When it comes to managing your money, certain things will always need to be done in certain ways. For an accountant, there’s a defined format that accounts must follow. Likewise, tax returns are prepared in strict accordance with reams of tax law.

However, when it comes to “non-statutory” or performance reporting, you’re faced with an entirely moveable feast. In fact, there’s no dental industry standard to guide you.

Every business owner is unique, and different dentists have different ways of managing their finances. Some take a laid-back, “roll with it” approach, checking their bank accounts to reassure themselves that things are roughly on track. Others feel more comfortable commissioning monthly reports running to multiple pages of figures, graphs and percentages.

You might think that the second grouping is the more sensible – after all, doesn’t knowledge always equal power? But actually, neither of these approaches is fit for purpose if you’re serious about running your business. And that’s because neither is giving you the information you need to navigate through tough financial times.

Yes, that monthly Management Account report looks beautiful and ticks the ‘financial reporting’ box. You can also run any number of extra reports from SOE or Dentally – but what does this information really tell you? With an avalanche of information bearing down, you might even find that some of it conflicts, leaving you unable to make meaningful decisions.

It’s so easy to get stuck in analysis paralysis. Being overwhelmed by data is equally as useless as having no data at all. As I’ve written before, having a quantity of information doesn’t make it useful; it’s better to seek out ‘actionable intelligence’ that informs your world and your business.

But, when you’re knee-deep in data, how do you get out?

Don’t be a perfectionist

Often, clients feel that they must provide exact figures for us to work with, or pressure themselves to produce a taped-up report. This normally isn’t necessary – looking at data now that’s 90% accurate is far better than waiting two months to get everything 100% correct.

Set yourself a deadline

It’s all-too easy to keep kicking the can down the road when you don’t have a deadline to work to. Putting a due date alongside an action will make sure that you’re consciously prioritising the key tasks, rather than allowing them to get forced out by the other “urgent” jobs (or distractions) that are on your list.

Know your objectives

Ask yourself: what do I really want to know? Start by identifying what you want to measure, and use the numbers to investigate this, rather than being led by the numbers themselves. For instance, clients often have a gut feeling that an associate isn’t making money for their business. Here, there’s no need to vanish down a rabbit hole of pulling data on individual treatments or overheads. A simpler view can be taken by looking at the associate’s ADY and calculating how much it costs to run their surgery for the day. This alone will tell you whether your hunch is correct.

Let us help

Above all, remember that it’s not your job to handle all of this – you’re a dentist, not an accountant. At Hive, we’re experts at taking data and visually representing it to you, along with a narrative that makes sense. We can give you top-level findings and identify areas for future focus. From this, we can create clear actions for the upcoming quarter, to ensure that your business is moving forward. It really is that simple.

If you’d like to talk about arranging a quarterly financial appraisal, get in touch.