Tip of the week: Use simple charts to see your business, not just numbers

Columns of numbers are hard to read, but a picture can tell you a story instantly. A simple chart of sales by week or expenses by category shows trends you would miss in a notebook.

You can draw a chart by hand on graph paper or use a spreadsheet. Try two simple charts: weekly sales over the last ten weeks, and a bar for each expense type this month. Look for rises, drops and surprises.

Ask questions: Why did sales fall in week six? Why is transport the largest expense? What changed when sales increased?

LiberLite Record Keeping shows profit and charts automatically from the sales and expenses you enter, so you can see the pattern without drawing it.

A salon in Dodoma may notice, from a chart, that Friday and Saturday carry half the week's income and plan staff accordingly.

Do not worry about perfect graphs. The point is to notice patterns early.

This week: create one chart of your weekly sales and one of your expenses by type.