As April rapidly approaches, we are nearing the close of Q1 for 2025.
Snapshot Summary
As Q1 of 2025 comes to a close and Q2 begins, business owners have a critical opportunity to assess their performance and realign their strategies to stay on track for the year. By reflecting on these areas and making necessary adjustments, businesses can overcome obstacles and position themselves for success in Q2 and beyond, keeping their overall year targets in sight.
With the start of Q2 and the tax year-end just around the corner, this is a pivotal time for business owners to assess their performance of 2025 so far and realign their targets to stay on track. It's also an optimal opportunity to identify any obstacles or challenges and implement strategies to overcome them. In this article, we've outlined key areas of your business that should be reviewed at the end of Q1 to ensure a strong start going forward into Q2.
SalesSince the start of 2025, has your sales pipeline grown, and are you on track with generating leads? If your pipeline hasn’t seen growth, it may be time to reassess your Q2 targets to get back on track for achieving the year’s targets. Have you hit your face-to-face time with customers target? From a marketing perspective, have you been consistently hitting outbound activities? Are you on track with your goals and projects? Ensuring alignment here is key to driving continued success. Tracking the right sales and marketing KPIs is crucial for hitting sales goals, for more information on this please see our article on ‘The importance of Lead and Lag measures in sales’
Product innovation developmentProduct innovation helps you to redefine your products and service value, it also enables you to create new products based on your customers’ needs and pain points, this ensures that you are meeting your customers' expectations. Anticipating your customers’ needs helps to boost client retention. Have you recently reviewed product development timelines and are they on track? Ensuring that your product strategy is timely and well executed is essential not only for your customers but for business growth.
OperationsFor Q1, have you met your stock days target? Has the value of slow-moving and obsolete stock (SLOB) decreased? How are back orders tracking, are they within an acceptable range? For project-based businesses, what is the current value of work in progress (WIP), and is it being effectively managed? Has the number of open projects increased, and is this being closely monitored? Additionally, how is your On-Time In-Full (OTIF) performance? This key metric largely depends on the operations team’s ability to manage stock levels effectively and ensure smooth project execution.
FinancialsAre you receiving regular management accounts? Management accounts are financial reports produced for business owners and managers, usually monthly or quarterly, they should include a profit and loss report with actual vs budget and variance, a balance sheet, and a cashflow statement. For more details on the importance of management accounts, please see this article ‘Management accounts – Why are they important?’ Do you have a clear forecast for the rest of the year? Do you know which products, projects delivered, or customers made you the most money in Q1? Are your debtor days and aged debtors list under control? These are all things that you should be reviewing at the end of Q1 to ensure you are staying on track.
PeopleAre you on track with your recruitment goals? If not, now is the time to review and adjust your strategy to get you back on track. Equally important is staying connected with your team. What was your employee NPS for Q1? If it was below what you were expecting, what steps can you take to get it back to where it needs to be for Q2? It's also essential to continually celebrate your team's achievements, recognising wins helps maintain morale and motivation within the team. Have you been holding regular 1:1s with your staff? These meetings are key for providing employees with a chance to raise concerns and share feedback, ensuring continuous growth and engagement.
The end of Q1 provides a valuable opportunity to assess the overall performance of your business. Taking the time to review key areas, from operations to sales, helps identify what’s working well and where improvements may be needed. This reflection enables you to make informed decisions and realign your strategies, ensuring that you're well-positioned for success as you move into the next quarter, and keeps you on track for your overall year targets.
If you would like further advice on business growth and financial management, please get in touch with us using the below form and a member of the team will be in touch. Alternatively, please contact us via email or call and we will be happy to advise on the best solutions for your business.
Please note: This article is provided for information only and was correct as at the time of writing (20/03/25). Any lists and details provided above are not exhaustive and are not intended to be full and complete guidance. No action should be taken without consulting detailed legislation or seeking independent professional advice. Therefore, no responsibility for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of the material contained in this article can be accepted.
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