Good financial management is critical to the ongoing success of your business. When you're starting out find out how much funding you need, where you can get it and how to manage your financial arrangements.

Your business plan is important when seeking business funding - it sets out your vision and goals, what you'll spend the money on and how it'll benefit the business.

Sources of finance

There are several options for financing your business:

• Loans from a bank or other type of financial institution
• Using your personal savings
• Borrowing money from friends and relatives
• Venture capital
• Government funding

Please note that, in general, the government doesn’t provide finance for starting up or buying a small business. However, in some circumstances you may be eligible for a government grant.