAL handles EVERYTHING regarding my finances, tax, etc. Now I can even reach out to them if I need a loan, because they use the data they have on my accounts to validate my solvency if need be.
As I mentioned earlier, in full disclosure, I have close ties with MASAL, however, that doesn’t change anything about their services which I’ve stated above.
You can find out more on their website www.MasalConsultants.com. Some of their posts can be found here as well: MASALFinance.
Adios.
