Starting and running your own business is tough; probably much tougher than you anticipated. Luckily, it gets easier as you pick up tips and tricks and get better at navigating day-to-day pitfalls.

Here are 3 tools that can help you take a shortcut to putting your small business on a more solid footing.

Make planning and operations easier with our essential guide

The Essential Guide for Small Business Owners is your go-to document that covers whatever you’re unsure about: whether it’s the basics you need in place to start a business, when you might want to register a business and how to do that, or all the other areas you’ll need to look after as you get your new business off the ground – it has it all.

Save or print a copy of this handy guide and keep it close at hand during the planning stage of your business and when you begin operations. As the name suggests, the guide takes you through the different steps from choosing and registering a business name, to essential information on taxes and financials. This information includes key financial ratios and concepts that you can apply to your business — to measure your progress or flag a problem before it’s a crisis.

You’ll be doing yourself and your business a huge favour by spending a few minutes reviewing the information to see what business tricks you’ve forgotten, and which new ones you can learn.

Gain control over your money

It probably won’t surprise you to hear that most businesses fail because cash isn’t coming into the business fast enough to keep up with expenses. This has nothing to do with how profitable you are, but rather how good you are at managing cash flow. If your cash flow is negative, you’re going to struggle to keep your head above water – which is why tracking your income and expenses is so important. This also helps you to predict how your business will be doing 2 or 3 months from now.

For your business to grow, you need to grow your business skills

If you’re a Nedbank client, the answer to managing your small-business finances is right in the palm of your hand in the form of MoneyTracker, a free money management tool on the Nedbank Money app. Not only will it track your business expenses and generate reports that show the health of your business, but you can also create and send invoices directly from the app. This gives you an integrated view of how much money you have, how much you’re spending and when you’re expecting outstanding bills to be paid.

Gear up for business growth

The third resource is a way to network with others in your sector as part of a community that helps you polish your management skills and grow your business. SimplyBiz is a community for small-business owners supported by Nedbank. Sign up as a member and enjoy tons of insightful tips, special offers and even an academy that will help you sharpen your business techniques. As a community member, you can also advertise the goods or services that you sell in the marketplace.

SimplyBiz has shown over the years that it can guide small-business owners through the growing pains of a start-up with a comprehensive library of resources, business tools and financial solutions.

Getting a small business off the ground and running fairly smoothly is anything but easy. For your business to grow, you need to grow your business skills. Armed with the 3 tools outlined here, you have the right support to achieve that goal.