5 Amazing Benefits of a DIY Small Business Audit

How an audit of your small business can help you identify problems and grow your business

A small business audit can help you identify problems in your business and areas for improvement. If you have been struggling with your business or have fallen into a rut, an audit can help you jumpstart your business growth.

Thankfully, this is something you can perform on your own even if you can’t afford to pay someone to do it for you.

A DIY small business audit has some important benefits and it’s something I recommend you do at least once a year. If you can do it quarterly, that’s even better.

If you are wondering what an audit involves or how to go about it, don’t worry.

I know the word “audit” can sound a little bit intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s just a fancy way of saying you should review or evaluate your business.

So, now that I have reassured you, let’s look at some of the benefits of evaluating your business.

Please note that this post may contain affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure at the top of the page.

1. A SMALL BUSINESS AUDIT WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW YOUR BUSINESS IS PERFORMING

One of the biggest benefits of a business assessment is that it will show you exactly how your business is doing. It’s amazing what you will discover when you do a thorough examination of your business.

A business audit is necessary because some business owners fall into the trap of thinking their business is doing better (or worse) than it really is. It’s good to have an accurate and realistic picture of your business, and the best way to determine how well your business is doing is to evaluate it.

An audit will help you measure your business performance, so you can set new goals and create a plan for growing your business.

Lots of small business owners create a business plan when they first launch their business but many of them never go back to update it or see if they are on track. You can’t determine if your business is moving in a different direction unless you do a review.

An assessment should be the launching pad for creating new growth strategies.

Additionally, a small business audit will reveal where your business is struggling, the financial position of your business, and how well your products or services are performing.

You can discover a goldmine of information after an audit. This information can be very useful for scaling your business or moving in another direction.

If you want to know exactly how your business is performing (without any blinders), consider doing an audit of your business.

2. HELP YOU IDENTIFY PROBLEMS IN YOUR BUSINESS

Oftentimes, it’s hard to spot existing problems because you are too close to your business.

It’s easy to miss things that are obvious to others, that’s why a periodic assessment is necessary to spot potential issues and stop them from getting worse.

I know with all the things that go into running your business from day to day, it’s easy to miss some things or ignore some issues because you don’t have the time to address them right now. But, the problem with this approach is that it might cost you some revenue or missed opportunities.

For instance, I went a long time without receiving affiliate commissions from some articles I expected to do well. Turned out I had some broken links. I didn’t discover them until I did a content audit and checked all my links.

Yes, it is time-consuming to do an audit, but the potential payoff for your business is worth the time.

So, if you have been putting things off, it’s time to take a break from your hectic schedule to assess the health of your business.

Fixing existing problems in your business can accelerate your growth and potentially improve your finances.

3. IDENTIFY AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT

If you are in a situation where you know you need to do something but don’t quite know what to do, a small business audit can steer you in the right direction. For example, if you have some bottlenecks in your business, assessing your business will shine a light on them, so you know exactly what you need to improve.

Many small business owners don’t do an end-of-year review for their business because they are too busy, so they go from one year to the other doing the same things and wondering why nothing changes.

Successful business owners know the importance of planning and evaluating their business. This is how they manage to stay on top of their business and avert crises.

To build a successful business, you have to keep improving.

The best way to improve your business is to know what needs improving and what will give you the best return on investment. So, find the time to evaluate your business (even if it is once a year), and keep improving your business, so you can get the best out of it.

If you want some more tips to help you improve your business, check out my 5-day email course, How to improve your business.

4. HELP YOU MAKE THE BEST DECISIONS FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Not only can an audit help you gauge where you are in your business, but it can also help you make some important decisions including what and how to invest in your business.

Knowing what you already have and what you need to focus on, can ultimately save you a lot of money. Because when you know what you need and what is worth investing in, you can easily make the best decisions for your business.

I created the How to Improve Your Business Checklists and To-do lists which is like the ultimate business audit checklist.

These checklists have lots of questions that will help you make some important decisions for your business (especially if you are not happy with your progress).

You will find questions like:

Do you have a business budget?
Is your business cash-flow positive?
Do you know how much you invest in your business every year?
Do you have multiple streams of income?
Is your social media marketing strategy effective?

This is a starting point for knowing what you have in your business, what you need to invest in, and how to come up with a plan for success.

Making the right decisions for your business is one of the keys to success. As an example, choosing the right marketing strategy, or the right prices for your products can boost your revenue or profit. Also, knowing where you need help and what kind of help you need can be crucial for your success.

A business audit checklist will help you identify gaps in your business, so you can create an effective plan to close the gaps.

If you need more help, you can get a copy of my How to Improve Your Business Checklists and To-do lists at a great price. Check it out!

5. A CHANCE TO REVISIT YOUR SYSTEMS

When I started my business, I was in a hurry and I didn’t have a lot of systems in place. It was basically a “spray and pray” strategy. However, as time went on, I realized this was not the best way to run a business (at least if you want to see some success).

I am sure some of you can identify with this.

You started your business without having all your ducks in a row because you were tired of putting off your dream, and you were willing to figure things out as you went along.

While that is pretty admirable (because you don’t need everything to be perfect to begin), sooner or later, you will need to take a step back to put some things in place if you want to grow your business.

Every business needs some systems to keep things running smoothly and efficiently.

A business audit will reveal which systems are running smoothly, which ones need updating, and whether your business needs some new systems or not.

The right systems and processes can save you time or money. The right systems can also boost your productivity as long as you know how to optimize them.

Speaking of systems, if the idea of creating systems for your business sound scary to you, or you don’t have the time to create one from scratch, my Systems for Business Success is a simple tool that will help you kick start the process. Check it out below.

If you haven’t revisited your systems in a long time, or you have been running your business on autopilot, it’s time to revisit and optimize them.

And, while you are at it, get rid of systems that are no longer useful, and create new ones that will make your business more efficient.

Final thoughts on the amazing benefits of a small business audit

A business audit has lots of amazing benefits and it is something every business owner should consider doing.

Running your business on autopilot is not the best way to grow your business. You need the right systems, the right goals, the right tools, and the right strategies.

A business audit is the most effective way to find out what’s best for your business, and how well your business is performing.

If you haven’t done an assessment of your business in a long time, you might be sitting on some potential issues that could get worse over time.

No matter how busy you are, you can always find the time to conduct an audit. So, don’t put it off longer than is necessary.

Have you ever done a DIY audit of your business? What impact did it have?