Movies love the victim, the helpless character who dithers about in danger waiting for the hero to ride in and save the day. Without the victim there can be no hero. Do you feel like the victim in today's economic turmoil? With OSI's help you can be the hero, saving your company from danger.

Determine Where You Can (and Can't) Cut expenses

OSI's accounting services provides comprehensive reports that allow you to keep a close eye on your business's performance. Some of our clients cast a casual eye over these reports looking for red flags rather than analyzing them closely. During normal times that might be fine, but the current situation requires more diligence.

There is a financial term called "burn rate". This is the money you have to spend every month to keep your business open. If you own a coffee shop, you can't stop paying rent because then your customers have nowhere to buy your coffee. But if you own a computer repair shop you might conceivably close your storefront and offer onsite service only. Comparing burn rate against revenue tells you whether the bad news is as bad as you think.

It's also important to get financial reports more often when things are unpredictable. OSI accounting services offers all information online so you can check your financials as often as you like. If you've been depending on quarterly summaries, we recommend checking monthly or even weekly if your market is particularly volatile. You will have more warning of changing trends and more chance to do something about them.

Look For Non-Financial Signs

There is more to business prognostication than financial reports. Our accounting services can only show you the past and the present. You need to see the future.

You know your business better than we do so you are better able to look for indicators. Customer traffic, whether the bodies in your store or visitors to your website, is a common statistic to track. You can also look at how related businesses are doing to judge if you are going to feel a ripple effect. The housing market drops, then construction falls off, then construction subcontractors such as painting companies see less business, and finally the home improvement stores see a drop in sales.

While looking at associated businesses you might find inspiration for position changes that could keep you going through the hard times. Businesses may think that offering less expensive offerings could help attract cash-strapped customers, but sometimes the reverse is the case. The upper income client may have disposable income where a middle class customer wouldn't so appealing to wealthier clientele might be the way to go.

These times may have you questioning the wisdom of owning a business rather than working for someone else, but with the help of OSI accounting services you can get through the rough patches and your company will be stronger for it.