On Data: A 5-Point Reopening Checklist

States are beginning to develop and roll out reopening plans, with some states collaborating on a coordinated, regional approach.

The reopenings are happening sooner than we anticipated, but you still have time to complete your preparation and planning for the post-coronavirus world.

When the future is uncertain, creating multiple forecasts helps us prepare for different possibilities.

Planning and forecasting can play a major role in driving your success or failure, and nothing will bring you more peace of mind than reopening with a well-thought-out and detailed plan.

While there are many things you still feel you need or may want to do, the following items should be checked off your list prior to reopening.

1. Sales Projections
It will be incredibly difficult to predict what post-COVID-19 business will look like as none of us have been here before, but this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t complete your sales projections.

Although a sales projection is basically an educated guess, it does set the standard for your expenses, profits and growth.

You should aim to have three sales forecasts completed: a conservative, a moderate and an aggressive one, and you should absolutely factor in your data.

Your aggressive sales plan should be the remainder of your 2020 forecast from when you reopen. While this was created prior to the pandemic, this represents our aspirational goal of fully returning to pre-coronavirus business.

Your conservative and moderate sales plans should factor in the many potential variables you will be facing, such as fewer number of employees, your area’s potentially restricted schedules (days and/or hours, number of people allowed in the store, etc.), and a decreased marketing spend.

A hypothetical conservative sales plan might be 30 to 40 percent of your aggressive or original 2020 sales plan, and your moderate forecast might fall between 50 to 70 percent of your original sales plan for 2020.

2. Cash Flow Worksheet
One of the most important things you can do for your business right now is to create a financial budget.

Budgeting, in its simplest terms, is an outline of expectations for what a business wants to achieve for a particular period of time and, as we stated above, it represents your financial position, cash flow and goals.

While budgets generally forecast an entire year, yours should focus on the remainder of 2020.

Budgets afford you the luxury of tweaking as necessary and that’s precisely what you will need post-COVID-19.

Create three cash flow plans that tie directly to your conservative, moderate and aggressive sales plans.