Featured Insights.
Quick Search
By Industry 
How to have successful team catchups and run effective meetings, remotely
When working remotely one needs to put more effort and structure into coordinating teamwork, and ensuring each person can ask for help and get the support they need. You won't be able to quickly walk over and ask for help or see that someone is struggling and needs a hand. Regular catchups, with a good meeting structure, go a long way to ensuring that all team members have the opportunity to: Check-in on how they are doing. Share their work...
Read More
Tax and Debt Management
Drowning in tax debt? Don’t owe the South African Revenue Service (SARS) the tax liability they say you do? Perhaps you don't even know whether or not you have a tax liability due. Deciphering tax assessments and managing tax debt can be overwhelming. SARS does, however, provide resources and channels through which you can gain a better understanding of your tax compliance status and tax liability. In addition, you can make certain applications or requests to...
Read More
Financial Systems Case Study – Musgrave Spirits
ESTABLISHING STRUCTURE AND GAINING CONTROL THROUGH TWO LEADING CLOUD-BASED SYSTEMS: DEAR INVENTORY AND XERO ACCOUNTING Business type: Manufacturing Industry: Spirits Size: 10+ employees, 3 locations Distribution: South Africa - 90 + Outlets Region: South Africa Integrations: Dear, Xero Customers since: June 2017 Website: www.musgravegin.co.za Musgrave is an artisanal gin and spirits brand founded by Simon Musgrave. In 2017 this rapidly growing spirits business approached the systems experts at Creative CFO to help them implement and integrate cloud-based inventory management and accounting systems. “We contacted Creative CFO because we reached...
Read More
Are you Investment Ready?
Introduction For many business owners, their business is an accumulation of enormous efforts over a lengthy period of time: a schooling career, tertiary education, mentorship, saying no to many social get-togethers, hard work, mistakes, parting ways with savings, more hard work. The list is endless. Given the sacrifices made in building a business, it is no surprise that deciding to expose it to potential investors, is an emotional rollercoaster. And while one might assume that seeking investment...
Read More
Equity Incentives – A game changer for SMEs
Whether you are a new startup trying to raise seed capital, determining how to allocate the company shareholding or looking to benefit your employees - equity incentives can be a game changer. Equity sharing not only rewards employees but recognises the importance of them to their company. In turn, the company is able to attract, incentivise and retain performing and loyal employees. The incentive industry, like the entrepreneurial industry around it, is constantly evolving. In addition to...
Read More
Create a cash flow friendly business
The term "Cash is King" rings true and is crucial for the survival of any business. Statistics have shown that 80% of businesses fail in their first three years due to a lack of support. Poor cash flow management is at the top of the list of issues that require support. What is cash flow management? In theory and simply put, cash flow management is: Cash coming into the business as early as possible, Cash exiting the business...
Read More
How to Fund your Business and Unlock Growth
One of the main challenges for early-stage businesses in South Africa is access to funding. This is not as a result of a lack of available finance but rather due to a range of issues, including, but not limited to, regulations, complex finance application processes, and the economic climate. An important component to successfully financing your business’s growth is identifying what strategy is the most suitable for both you as the owner and for your...
Read More
Financial Systems Case Study: The Tile House
Gaining operational independence and control through two leading cloud-based systems: Dear Inventory and Xero Accounting Business Type: Manufacturing Industry: Building Materials Size: 40+ employees, 2 locations Region: South Africa Integrations: Dear, Xero Customers Since: June 2018 Website: www.thetilehouse.co.za John Almon established The Tile House in 1988 - a hands-on family run business that sources and supplies high-quality tile products to the South African market. In 2018 they decided to break away from a larger retail group and needed to become fully independent. This was their...
Read More
Manufacturing in Xero Part 3
Method 3 - Manual Manufacture at the time of Assembly (finished goods represented in inventory) The idea behind this approach is to buy in raw materials, track the quantity and value of those raw materials and then convert raw materials into tracked finished goods when you do an assembly in your workshop. Xero transfers the value of the raw materials to the finished goods item so that when you sell a finished good Xero will automatically bring...
Read More