Small Business Guides

Find guides and articles to help you do better business, and understand the often weird world of accounting.

  A sole trader works at their desk sending invoices, reconciling bank statements and answering emails

Starting and growing a business

Your intro to the milestone moments in small business.

  • How to start your own business in the US

    Starting a business requires the right legal structure and financial footing. Here are the steps to take so you can get started.

  • How to start an online business

    Find out what it takes to start and run an online business. With insights from experts and owners who’ve done it before.

  • How to finance your business

    Need finance for your business? Learn about the types of finance, approaching lenders and investors and more.

  • Growing your business

    Are you ready to drop the hammer and take your business to the next level? Let’s look at how to grow.

  • How to hire employees

    Hiring help can improve your business, and your lifestyle. But it’s a big process. Here are the main things to keep in mind.

  • How to invoice

    Looking for help on making and sending invoices and getting them paid? Check out these tips on the art of invoicing.

  • How to do bookkeeping

    Bookkeeping includes everything from basic data entry to tax prep. Let’s look at the core jobs and see how they’re done.

  • What is bookkeeping?

    Whether you’re bookkeeping for a family business, or planning a career in it – this is a good place to start learning.

  • Guide to inventory

    Inventory management is more than just knowing what’s been sold and what you’ve ordered. Find out what else is involved.

Payments

Your intro to getting money in from customers, and out to suppliers and employees. See all payments guides

Money

Your intro to budgeting, cash flow, and what to do when you need more money. See all money guides

Planning and performance

Your intro to business planning, goal setting, key performance indicators, and financial reporting. See all planning and performance guides

Leadership

Your intro to building a vision, establishing consensus, and inspiring action. See all leadership guides

Accounting and bookkeeping

Your intro to financial admin, taxes, and the technical side of running a business. See all accounting and bookkeeping guides

Marketing

Your intro to finding and winning new customers, and keeping the old ones. See all marketing guides

  • How to do market research

    Good research can improve your service or product, and make you a better marketer. Here’s a guide to get you started.

  • 12-step Amazon seller checklist

    Selling on Amazon makes a lot of sense, but it’s different to running a retail operation. Here’s what you need to know.

  • How to handle customer complaints

    Most small businesses will receive complaints at one stage or another. But it's how you deal with them that matters.

Ecommerce

Your intro to starting, managing, and making money from an online business. See all ecommerce guides

Tools and reports

Free templates

Download helpful templates for things like quoting, invoicing, reporting and planning.

Get the free templates

Glossary

Learn the meaning behind all those weird and wonderful accounting terms.

Read our glossary

Gross margin calculator

Calculate your gross profit margin with this simple calculator.

Try the free calculator