There are so many things you have to account for if you want to make sure you improve the business. Your marketing and advertising is paramount. This is because you will struggle to achieve any kind of success without it. Formulating the right kind of business marketing is so important. Additionally, it’s something you need to make sure you get right as much as you possibly can. With that in mind, today I am sharing some Business Marketing Hacks to help your business soar.

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Business marketing hacks

It’s important that you do as much as possible to improve the way you are promoting the business. These business marketing hacks will help you to achieve this. There are plenty of aspects of the business that you need to get right. However, marketing is one of the most important. Check out these amazing hacks you should be using to market and promote your brand in 2019.

Provide the Best Possible Product

The first change you should make is to provide the best possible products you can. There are a lot of factors to help improve the way you market the company. However, your products speak for themselves. The better quality they are, the more people will talk about them. Word of mouth is so important, and you need to make sure you work on impressing your customers as much as possible.

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Hire Experts

Hiring experts to take charge of your business marketing is a no brainer. However, it is something that you need to make sure you get right. Hiring an expert can really help you to improve the way your business comes across. In theory, they will know what it will take to improve your business. You need to do as much as possible. Bringing in the right experts who can take your business to the next level is always worthwhile. If your budget can stretch that far. This is one of the things you should make sure you do as soon as possible, to help things improve.

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Rebrand the Business

Don’t overlook how important it is to rebrand the business now and again as well. When it comes to business marketing hacks, this one is worth treading carefully with. A rebrand is something that can really transform the company and make a big difference to the future. It can also confuse loyal customers if it happens too often though. So, choosing to rebrand every few years keeps things fresh and interesting. Additionally, it gives people a reason to check out your business again.

Use the Internet Effectively

The internet is one of the most important resources in modern business. As a result, there are so many wonderful ways this can help your company grow. This is why you need to do as much as possible to use it effectively. Look at keywords, and search engines. Additionally, look at how bidding on your own brand in Google Shopping can make a big difference to the way you market and promote yourself online. Get this right, and there are a lot of benefits for the future.

These are some of the ideas you can use to help make the difference to the business moving forward. There are a lot of things that you need to keep in mind that are going to help you make the most of the business marketing as much as possible. You need to make sure you use a combination of excellent marketing strategies to secure more sales for the business as much as you can.

When you create the right work environment, you’re helping to create a successful business. Offering a workplace where people can thrive. Allowing employees to take pride in their work, and feel a part of the bigger picture makes for a great place to work. It’s something you can create from the start. This approach helps to avoid many problems which established companies face. Firstly with morale, staff retention and finally with productivity.

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Create The Right Work Environment

Are you interested in learning how to create the right work environment for your business? Here are some tips to help you get it right from day one.

Make the right hires

It’s a no brainer that to create the right work environment, you need to make the right hires. Having a good team of skilled, motivated employees can help get your business off to the best start. Take time to research how to hire the right people for your business. You need to attract the right talent, as well as people who can bring your business to life.

Design the right office space

The right office space can make all the difference. Especially when it comes to creating a welcoming and creative environment. While you might not have a huge budget, you can have creativity on your side. Designing the perfect office space will give your business some excellent foundations to great things,. Additionally, it can allow you to create a buzz, which will make your business an attractive place to work.

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Celebrate and reward

A positive working environment should involve putting trust in your employees. Additionally, celebrating their hard work and achievements will make for a happier working environment. Your employees deserve fair rewards. So ensuring they receive the right benefits and development can help motivate your team. It will also help people to grow with your company.

Regular performance reviews can identify areas to develop. Additionally, you can use software to simplify your salary review process. This allows you to make sure your employees are paid fairly for their performance. A company which recognises and rewards their employees is much more likely to hold onto them and keep turnover down.

Make it social

More and more businesses are putting an emphasis on creating a social work environment. A sociable workplace helps colleagues to build relationships and work closer. This will lead to happy team members, capable of producing excellent results for your business. Job satisfaction often means more than salary alone. When a workplace is friendly, sociable and fun, it can help retain employees, which feel proud to work for you.

It’s important to make sure that your office is inclusive. Additionally, a programme of events which brings everyone together can be a great way to make everyone feel safe and comfortable in their workplace. When you first launch a business, you’ll want to get it off to the best start possible. Starting with the right work environment can help give your business massively.

By having some great values and work ethic, you can motivate employees to do their best for themselves and the business. Think of your ideal work environment and find ways to make it a reality. Your employees will benefit through job satisfaction and more. While you can rest easy, knowing you’ve helped create an amazing workplace. All being well, before long, people will be knocking down the door to join your team.

Could you live without your phone for a day? Or a week? Quite probably the answer is a resounding no and the reason isn’t because you need to make calls, it’s because of those amazing additions we carry around in our smartphones: Apps. Today I am sharing some of my favourite apps every blogger needs! We can’t live without apps these days, and it’s hardly surprising! From App-based banking to carrying around your entire music collection, Apps are the most convenient way to get things done, on the move.

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Apps every blogger needs

In this blog post, I’m sharing some of the best Apps out there for business… Whether you’re a blogger or run your own website, app development has never made working for yourself more fun.

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WordPress

WordPress is undoubtedly the giant when it comes to blogging. The App allows access to your site, to make changes on the go. Far from being a poorer version of the desktop version… The WordPress App is every bit as instinctive and easy to use as its bigger brother. When it comes to apps every blogger needs, WordPress is top of my list! In my opinion, it’s an absolute must for today’s connected blogger.

IFTTT

Or ‘If This Then That’, to give it it’s full title! This App gets your social media platforms talking to one another. It is available on the iOS or Android platforms, so almost everyone can try it! You can set IFTTT to automatically transfer your saved photos to various services, including Dropbox or Instagram. IFTTT makes managing your online presence more streamlined than ever.

Google Analytics

You’re serious about blogging, you need to know your reach and engagement levels. So by installing the Google Analytics App, you’ll have access to your stats night and day. Analytics is the go-to place for seeing how your site is performing. Happily, it’s no less useful as an App than the full version.

Buffer

This App is my favourite for scheduling in my social media tweets and posts. I’d definitely say it’s worthy of a mention as one of the apps every blogger needs. It allows you to select your dates and times and allows you to add images… So you’re all set for a day of social media engagement once you’ve finished scheduling. The app is fast and easy to use, too! Buffer is a must for Twitter parties too! It allows you to schedule in your engagement, so you’re free to answer queries as they come in!

ColorNote

This is one for the Android users… Colornote is like the note taking function on your phone – only better! It’s more colourful and a little bit more fun. You can use it to make a note of your web content ideas or your draft blog posts. Additionally, you can easily create reminders and to-do lists on the go. It’s like post-it notes in your smartphone!

You might be accused of being too attached to your phone… But when there are all these Apps ready to be downloaded and used… So it’s understandable why it can be hard to tear yourself away. Get your blogging life properly scheduled with Apps that allow you to write down inspiration, ideas and update as you move through your day and even schedule publication at the times you choose.

Use analytics to make sure you’re making the impact you want and get your social media in tune with Apps that sync everything together. Smartphones have never been smarter or more fun.

Finally, if you found this post useful, check out my blogging category!

If you’re ready to break up with the 9 to 5 schedule, and ready to start a career as a content creator and blogger… It is important that your mental and physical health is ready for the challenges ahead. Full time blogging isn’t as easy as people seem to assume it is.

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Fit For Full Time Blogging

My friends and family have admitted to having imagined me sat in my PJs tapping away from bed. People have seen this false “reality” portrayed online. They describe a blogger sitting in their nightwear and making money on the sofa. In reality, full time blogging is not that easy. A lot of research and planning should go into your business setup. You have to protect your health – Especially in the first few stressful months. Find out more below.

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Scheduled Exercise and Breaks

You can’t work 24/7, and sitting by the computer will put a lot of pressure on your joints. Chances are, you want to start a home based business to achieve a better work-life balance. Including having more time for yourself and your family. So this means that you will have to create a daily schedule that will help you manage. Juggling your workload, health and spending time doing what you enjoy doing, is a constant challenge. Schedule exercise routines in the morning and the afternoon to improve your productivity and concentration. For me, this means a dog walk.

Measurable Goals

You might have been told that you can achieve great success in just a few weeks. In reality, for 99% of cases, this is simply impossible. You have to start your business with the end results in mind. However it is also crucial that you break down your end target into smaller, measurable goals. Create a content diary and social media calendar to ensure you are staying consistent. Playing catch up with your marketing will lead to you stressing yourself out.

Eye Tests

One of the things that is likely to suffer while you are working online is your eyesight. It is important that you visit your optician for regular eye tests. While you’re there, ask for recommendations on protective measures and prescriptions for computer glasses.

You don’t have to look like a geek, either – if you don’t want to! There are some great fashionable designs available at International Eyewear to help you make the most out of your looks and your vision. Firstly, find the style and design you are comfortable with. Secondly, ensure that you can avoid glare from the computer screen by setting up your workstation and lighting carefully.

Stress Management

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When you launch a business, it is important that you develop stress management mechanisms and routines. So having solutions on standby helps massively here. Make sure you have your server information saved securely. Try to find a blogging guru who can help with advice on plugins and backups, too.

Firstly, from setting daily intentions to prioritising your tasks in your blogging business. Secondly, from improving your productivity to sharpening your skills, there are plenty of ways you can look after your mental health.

Starting full time blogging is not as easy as some people claim. Finally, you will have to create a detailed plan, a consistent brand, and content strategy, while making sure you avoid burning out or developing stress related health issues.

Whether you’re young and just beginning your career or you’re approaching retirement, it’s always a good time to start thinking about your financial future. You might not think you have enough money to start saving for your future, but any amount of money can help, however big or small. So why exactly is it so important to save for your financial future?

Why it’s so important to save for your financial future

Nobody ever knows what’s going to happen. You might feel secure in your job and have a steady income right now, but unforeseen circumstances such as redundancies can always occur. If you unexpectedly lose your job, it’s important to have a safety net to fall back on. This will help to tide you over until you find a new opportunity, and that’s where savings come in. Regularly putting part of your income aside in a savings account is a great way to get some peace of mind. It also helps you to prepare for the unexpected.

How much to save for your financial future

Saving money will also benefit you when it comes to retirement. If you work within a UK company, the chances are that your workplace already has you enrolled in a pension scheme. Many workplace pension schemes can help you retire with an attractive sum of money. However, combining this with your own personal savings account is often the best strategy.

Lifetime ISA’s are a popular way to save for retirement. With these, the government provides a 25% bonus on your savings contributions. This means that if you were to put the maximum amount into your account each year… You’d receive a £1,000 bonus every 12 months.

When to start to save for your financial future

One of the most important things to remember when it comes to saving is, “the sooner the better”. The earlier you start saving money, the more interest you will gain. This is why saving money while you’re young is so vital. If you find it hard to save for your financial future, think of things you can do to simplify the process. This could mean setting up a direct debit with a small sum of money to leave your account each month. This option will make you less likely to notice the money leaving your account.

Predicted Retirement Income

While these strategies are all well and good, the reality is… The higher your income, the more money you’ll be able to save and the better your financial future will look. You can check your likely retirement income with pension calculators. These use your current salary, date of birth and gender to predict the yearly income you should have once retired. If this doesn’t fit your financial goals for the future, it’s worth thinking about ways to boost your income as a whole.

One popular way to do this is with investing, and property investment is the perfect route to take. When done properly and with the right know-how, property investment can boost your income dramatically. Certain UK cities like Manchester and Liverpool provide a lot of potential for return on investment and capital growth. Companies like RW Invest, for instance, offer opportunities with rental yields as high as 7 and 8%. By investing and generating money on top of your monthly income, you’ll be able to save larger amounts which will help as a rainy day fund or go towards your retirement.

Finally, I hope this post has been useful. Check out more of my finance posts here.

When you are designing your office layout, you have to make sure that everything works flawlessly with one another. With that in mind, today I’m sharing some tips and ideas for designing the perfect office layout. Firstly, of course you need to make sure that your team have enough space. Additionally, you should make sure that no space is being unused or wasted.

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Designing The Perfect Office Layout

When you are designing the perfect office layout, there are 5 key areas to consider…

Natural Light

Natural light is; believe it or not, a very important part of office production. Natural light helps your staff to see better, as well as reducing fatigue and tiredness. The human eye is designed to adjust to the amount of light there is in an area. This process is easier on the eyes in natural light, compared to fluorescent lighting. Natural light reduces eye strain and headaches too. This, of course is a major bonus when your team are working in the office for 9 hours a day.

Space

It is important to make sure that you have enough space for your business. It doesn’t matter whether you have an open plan work environment, work stations or cubicles. You should make sure that your team can move around freely, and without obstruction.

Space isn’t just a comfort issue – it’s a safety issue as well. In an emergency (like a fire, or accident), you need to have enough space so you can evacuate everyone safely. If you’re concerned about fire or safety, you may want to consider getting an assessment done by Allcott Commercial.

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Cleanliness

Cleanliness will not only affect your worker’s efficiency – it will have an impact on your office image too. If you want to make it easier for your team to keep their desks clean… Perhaps consider having a cleaning station where products can easily be accessed. By accommodating space for this in your design, you can then help your team with their organisation in the future.

Furniture

If you know that your furniture budget is small, it’s important to focus on quality rather than quantity. High quality seats that offer enough lumbar support for staff should take priority over cool artwork for the walls. When planning out your office design… Make sure that you take into account the size of your chairs. Additionally, consider how far they will come out when an employee stands up from their desk. Your employees shouldn’t be knocking into each other all the time, as it’s distracting. Make sure you allow enough room in your initial layout, so employees can remain focussed on their assigned tasks.

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Storage

Storage is quite often the last thing that’s considered when it comes to your general office design. It’s very important that you don’t overlook this. If you don’t have much room for storage in your office, you can consider using the cloud. This will stop you from having to store as many physical files. As well as making it way easier for you to maximise the space you have.

I hope this post has been useful for you.

Consumers have no end of choices where to buy their products. Apart from the High Street stores, they now have the option to purchase goods online or via friends operating as MLM consultants too. The numbers of online stores are massive and growing all the time. If you want customers to buy from your store there has to be a reason for them to choose you instead of a competitor, and often price is not the deciding factor. With that in mind, today I am sharing some tips to help exceed customers’ expectations.

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Tips To Help Exceed Customers’ Expectations

As a small business, it’s important to keep your customers loyal. Today I’m sharing some ideas which will hopefully encourage them to keep returning to you.

Great Customer Experience

The first of my tips to help exceed customers’ expectations is a pretty obvious one… If you have reviews that say what a great customer service you provide, it will win you more customers. Not only that, an excellent buying experience will keep more of your existing customers loyal to you, and your business will win all-round.

Giving your customers this great experience should start with the very basics – your website. It needs to be simple to navigate, informative and attractive. Getting potential customers to visit your website is just the first step though.

High Quality Products

Make sure that the quality of the products is as good as possible. You need to ensure that they are packaged well, and delivered by the time you have promised. If you know something will take 5 days to get to an address, for instance, state a 7 day delivery on your website. This will allow for any delays, but also means that most times the product will be delivered early. This is a great way to help exceed customers’ expectations.

Ensure You Can Cope

It does not matter what type of business you are starting, or whether it is offline or online… You need to know that when you open, you have everything you need to satisfy your customers. For example, if you were opening a coffee shop, there are numerous essential items every coffee shop needs to run smoothly. Firstly, there is no point opening if you do not have a variation of coffees for customers to choose from, or the right types of cups… So they have the option of staying in, or taking their coffee away with them.

Secondly, as another example… If you are opening an online store selling children’s clothes, you need to make sure you have all the different sizes and colours in stock before your website goes live. Customers will not feel let down if your business is properly prepared, and then you are more likely to retain them for the future.

Value Your Customer Relationships

Building relationships with customers will really add value to their experience with your business. This will help to build a loyal customer base. This is simple to do by using emails that are personalised. There are many automatic programs that will do this for you. If they reply, make sure to respond even if it is just with a “Hello, how are you today?”

This personal touch will make them feel that they really matter to you, and of course, they do. A business with no customers cannot survive.

Listen To Them

If a customer contacts you about a product or service, listen to what they have to say. Many consumers that are not happy will not bother to tell you directly. Instead, they are likely to moan about you to their friends and family. Listen to the ones that do get in touch, and improve things if that is what they are suggesting. This will help to remove the issue, and then when they chat to friends and family… It will be to recommend you instead.

At the end of the day, customer experience matters more than anything else. Whether that is just a brilliant service you provide, or because you have put a free gift in their parcel… You just want them to come back for more goods again and again.

If you’re a new entrepreneur, who’s only recently broken away from the shackles of nine to five… Chances are that you’re keen to hit the ground running with your new business venture. Implementing a business vision, creating a productive company ethos and securing funding will be high on your agenda. However, you shouldn’t neglect the importance of being known to provide excellent customer service.

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How To Provide Excellent Customer Service

Firstly, it’s your customer service credentials that will solidify your reputation. Great service will encourage your customer base to expand. This will happen both via word of mouth, and positive review site mentions. Read on to see how you can provide excellent customer service, which will benefit your startup.

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Under Promise And Over Deliver

This sounds like a simple strategy to implement when it comes to customer service. The concept of under promising and over delivering is one most of us are familiar with. If you sell custom made tee shirts with cool logos and slogans aimed at the millennial market… You might pride yourself on your fast shipping times. If you know that you can get your product to your customer within two business days, state that you will have it delivered in three. When your product arrives on your customer’s doorstep a day early, your customer will assume that you’ve gone the extra mile to exceed expectations.

Following this strategy will enhance your chances of receiving positive feedback online. It is this reputation which you need to craft carefully. It may only take one or two negative reviews to damage your business’ reputation. Negative reviews will cause customers to turn away from your brand.

Use High Quality Materials

If you’re delivering a product, it’s vital that you utilise high quality packaging materials. It is irrelevant whether your business operates on a commercial or individual scale – decent packaging is important. When you are sending fragile items through the post, ensure that you use cushioning polystyrene from top quality foam packaging suppliers – or an environmentally friendly alternative.

It’s a good idea to spend a little extra money to ensure safe transit of your products. Imagine purchasing sub-par packaging materials, only for your items to arrive damaged… It would be a false economy, without a doubt. Chances are, your customer base will be willing to pay a little more for shipping, when they are certain that their product will arrive safely.

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Online Presence

Nowadays, it’s more important than ever to have a strong online presence. Customer service isn’t simply about delivering on time – you need to communicate with your customers in a timely manner. Social media channels give you the perfect platform from which to do this.

If a customer tweets you, it’s essential that you respond immediately to meet your customer’s expectations. These public forums are highly visible to other potential customers. They will be keen to see how you deal with any complaints, queries and questions. On social media, use a more informal tone. It’s fine to be chatty, so link to relevant content that may encourage sales. Excellent customer service is about developing your brand, and making your company appear exceptional in all fields.

Finally, follow this guide and make sure that your company is a business that prides itself on putting customers first.

In order for your first business venture to be as successful as possible, it is important that you understand these basic businesses success principles. Many new business owners think they know everything there is to know. They simply dive in head first, without thinking about everything which could go wrong.

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Basic Business Success: Getting Started

Most startups fail within the first five years. With that in mind, it’s clear that more in depth research and knowledge was needed before those businesses are launched. By following the tips below, you might be one of the few that really makes it… Firstly because you have such a brilliant business idea. Secondly because you’re a knowledgeable business owner, in general.

Here are a handful of the most basic business success theories, so that you can feel a bit more confident about the journey ahead.  They’ll help you and your team to discover just how successful a business can be these days.

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Firstly: Have a financial plan ready

I previously mentioned that most startups collapse within the first five years… Did you know that most of them fail due to lack of money? They may have had enough when starting up, but they failed to plan for all of those unexpected expenses – and their businesses suffer because of it.

If there is one thing you should spend more time on before launching your business, it’s mapping out a realistic and sustainable financial plan. Make time to read up on everything you can and  set aside money for emergencies. This will allow your business to have a solid foundation before you start.

Balance The Books

It goes without saying that you won’t be able to make much money unless you bring in customers. Just remember that if you start spending lots of money on advertising too early, you might not be able to balance the books immediately. Have a look around the web to find a proper accountant for your company, so that you’re able to safeguard it right from the start.

Another thing to remember is to keep a tight budget to begin with. That way, you won’t run the risk of spending more money than you can afford. It’s fairly common for unexpected expenses to pop up in the first year or so of trading, so it’s prudent to have an emergency fund.

Check this article out for some more tips on how you can steer your business towards financial success right from the start. It’s the kind of stuff your competitors may be neglecting, so make sure you familiarise yourself with the content and the concepts listed. Doing so will increase your chances of basic business success.

Next: Build a proper customer profile

Sometimes, it’s easy to get carried away with the idea that your product or service is for everyone. Quite often, individuals live and breathe their product or their business, and become somewhat blinkered in their opinion. They overlook the fact that their earmarked customers may not feel the same way. This, of course could prove to be detrimental to your startup.

Make sure you research your potential customer base, so you know who to gear your content towards. If your business is aimed at mums to be, you don’t want to gear your advertising towards students, for example.

Building a solid customer profile requires time and knowledge. If you’ve never done this before, you might want to consider handing this task over to someone who knows what they’re doing.

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Outsource Challenging Jobs

A professional researcher will be able to map out exactly who you should propose your products to. They’ll work out how you should target them, and where you’re most likely to find them. (Social media, in print or radio advertising, for example). It’s this type of research which gives your business the best possible start. A solid customer profile takes time to create, and it’s not something you create once and then never address again. Products and customer bases evolve over time.

It’s a good idea to constantly tweak it as your business grows and evolves. New products may call for a different customer profile than your existing one. This approach will firstly put your business in a much better position when it comes to targeting the right kind of customers. Secondly, it will en sure that the products and services you develop are right for them.

Good customer profiling will make it so much easier for you in terms of creating the right tone-of-voice when communicating with your customers. It will also make sure that the marketing content, in general, is right for your audience.

Read up on everything legal

It’s no secret that this is the tedious part of running a business. However, you can’t expect to be a business owner without understanding the legal terms. Start by checking out this article. It covers the basics and helps you ensure you’re not breaking any laws while you’re trying to build your little empire.

Another point to remember is that you have to learn everything that’s new, moving forward. Laws are constantly evolving, and as a business owner, it’s your responsibility to adhere to them. When you manage to get it right from the beginning of your venture, you’re also making it a bit easier for yourself to cope later on.

If you follow these guidelines, you will have built a great foundation for your own success. Your understanding of the business world will definitely benefit your business greatly. It’s a good idea to start by reading up on the new digital tax, first of all. Make a note of the different deadlines so that your business is up to date.

Launching a business can give you quite a few headaches, but it’s worth it in the end – I promise! If you use these basic business success tips to guide you in the right direction and use a bit of business flare, you have the potential to make it past the first important five years. Finally, if this post was useful, check out my business category.

It’s no secret that I am a bit of a geek when it comes to maths. It should come as no surprise then that I have lovingly crafted spreadsheets to help me keep on top of my earnings, expenses and net income. I have had a couple of people ask me recently if they could see them, so I have decided to go one step further and create these free self employed income and expenses templates for you to use. They are perfect for bloggers! Do let me know if they have helped you to keep on top of your finances!

Read on to find out more about my free income and expenses templates for bloggers…

I use google docs to keep track of my expenses. It’s free and secure, too. I choose to use this rather than excel so that I can access my files from anywhere. It also means that if I were unlucky enough to lose or break my laptop, I’d still be able to access the files. I’d be gutted if I had to recreate my annual income and expenses templates!

These are the spreadsheets I use…

Annual Income:

The first thing you need to keep track of is your annual income. I use THIS Income Spreadsheet to do that. (If you click on file, you can download it to use yourself).

There is space on the spreadsheet to list the paid posts you publish on your blog, and to include all relevant information. Once the post has been paid I tend to highlight it green, so I can quickly and easily see which payments I need to chase.

There’s a column for the invoice amount, and a separate one for amount received. This allows you to clearly see how much you received after PayPal fees or international currency conversion.

If you need to add additional rows to your month, you just click on the row above where you want to insert a new row and then click “INSERT” (At the top of the page) and select “ROW BELOW”. I have put in all of the formulas, so the totals will update automatically for you.

Annual Expenses:

I use This Expenses Spreadsheet for tracking annual expenses. (If you click on file, you can download it to use yourself).

When it comes to business expenses, it took me a long time to bother listing anything. Once I realised how much I was spending, I created this spreadsheet to keep on top of it. You can list all business expenses which are tax deductible – such as… Server costs, domain renewal, tickets to blogging events, and travel to and from them. You can also list £26 per month if you work from home for more than 101 hours per month. (This covers gas and electricity use).

When it comes to mobile phone, you can only add whatever proportion of your bill you actually use for business use. I have two phones now so one is business use and the other is personal. I add the business use one to my expenses. Make sure you add things like printer ink, stationery, and the new laptop you bought for business use onto your expenses too.

You can find out what can and can’t be claimed as expenses in the UK here…

It is important you keep all of your receipts.

I have a file on my laptop for digital receipts and an envelope pinned to my notice board for paper receipts. This helps me keep track of them, and makes January pretty much painless. Spending a little time each month filling in these income and expenses templates means you don’t need to stress as 31st January approaches.

Net Profit

Your net profit is what you pay tax on. It is the amount left over after you have subtracted your expenses from your income. I use this Net Profit Spreadsheet to track mine. (If you click on file, you can download it to use yourself).

If you fill in the first spreadsheet each time you get a paid job. Plus the other two on the first of the month, you’ll find your  end of year tax returns a doddle. You will also have quick and easy access to your net income to keep tax credits informed… Should you need to.

Finally, if you have found this blog post useful, why not check out my business category for more posts you’ll love.