Articles

TL;DR

• Reduce company costs and strengthen profitability
• Budget and follow up:
  Keep track of all costs and revenues, analyze regularly, and involve employees in the process.
• Negotiate with suppliers:
  Seek discounts, better terms, and compare alternatives.
• Use technology:
  Automate and streamline processes to save time and reduce errors.
• Review premises and energy costs:
  Negotiate rent, move to cheaper premises, and invest in energy-smart solutions.
• Optimize operations:
  Focus on the most profitable products/services and avoid wasting resources.
• Review insurance and subscriptions:
  Compare prices, consolidate insurance policies, and cancel unused services.

As an entrepreneur, it is a continuous effort to find ways to increase the company's margins and profits. Often the focus is on increasing revenue, but sometimes costs hold the company back. Lowering costs is usually easier than increasing revenue, and it has the same effect on profitability. Here are some practical tips for lowering costs and improving your company's profitability.

‍

Create a budget and follow up

‍All companies, regardless of size, should prepare a budget for revenues and expenses. By regularly following up and analyzing the budget, you can also identify areas where costs can be reduced and optimize them. Remember to budget for both fixed and variable costs and to make realistic forecasts for the future. Use budgeting tools or software to facilitate the process and stay organized. If you have employees, it is a good idea to involve them in the budgeting process to get their insights and ideas on possible savings.

‍

Negotiate with suppliers

Suppliers are often willing to negotiate prices, especially if you are a long-term customer or buying in bulk. Contact your suppliers and explore the possibility of discounts or better payment terms. Also, compare prices from different suppliers to ensure you get the best possible price, and be prepared to switch suppliers if you find a better deal. Building good relationships with your suppliers can lead to better service and better opportunities for cost savings in the future.

‍

Leverage technology

Today, there are many technological tools available to automate time-consuming tasks and streamline processes. For example, by choosing an accounting program that automatically records your transactions, instead of one that requires manual entry, you reduce the risk of human error and save time. Therefore, investigate what technological solutions could streamline the work in your company or replace one of your suppliers.  

‍

Review premises and energy costs

Premises and energy costs often constitute a large part of a company's fixed expenses, and reviewing these can therefore save a lot of money each month. You can do this by trying to renegotiate lease agreements or moving to cheaper premises. Costs can also be reduced if you switch to more energy-smart solutions, consider alternative energy sources, and implement energy-saving measures. If you review your energy costs regularly, you can often find additional savings opportunities.

‍

Optimize operations

There is much to gain by optimizing operations, regardless of whether your company sells products or services. Analyze your sales data to better understand which products or services sell the most or have the highest profitability, and focus on these. By focusing on what the company does best, you will be able to increase your volumes and avoid investing resources in something that does not generate a return. 

‍

Review insurances and subscriptions

Insurances are another fixed expense that can be reviewed if you want to lower costs. Compare different insurance companies and plans to ensure you get the best possible price and coverage. If you gather several insurances with one provider, you can usually also get discounted prices on the premiums. Another area where there is often money to save is subscriptions and membership fees. By reviewing these, you can see if they are services you use or not. If you do not, you can save money by terminating them. ‍

‍

Reducing costs can be just as crucial to a company's success as increasing revenue. By continuously reviewing and optimising expenses, you can free up time and money that can be reinvested in the company's growth and development.

As a small business owner, there is much more to keep track of than just the work itself, and for many, finance, bookkeeping and accounting can be areas associated with a certain amount of anxiety. Very few become entrepreneurs because they are passionate about financial administration, but the fact is that stable bookkeeping and accounting are crucial to giving the company a stable financial foundation to stand on. To help you keep track of your company's finances and avoid potential problems, we share five accounting tips that you as a small business owner can benefit from.

‍
‍
What is the difference between accounting and bookkeeping?
Accounting and bookkeeping are often used as synonyms, but even though both relate to business finances, they differ. Bookkeeping is about systematically recording all business transactions. Accounting is a broader concept that includes bookkeeping, but also financial statements, tax returns and reporting. Depending on your type of company, there are different rules for bookkeeping and accounting that you need to adhere to. However, our tips are applicable regardless of how you run your business.
‍
Keep your finances separate
A first step is to separate your personal finances from the company's finances, which is especially important if you run your business as a sole proprietorship. By keeping your personal and business expenses separate, it becomes much easier to keep track of your finances and avoid confusion when bookkeeping. Therefore, open separate bank accounts for your business and use them for all your business transactions.
‍
Use a smart bookkeeping program
Today, there are a number of smart bookkeeping programs on the market that make life easier for entrepreneurs, and that don't cost a fortune. Many programs are also fully automated, where the program manages the ongoing bookkeeping automatically if you connect the company's bank account. Investing in a reliable bookkeeping program that can automate much of the daily administrative work is a smart move for all small business owners. It also makes it easier to track invoices, receipts and other important documents. In addition, it reduces the risk of human error, makes it easier to get an overview of the company's financial situation and facilitates when the annual accounts are to be prepared.
‍
Hire an accountant or bookkeeping consultant
For some companies, it simply doesn't work to do the bookkeeping themselves, but it is more profitable to hire an expert for it. So even if it means an extra cost, it may be worth hiring an accountant or bookkeeping consultant. They are experts in their fields and can help you ensure that your bookkeeping complies with applicable laws and regulations and provide valuable advice on how to best manage the company's finances. In the long run, it can therefore save you both time and money.
‍
Develop a budget and follow up
Preparing a budget is one of the easiest tools for planning and taking control of the company's finances. Estimate the company's expenses and income and continuously follow up on your budget. In this way, you can get a clearer overview of the finances, plan for investments and ensure that the business is going as you intended. A clear budget that is followed up on continuously also makes it easier if you need to make adjustments or suffer unexpected expenses, especially if you have budgeted to be able to handle these.
‍
Keep track of taxes
Being aware of which taxes and fees apply to your company is an easy way to turn a potential problem into a non-problem and make it easier for yourself before the tax return. Make sure to pay your taxes and fees on time and use calendar reminders for important dates. It may also be wise to set aside extra money each month to avoid liquidity problems if the tax becomes higher than you planned for.


By following these accounting tips, you can build a stable foundation for your company's finances and reduce the stress surrounding bookkeeping and accounting. A well-managed economy also gives you better conditions to be able to focus on developing and growing your business instead of focusing on administration.

‍

Artificial intelligence has been a hot topic in recent years and has quickly become an important technology for companies of all sizes. Developments in generative AI, as well as the increased accessibility of AI models via APIs, have led to new types of services with new applications. This has meant that artificial intelligence has gone from being reserved for large technology companies to being accessible to the general public. But what impact can this development have on small business owners, and what are the areas of application? Here are some areas where AI can have a major impact and help small business owners improve efficiency, customer experience, and growth.

‍

Administration

As is well known, entrepreneurship often involves a good deal of administration. One of the most obvious ways AI can help small businesses is by automating administrative tasks. AI tools can take over monotonous tasks, which saves time and reduces the risk of human error. In accounting and finance, AI can also be a great help in automating bookkeeping, invoicing, and tax preparation. This reduces the workload and frees up more time for other things in the company.

‍

Marketing 

Marketing can be done in many different ways, both large and small. All entrepreneurs are, to some extent, dependent on marketing to reach out with their offering and attract customers. But even simple productions of text or visual material can be either time-consuming, expensive, or both for a small business owner who does not have it as their primary competence. Generative AI tools, with Chat-GPT and Midjourney at the forefront, have been the big talk when it comes to AI and the possibilities that now exist to quickly generate texts and visual material. Here, AI has the opportunity to revolutionize the work with marketing for small business owners when it comes to producing blog posts, social media posts, email campaigns and other marketing material with minimal manual effort.

‍

Customer service

A significant advantage of AI is its ability to quickly perform time-consuming tasks. This can be very useful in your customer service efforts. By using an AI chatbot, you can provide instant answers to customer inquiries around the clock and filter out a large number of questions that would otherwise need to be handled via email or phone. This frees up your time while providing customers with faster answers to their questions.

‍

Skills development

AI can be of great importance for education and skills development, both for you as a business owner and for your employees. You can now access customized training solutions where AI is used to analyze and create personalized training programs. With the help of AI-powered training platforms, where virtual assistants and chatbots provide instant feedback and answer questions, small businesses can achieve continuous skills development. AI can also be used to identify skills gaps and suggest areas for development.

‍

Forecasting and analysis

Smaller companies rarely have the resources to process complex data for forecasting and analysis. However, AI opens up this possibility. AI can be used to analyze data to identify trends and patterns that can help you make more informed decisions. It can also be used to predict future trends, customer behavior, and market changes, which facilitates strategic planning. In addition, AI can be used to analyze business data in real-time, thereby identifying both areas that are performing well and those that need improvement.

‍

AI has the potential to open up several doors for small business owners that were previously only available to large companies with large budgets. By using AI to automate time-consuming administration and perform advanced tasks, you as a small business owner can save time and improve your business. However, the specific applications of AI that are suitable for different companies are individual, so start by identifying the needs of your company before choosing which tools are relevant to you. 

‍

With embedded finance, non-financial companies, such as platforms, marketplaces, SaaS providers or other B2B services can easily integrate financing and offer it directly to customers, a strategy with several business benefits. Here are five reasons to include it in your service portfolio.

‍

Starting a financing business for small businesses is not something you do overnight. It requires infrastructure, licenses and capital, among many other things. But thanks to embedded finance, non-financial companies, such as platforms, marketplaces, SaaS providers or other B2B services can integrate financing solutions and offer them directly to their customers. Offering financing to your customers means a number of benefits for your company – here are five reasons why you should include it in your service portfolio.

‍

Your customers need it

It's no secret that access to financing is a major challenge for most small businesses – and has been for a long time. In Europe alone, the financing gap amounts to 400 billion euros, and globally it is in the trillions. This means your small business customers likely have difficulty accessing financing when they need it – something you can help them with. But it's not just about offering a solution to those actively seeking financing. You also open up opportunities for customers who may not be looking for capital right now but may feel more secure knowing they have access to financing if needed. This can give them the opportunity to make investments and ventures they previously refrained from because they didn't think they could finance them. Additionally, it makes it easier for them to manage their cash flow in a flexible way.

‍

An extra source of income

The most obvious reason to integrate financing is that it gives you an extra source of income – without requiring any major effort or investment on your part. With Embedded, you can integrate our white-label solutions for SME lending into your existing platform in just a few hours of development time. Once it's implemented, you only need to guide your customers to use the service to start generating revenue. You don't need to handle operational aspects, financing, or credit risk – the platform handles everything. In practice, embedded SME financing means you can add a service that manages itself and generates revenue without any risk to your company.

‍

It increases customer loyalty

Financing isn't just about revenue. Another reason to include it in your offering is that your customers will see you as an enabler of their success because you're helping them solve one of their biggest problems. This, in turn, can lead to even greater profits than the revenue from lending itself. When your customers become more satisfied, they also become more loyal – which improves your NPS score. It creates a positive growth spiral where your customers do more business with you while becoming ambassadors for your brand.

‍

Customers stay longer

It's not just the customers who become brand ambassadors who stay longer – the average customer does too. Firstly, you get a "lock-in effect" on customers with active loans, as it becomes more difficult for them to switch suppliers during the repayment period. But above all, financing makes your overall offering more attractive. You gain a competitive advantage by offering a service that creates concrete value for your customers. Since access to financing is limited for small businesses, many customers will hesitate to stop using your service – as it would also mean they lose the opportunity to get financing if needed. This helps to lower your churn rate.

‍

Potential to grow your core business

Interest income, increased loyalty, and reduced customer turnover are direct effects of lending – but in the long term, there are even greater gains. Financing makes it possible for your customers to invest and grow their businesses, which means they will also increase their business with you. In addition to the short-term effects of embedded lending, you can also look forward to long-term growth in your core business by giving your customers the tools they need to succeed.

‍

Small businesses need financing – and by integrating lending into your offering, you can help them gain access to it while strengthening your own business. With Embedded, you can easily add a lending solution that is specifically developed for the SME segment and seamlessly integrate it into your existing platform, under your own brand. With an application process that takes just a few minutes, automatic data collection, credit assessment, and direct loan disbursement, you can offer your customers an unparalleled financing experience – while creating added value for both you and them.

‍

Book a demo today to see how embedded lending can help you grow your business.

‍

Hiring your first employee is an exciting milestone for small business owners, but it also presents challenges. Whether you've hired before or are doing it for the first time, it can feel like a big step that needs to be done right. Hiring is an investment, and finding the right skills and employee isn't always easy. The hiring process can also be costly if it drags on or if the fit isn't right and the process needs to be repeated. Here are some tips and advice to make the process as smooth and successful as possible for you when you're hiring.

‍

‍

Before you start
To be able to hire, your company needs to be registered as an employer with the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket). If it isn't already, you can register as an employer at verksamt.se. You'll also find practical information about being an employer on verksamt.se.

‍

‍
Define the need
Before starting the recruitment process, it's important to carefully consider the specific needs of your company. Write down a detailed job description that clarifies the tasks, responsibilities, and goals for the new role. Also, consider the skills, experience, and qualifications required. If you already have employees, it's a good idea to talk to them about the needs and areas they think should be strengthened. Then, formulate a job description, define tasks, and the requirements for the person to be hired.  

‍

‍
Budget for costs
Hiring involves more costs than just the salary. You need to consider employer contributions, insurance, and work equipment. It's also important to think about potential benefits that can make your offer more attractive, such as wellness allowance and pension. Not all hires provide a return directly from day one. But by making a concrete budget, you can ensure that your company can actually afford to hire and that you can bear the cost until the investment starts to pay off.

‍
Start searching
Once you've made your preparations, it's time to start looking for the right candidate. Put together a job ad that's relevant to the profile and qualifications you're looking for and publish it in relevant channels. It's important that the description in the ad actually matches the intended role. It's rarely good if the person you hire doesn't feel that the role matched their expectations, and then there's a risk that you won't get maximum return and may have to redo the process. Be open to hiring someone with potential and a willingness to learn instead of focusing solely on having the exact right experience. Sometimes attitude, personal chemistry, and cultural fit can be a better choice than the right experience on paper.

‍

Conduct interviews & check references
Schedule interviews and prepare questions that can help you gain a deeper understanding of the candidate's skills and personality. Structure the interview so that you cover important areas such as work experience, skills, and problem-solving ability. Also, be sure to assess how well the candidate fits into your company culture. Let the interview be a two-way communication where the candidate also has the opportunity to ask questions and get a feel for the company. Before you decide to hire, it's a good idea to check the candidate's references. This can reveal both positive and negative aspects that don't come out in the interview but can help you make a more informed choice.

‍
Offer competitive terms
Finding good employees can be difficult, keeping them satisfied doesn't have to be. It can be easy to try to get away as cheaply as possible when you hire, but retaining labor is usually cheaper than finding new. And if your employee doesn't feel appreciated enough or that they're not getting compensation in line with what they contribute, it easily leads to reduced motivation and they start looking for other jobs. Therefore, start by offering terms that are as competitive as possible based on your conditions and the employee's profile so that they're satisfied. Keep in mind that it's not just the salary that matters, but other benefits such as flexibility, development, and a stimulating work environment are just as important.

‍
Create a good introduction
A well-thought-out introduction is crucial for the new employee to feel welcome and quickly get into their tasks. Prepare an introduction and have a plan for what the employee will work with and how they will be phased into their areas. Be prepared that you may need to support for a while until the person has grasped the work. Also, make sure they get all the necessary information and tools to be able to perform their job effectively. Also, schedule regular check-ins during the first few months to ensure they feel safe and have everything they need.

‍
Follow up regularly
Schedule regular follow-up conversations with your new employee to discuss how it's going and to provide feedback. It provides an opportunity to catch any problems early and ensure they get the help and support they need to succeed. Follow-up conversations can also be a good opportunity to discuss their development and future goals, which can increase their engagement and motivation. It's also important from your side to be flexible and prepared to make adjustments if needed.

‍

‍
Hiring is a big step for many small business owners and something that can be crucial to the company's success. By carefully planning and implementing the recruitment process, you can make it easier to find the right employee to contribute to the company's growth and development.

‍

The Swedish Tax Agency will soon start sending out income tax returns. As a business owner, you need to file both your personal tax return and your business's tax return, which means you have more dates to keep track of. To help you not miss anything, we have gathered the most important dates and things to consider before you submit. 

‍

Important tax return dates for 2025
Depending on your company's legal structure, there are slightly different dates to keep in mind. You can read about what applies to your specific company on the Swedish Tax Agency's website, but here are the most important dates for 2025:

• February 3, 2025: Income tax returns are sent out to limited companies, trading partnerships, and limited partnerships whose financial year ends between September and December.
• February 12, 2025: Last day to make an extra payment if you think you will have more than SEK 30,000 in residual tax.
• March 2, 2025: Last day to get a digital mailbox to receive the private income tax return digitally.
• March 3-7, 2025: Income tax returns are sent out digitally.
• March 18, 2025: The tax return opens.
• May 2, 2025: Last day to submit the tax return for sole proprietorships, which includes INK1 and the NE appendix.
• May 12, 2025: Last day to submit the VAT return as a sole proprietorship if you declare VAT once per year.
• August 1, 2025: Last day for submitting the tax return for limited companies, trading partnerships, and limited partnerships with financial years ending between September and December and submitting Income Tax Return 2-4 (INK2-4). For limited companies, a K10 form is also required if dividends have been distributed.‍
• November 12, 2025: Last day to pay preliminary tax for sole proprietorships.‍
• December 8-12, 2025: The Swedish Tax Agency issues final tax statements.

‍
Important preparations before filing your tax return
To ensure that the tax return process goes as smoothly as possible, it is important to keep your accounting in order. Here are some important tips:

• Make sure your accounting is up to date: By continuously updating your accounting, you avoid the stress of collecting information when the tax return deadline is near.
• ‍Prepare the appendices: Check if you need appendices such as NE, K10, N3A, or others depending on your company type.‍
• Update company information: If your company has changes that may affect the tax return, make sure these are correctly reported before submitting.

‍
Company form and tax return
The type of tax return you need to submit depends on the company's form. Here is a brief overview:
‍

• Sole proprietorship: You submit the Income Tax Return 1 (INK1) and the NE appendix‍
• Limited liability companies, partnerships and limited partnerships: You submit Income Declaration 2-4 (INK2-4). For limited companies, a K10 appendix is also required if dividends have been paid.

‍

‍Things tokeep in mind to avoid common mistakes
To make the declaration easier and ensure that no mistakes are made, consider the following:
‍

• Check all deductions: Make sure you include all possible deductions, e.g. for entertainment or work space at home. If you run a sole proprietorship, you can use the Swedish Tax Agency's Deduction Dictionary to see what deductions you can, and cannot, make.‍
• Use digital tools: By using accounting software and the Swedish Tax Agency's e-services, you can minimize the risk of errors and ensure that you comply with all regulations.

‍
A few final words
Filing taxes can be overwhelming, but with good preparation and careful planning, it becomes easier. Keep track of all important dates and use digital tools to simplify the process. Visit Skatteverket for details on each declaration and attachment.

‍