Systems Development for Small Businesses

Think about putting structures in place and developing polices to support and guide the operations of your small business. This is an important first step in business planning. It is up to you and partners if you have them, to set the tone and establish operating principles for your business. For example, something as simple as how your mail is received and processed needs a little thought and some rules established. Is one person designated to receive the mail for your business and make sure that it is given to you directly or put in a safe location for you to retrieve later, or is the receipt of incoming mail left to chance? If someone is designated to receive your mail are you comfortable with them opening it? How do you ensure that important mail will get to the right parties within your business, such as the accountant or the person who handles the money and pays the bills, if that person is not you? Do you have a method for acknowledging or logging the dates that you received important mail? Do you see what I’m driving at? Putting a system in place for the receipt and processing of business mail establishes some rules that all can follow; cutting down on the potential for loss or misplacement of important and time sensitive documents. Think about every area of your business where you need things done a certain way and develop some written rules and guidelines for all to follow; you should put these rules in writing as appoint of reference. There are many articles, books or consultants that can help you to set up operating systems for your business.