{"id":1066,"date":"2016-10-05T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-05T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-to-set-smarter-goals-and-spend-more-time-doing-what-you-love\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T11:00:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T11:00:08","slug":"how-to-set-smarter-goals-and-spend-more-time-doing-what-you-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-to-set-smarter-goals-and-spend-more-time-doing-what-you-love\/","title":{"rendered":"How to set SMARTER goals and spend more time doing what you love"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/category\/growth-customers\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Growth &amp; Customers<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to set SMARTER goals and spend more time doing what you love\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \">Published <time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2016-10-05T00:00:00+01:00\">5 October, 2016<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"How to set SMARTER goals and spend more time doing what you love\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-to-set-smarter-goals-and-spend-more-time-doing-what-you-love\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/author\/bryancollins\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/07\/Bryan-Collins.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" height=\"40\" width=\"40\" fetchpriority=\"high\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Bryan Collins<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you&#8217;re first starting off you may be able to manage every area of your business, but as your company grows, it&#8217;s difficult (and inadvisable) to work on everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-why\">Why?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Well, consider the common key areas of a growing business:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Marketing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Product<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sales<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Operations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Technology<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Financial<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Leadership<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It&#8217;s a lot to handle for any business owner or manager. What&#8217;s more, members of your team may be experts in a particular area. You&#8217;ve hired them to do a job so you can focus your time and attention on what you&#8217;re best at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;You need to be passionate about what you do. When you are your own boss you need to be excited about getting up in the morning and working,&#8221; says award-winning British designer Lorna Syson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although you may be passionate about your business, your team will still look to you for direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Setting SMARTER business goals for each key area will help you put your business on the path to financial mastery without getting caught up in the specifics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In this post, you&#8217;ll discover how to do just that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here goes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-s-pecific\">(S)pecific<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rather than setting a general goal like &#8220;I want to grow my business,&#8221; decide what exactly you want to achieve. For example, are you going to grow your business by increasing sales or by cutting costs?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Or perhaps you want to focus on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/the-marketers-guide-to-exporting\/\">increasing exports<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Remember, attempting multiple things at once could prove problematic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-m-easurable\">(M)easurable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you want to increase sales or cut costs, set a financial target for your goal that you can easily track using relevant financial information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You should be able to track your progress, week-on-week, month-on-month, quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, you may say, &#8220;We will cut costs by 10%&#8221; or &#8220;We will increase sales by 10%&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-a-ttainable\">(A)ttainable<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You must have a means of achieving your goal. If you want to increase sales, consider if you can cross-sell or up-sell your products or services. Then, include this means in your goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, &#8220;We will increase sales by 10% by up-selling X product to Y segment.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-r-ealistic\">(R)ealistic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Increasing sales by 10% may be ambitious but can your business achieve it? And do you have the resources to turn this goal into a reality?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Remember, a stretch goal pushes your team beyond what&#8217;s been done before while a realistic goal is based on past performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-t-ime-framed\">(T)ime-framed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Set a deadline for your goals and work them into your business plan. Typically, quarterly business goals work as they&#8217;re not so long away that they feel unachievable, and you can track them alongside your financial reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, &#8220;We will increase sales by 5% during the first quarter through up-selling X product to Y segment.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-e-valuate\">(E)valuate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the end of each quarter, review your SMARTER goals and consider how you&#8217;re progressing against a financial target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can do this using up-to-date financial information paired with business insights from your team. Then, decide what to keep doing, what to stop doing and what to improve on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After all, it was Peter Drucker who said, &#8220;If you want to improve how you manage time &#8211; stop doing what doesn&#8217;t need to be done!&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-r-e-do\">(R)e-do<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once you&#8217;ve evaluated your progress, adjust your goal for the coming quarter by doubling down on what works and abandoning what doesn&#8217;t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You should also inform members of your team about any changes to a SMARTER goal so they work on what matters most to your bottom-line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-your-next-step\">Your next step<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Along with key people in your business, set SMARTER goals for each area (marketing, product, sales, distribution, operations, technology, financial, leadership and people).<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/human-resources\/performance-management\/\"> Performance management software<\/a> is a great way to help you align these goals across your business and track their completion over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then, share your goals with any other relevant team members. You&#8217;ll know you&#8217;ve mastered this stage when teams are working towards agreed goals, and you don&#8217;t have to work directly in every area of your business because your leadership guides the work of each team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You will also be able to regularly review your company&#8217;s progress towards each goal and adjust your business strategy as necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Join more than 500,000 UK readers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-b1a63862-3fa0-4a5e-bb67-c76b88bbc6b8\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<section class=\"more-topics alignfull has-grey-light-background-color wp-block-sage-post-topics\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-4\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"more-topics__title 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1-1.25-1.25v-7c0-.699.551-1.25 1.25-1.25h3a.76.76 0 0 0 .537-.216.74.74 0 0 0 .223-.535.76.76 0 0 0-.223-.535.75.75 0 0 0-.537-.216z\" \/><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-06-19T11:24:18+01:00\">19 June, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">8 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/the-hidden-hours-behind-late-payments\/\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tThe hidden hours behind late payments\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"card-post__description\">\n\t\t\t\tThe debate around late payments is really a debate about time: who absorbs it, who loses it, and whether incoming legislation can give any of it back.\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row related-posts__non-featured\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"related-posts__heading related-posts__heading--more h4\">More on this Topic<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-1 post-3675 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-growth-customers tag-grow-business tag-peter-jones-ambition business_type-small-business business_type-medium-sized-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/identify-useful-growth-opportunities\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-547016975_super-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"Identifying useful growth opportunities will help your business to thrive\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-547016975_super-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-547016975_super-768x585.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/12\/GettyImages-547016975_super-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-06-05T17:13:40+01:00\">5 June, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">7 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tHow to identify useful growth opportunities for your business\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-2 post-1545 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-growth-customers tag-grow-business business_type-small-business business_type-medium-sized-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/10-steps-to-grow-your-customer-base\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1261563978-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1261563978-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1261563978-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1261563978-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-06-05T16:41:53+01:00\">5 June, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">6 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\t10 steps to grow your customer base\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-3 post-1543 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-free-guides-templates category-strategy-legal-operations tag-business-continuity tag-create-business-plan tag-grow-business tag-start-business business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/how-to-write-a-business-plan\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-740534235-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-740534235-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-740534235-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-740534235-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" class=\"card-post__meta-icon svg-icon\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M11.988 2.989a.75.75 0 0 0-.739.761v10.689l-1.72-1.72a.75.75 0 0 0-.957-.099.75.75 0 0 0-.315.776c.031.146.104.28.211.384l3 3a.75.75 0 0 0 1.06 0l3-3a.76.76 0 0 0 .231-.533.74.74 0 0 0-.22-.538q-.108-.106-.247-.164c-.139-.058-.191-.057-.291-.056s-.198.022-.29.061-.174.097-.243.169l-1.72 1.72V3.75a.76.76 0 0 0-.22-.541.76.76 0 0 0-.542-.22zM5.75 8.5C4.24 8.5 3 9.74 3 11.25v7C3 19.76 4.24 21 5.75 21h12.5c1.51 0 2.75-1.24 2.75-2.75v-7c0-1.51-1.24-2.75-2.75-2.75h-3a.76.76 0 0 0-.537.216.74.74 0 0 0-.223.535.76.76 0 0 0 .223.535.74.74 0 0 0 .537.216h3c.699 0 1.25.551 1.25 1.25v7a1.24 1.24 0 0 1-1.25 1.25H5.75a1.24 1.24 0 0 1-1.25-1.25v-7c0-.699.551-1.25 1.25-1.25h3a.76.76 0 0 0 .537-.216.74.74 0 0 0 .223-.535.76.76 0 0 0-.223-.535.75.75 0 0 0-.537-.216z\" \/><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-06-05T11:19:49+01:00\">5 June, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">8 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tFree template: How to write a business plan\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-4 post-30318 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters tag-bookkeeping tag-payments business_type-small-business business_type-medium-sized-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/what-is-ap-automation\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1128201585-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1128201585-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1128201585-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/09\/GettyImages-1128201585-1215x810.jpg 1215w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-06-02T16:58:53+01:00\">2 June, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">11 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tAccounts payable automation: How it works, key benefits, and why your business needs it\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you&#8217;re first starting off you may be able to manage every area of your business, but as your company grows, it&#8217;s difficult (and inadvisable) to work on everything. Why? Well, consider the common key areas of a growing business: It&#8217;s a lot to handle for any business owner or manager. What&#8217;s more, members of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":282,"featured_media":1867,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"_pwl_sage_podcast_buzzsprout_src":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,6,10],"tags":[23,43,15],"business_type":[4,3],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[],"imagine_tag":[77,91,109],"coauthors":[398],"class_list":["post-1066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth-customers","category-money-matters","category-people-leadership","tag-bookkeeping","tag-career-development","tag-grow-business","business_type-small-business","business_type-medium-sized-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Bryan Collins","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/08\/SageZA_Bryanston_GU_26.10.13-28883_amend.jpg","imagine_tags":{"77":"Accounting software","91":"Growing business","109":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/282"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/1867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1066"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=1066"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=1066"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=1066"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=1066"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=1066"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=1066"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}