The Financial Intelligence Guide

Would you like to be able to easily predict your future cash flow?  And maybe even improve it?

There has been additional scrutiny over people that have taken the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan in the last few weeks. It all boils down to one somewhat gray certification on the application.

So many businesses are in a potential cash crunch. If they aren’t in one now, they can see one coming in the next few months. The economy has come to a screeching halt. Businesses of all sizes are laying off or furloughing workers. Some companies are looking at across the board pay cuts. I have been working with clients on looking at different financial forecasts and cash flow scenarios. Now we have another new cash mechanism to consider.

Do you wait months after the end of the month to see how you are doing financially? Are you able to review financials each month consistently to prior months? Do you make decisions using your Income Statement and Balance Sheet with actual results and a forecast?

I remember as a kid, we had a whiteboard where we would write funny sayings.  We would make up stupid quotes like the ones from Jack Handy from “Saturday Night Live” in the 90s. One time my older brother wrote simply “Money Goes Away.” He realized that as he started to earn money, it went away faster than he could imagine or keep track.

Your business seems to always be in a cash crunch. You are servicing your clients well and have a good business model, but there is something wrong with the cash flow. What is happening?

In all organizations, ‘Cash is King’. I remember working at a small, young business, and there seemed to be a crucial part of the business cycle that was breaking down. We were not consistently or accurately billing the customer. I knew that we would struggle to truly grow or manage cash until we improved the Billing process.

Have you wondered what Accounting Software would be best for your business?  There are so many options to choose from. I have the most experience with using different versions of QuickBooks. Now the question is…what is better – QuickBooks Online or Desktop (Pro, Enterprise)?

As we near the end of another year, I thought it would be good to give out a list of the top 10 financially-related things to do at year-end for a small business. Don’t be too stressed if you don’t do all of this in December. You can always start doing them in the new year. Just pick one thing to do and start small. I am going to do numbers 6-10 in this article, and the final 5 next time.