I saw an interesting saying on a sign the other day, “New Year’s Resolutions, they go in one year and out the next.” That is my philosophy as well when it comes to New Year’s Resolutions. Yet, as a business owner, there is one resolution that ought to be made for the coming year: pay attention to your cash flow.
Most small business owners review their Profit and Loss Statement (hereafter P&L) more or less regularly, but often forget that the bottom line of a P&L is an accounting number. That is, the net profit on a P&L does not take into consideration the timing of cash flows. The business owner will look at the P&L and see a great number, then look at their bank account and say, “Where’s the money?” There are a number of reasons why those numbers may be different.
First, take into account the credit you extend to your customers, also known as receivables. If you have booked sales in a given month, but the actual payment is coming 30, 60 or 90 days in the future, your bank account will not reflect that fact. If you picture your sales as coins flowing into a bucket, any sale made on credit actually has an IOU on it instead of a dollar sign.
Secondly, take into account the credit your suppliers and vendors extend to you, also known as payables. For example, If you look at a P&L that contains cash that will not be paid until 30, 60 or 90 days into the future and do not take that into account, your cash on hand will be inflated beyond what it really is. If you spend those committed dollars on something else, such as payroll, and then have a problem with cash inflow, you might not be able to meet those supplier and vendor obligations when they come around.
The best way to avoid this problem is with a Cash Flow document that takes into account the timing of cash flows. The cash flow document will not register sales for a given month, but the actual cash inflow. The document will not register purchases of goods or services, but the actual cash outflow in a given month. The Cash Flow document should also show the recurring monthly cash outflows for payroll, rent and other expenses. By creating a cash flow document that moves into the future at least 6 months, you will be much better able to predict what cash you will need in any given month in order to cover all of the cash outflows.
Resolving to follow your cash flow in 2013 is one resolution that you can’t afford not to make!
The COO's Bulldog® 