The Fuel Accounting blog page

What’s that you say? What have I been smoking? No, really, I’m not kidding you here. Service businesses really do have inventory they are trying to sell. Now before you think I’ve really gone off my rocker, let me explain…A service has two main things to sell: Time. Knowhow. And hey goofball, anytime you provide a service, you are selling both of these finite items. Let’s define what these mean…

It all depends on which world you’re in…

What’s that you say? That doesn’t make sense to you? Well, it might if you think about it a little. When we experience cash shortages, our behavior changes, and sometimes it’s not always for the better. Let me introduce you to two different worlds: The Cost World, The Throughput World.

Lots of people talk about how unique their products and services are. Many times when I listen to them, I start yawning. Boring… Why? 2 main reasons: Sellers tend to look at their offerings from their perspective. How much did this cost me to produce? What features and benefits should I offer? Sellers can be lazy. They don’t have a clear sense of their market demographics, and they don’t do the market research to validate the characteristics and size of their markets.

Software Subscriptions (SAAS products) are a major expense for many (if not most) business owners.  And it’s no longer just one or two subscriptions – most businesses now have 10 or more active software subscriptions. And prices can be really expensive – I’ve got one that costs us around $1000 a month! Most offer different pricing and payment plans, and many offer the choice between monthly payments and annual payments. 

(updated for announcements made 14 September 2023) If you participated in the Canadian governments COVID business loan program (called the “Canadian Emergency Business Account” or CEBA for short) then you benefited from a loan of up to $60,000 of cash during the...

Here’s an interesting fact: Every organization has 3 main functions: Sales and Marketing to generate opportunities,and close deals. Operations to produce and deliver the goods/services sold Finance/Administration for accounting, HR, and other admin functions. Knowing...

Well, is it? If you are struggling a little with that let’s talk about how to turn that around. Online businesses have two main challenges: Inventory Management, Promotion/advertising Management. Really both of these areas stem from the same core problem. What’s that you say? Alright, I’ll just say it again. In order to have a successful online business, you only need to solve one problem.

Have you ever asked yourself this question? There are several reasons this is important: Do you like your customers? Some we really like, some we tolerate, some we dread every time the phone rings. So in other words, some customers suck up energy and some give us energy. Which can you do your very best work with? Duh…

Do you remember the comedian Rodney Dangerfield? That was his signature line. “I tell you, I don’t get no respect. When I was born, I was so ugly the doctor took one look at me and slapped my mother.” Do your people respect you? Are you getting the results you need from them? Do you sometimes wonder about their commitment? You might ask yourself this question. How do you feel or how do you typically respond when someone tries to exert control over you?

It’s ok, you can be totally honest with me. And I will be honest with you, too.  Most business owners hardly ever look at their financials. There are several reasons for that: The financials are not very accurate, It’s difficult to read the financials because they are so messy looking, It’s difficult to understand how those financial results ended up on the financials…