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3 Core Strategies to Help Managers Keep Finances in Check

Dear Dangerously in Love with Your Finances,

I am a new MedSpa manager in Phoenix, Arizona. My primary responsibilities as a MedSpa manager include not only leading and inspiring my staff of estheticians, but assisting the company in meeting its financial goals and objectives. This means analyzing and evaluating processes, reviewing financial reports, keeping track of inventory, analyzing average cost of units sold, studying utilization reports, and looking at other key metrics. My concern is: how do I stay on top of the financial responsibilities? How do I stay organized and not drop the financial piece? I am only one person and the MedSpa continues to grow since we are the one of the best in town.

Regards,
Wearing Way Too Many Hats

Dear Wearing Way Too Many Hats,

Becoming a manager comes with a lot of additional responsibilities, and it’s very easy to feel overwhelmed after the initial excitement of a new position. There is no need to worry – you’ve got this! You just need some time to get organized.

Gain More Knowledge

Finances don’t have to be scary. Get more comfortable with them by speaking with your accountant, CFO, or medical bookkeeping person to help you understand the financial reports – you guys are a team! Getting their insight and strengthening your own knowledge of the business will give you the foundation you need to feel more at home with this extremely important part of your new role.

A particularly key topic of discussion should be what exactly you need to look for in each report. That way you’ll know where your focus should be during your own independent report analysis and review process. Understanding what to look for will save you a lot of time and guesswork. It will also allow you to be proactive instead of reactive in the event that you have to make a decision to course-correct.

Going forward, ask to be included in the monthly finance meeting so you can ask questions and explain what you are recognizing in the reports.

 

Develop a Process

Once you’ve gotten to understand the company finances better, I recommend that you get organized by developing and implementing a daily, weekly and monthly process. Think of this like building the framework for your house. When you have a strong foundation, you then need to create a good structure to build around. Start off with a checklist and go from there.

 

Delegate As Needed

There are some items that should not be on your checklist – doing the initial reporting is one of them.

Delegate weekly and monthly reporting tasks to an administrative staff member to ensure that the reports are on your desk or in your inbox at a specific date/time which is appropriate for your schedule and needs. Not only will this help you keep up with your busy schedule, it will allow you to approach the finances with a fresher pair of eyes. Think about any other elements of your role that may make sense to delegate. Evaluate your workload and consider which tasks take up a lot of time but do not require your specific experience level. It may take a little while to train someone and design an efficient set of systems, but this will pay dividends for you in the long run and create a more effective team.

Best of luck to you as you embrace all that this new role encompasses!

– Lozelle Mathai

Your Health, Wellness, & Medical Practice Accountant

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