Loading...
Answers
MenuHow do you keep an eye on cash flow in your company?
Answers
Let others do the heavy work: use a software solution.
There are many out there, so start with exactly what you need to know (the information you need to have available comes first, then you determine what and how to track). Do some research on the available software and then call up a few companies and explain what you need, asking how they solve that problem.
Think of your priorities here: the right solution should be simple to manage, give quick access to information, not require a lot of interpretation, etc.
Beyond the software, think about what you can plan for to help give you the information you need. Build certain budgets to help manage how you categorize and view different invoices and areas of cashflow.
Remember, the key is to have immediate information, not just data.
Hi,
Many software solutions, "Sage" comes to mind first, have solved this problem almost 10 years ago. So if what you are trying to achieve is limited to what you've mentioned in the post, a simple accounting software will get the job done.
Someone more junior in your organization can do the actually issuing, you can see all revenue - costs - etc with a single click.
Hi - I'm work for Fortune 500 companies to analyze income and expenses to be sure the company is running optimally. First I always recommend a program, even something as simple and inexpensive as Quickbooks works. Whatever program your accountants use, you can usually pull data from to start your analysis. You dont actually need to make entries in it to be able to extract the data to analyze.
Second, you need to know where you have been to know where you are going. This means you need to look at every month for at least the last year (ideally two) - income and expenses (this can easily be pulled from a program such as Quickbooks which I assume your accounting team would use to keep the books).
Third, once you have charted income and expenses for the last year or two, you can see what has caused the largest swings up or down. Has one expense item been steadily increasing? Why? Has one line of income been decreasing? Why? Then you can start to focus on that to find savings or additional income to achieve your goal of positive cash flow.
I would build out a spreadsheet basically to dump in the numbers from the accounting program every month so you can keep a "running" spreadsheet without having to re run the reports every time.
Happy to jump on a quick call for any follow up questions!
Related Questions
-
What would be some appropriate questions to ask a successful business owner for financial advice?
In my experience great advice can move across industries in several categories; cash flow management, human resources, process improvement, systems and measurement. Ask him questions relating to how he measures, rewards and retains his best staff. Ask about how he ensures proper cash flow management, how he extends payables for instance. Ask about how he tracks the efforts of employees to know who is contributing to the bottom line and who is not. Ask him how he knows when it's time to make changes in how things are done. Ask him how he responded to the last new competitive threat. Ask him how he plays a role in different aspects of his business; sales, purchasing, marketing, etc. Good luck. Simply taking the time to put some thought into what you should be asking will help make this meeting into a great opportunity. Don't get too scripted though and ask him what he thinks you should learn about what he's been through. Cheers David C BarnettDC
-
What kind of businesses allow you to be cash flow positive faster than others? In what industries?
It really depends on your initial cash position. In my experience the most direct path to positive chase flow is a service business. If a service business is not for you I would look into a distribution company. If you are creative there are ways to set up a distribution model that utilizes a drop ship method. This means you establish the sale and get paid and the manufacturer will ship the product directly to the end user with your name on the documents. There are a wide variety of opportunities. There are many limiting factors we would have to initially identify to direct your search.PP
-
Have you heard of the $1000 rule...Do you not need a business license until you make one thousand dollars?
I have not heard of the $1,000 rule; however, the determination for the need of a business license will come more from the requirements of your local government. Check with your local economic development office to determine what licensing would or would not be needed for the particular type of business you have in mind. Another factor would be the type of legal structure you intend to operate under (e.g. Sole Proprietor, LLC, Corporation). The corporation and LLC would have to be registered, while the sole proprietor may not have to. Schedule a call to discuss your options in greater detail.CW
-
How do you make money to survive while you are building a business? What are some quick ways to make money with less time commitment?
I love this question. If you have to work on the side while building your business, I recommend doing something you absolutely hate. That keeps you hungry to succeed on your own. You'll also typically save your energy for the evenings and weekends where you'll want it for your business. Don't expect to make much money at your "other job" but you can work it to pay the bills while you build your business. This approach also forces you to build incrementally, and it keeps you frugal. This is not necessarily ideal. Having a bunch of money set aside sounds nice and luxurious, but not having the resources puts you in a position where you have to figure it out to survive. I love that. I started my business eight years ago on $150 and today we do a million a year. Don't wait until you have the resources to start safely. Dive in however you can. And avoid shortcuts. Don't waste your time scheming to make bigger money on the side. Do something honest to live on and create a business that drives value.CM
-
How to improve cash flow in a dental lab?
So you do lab work for dentists? If you post your website or some other info it might be easier to help you with the issue. If you want to improve cash flow you can either reduce expenses or grow revenue. My experience is that it is usually way easier to grow revenue since expenses are so thin for companies like yours unless you have wasteful habits. Figure out who your ideal customer is and develop a marketing plan. Make sure the marketing plan uses multiple marketing medians to get brand recognition with the target market. Follow up with phone calls and offer test orders or test lab work. Make sure you can demonstrate a clear advantage to working with you compared to others. Any clients you work with should respect your professionalism to sign an agreement with their orders to pay within a specified time frame. The agreement might also clearly spell out how the collections process works. Get signatures on orders, if they can order online include info like this in your TOS.CL
the startups.com platform
Copyright © 2025 Startups.com. All rights reserved.