What financial topics are on the minds of small businesses right now? To find out, I recently surveyed clients and friends, asking them to rate their areas of concern. While the results are not scientific, they are quite interesting.
Here are the top three areas labeled “of major concern” in the survey:- Finding new sales
- Tracking cash flow
- Tightening up inventory management
We will leave the topics of “finding new sales” and “tightening up inventory management” for another day.
For now, let’s focus on…
Tracking Cash Flow
“Cash is king!”
It is an adage, but never has it rang so true.
Do you know where you stand with your cash flow management and forecasting?
It is imperative for small businesses to have their thumb on the pulse of their cash in, cash out, and most importantly, the gaps between them in the coming weeks.
Tips to improve your cash position
While there are several levers to consider when managing cash, here are three suggestions to help strengthen your position:
A laser focus on your accounts receivable Every dollar sitting in your receivables is a dollar that can’t be used for other business operations. |
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Avoid the “bright shiny object” syndrome This is a fancy way of saying to buy used instead of new whenever possible. |
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Lower your cost of debt Do you know the costs for that loan you took out with that “hassle free small business online lending site”? Do you know what the rate is on the unpaid balances of your credit cards? |
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Tools to track your cash position?
Use QuickBooks desktop? It has a “cash flow projection tool”. This is a very basic tool that can take a look at the next six weeks of money in and out in your business.
Use QuickBooks Online? QBO does not have any built-in solutions today.
Using a homemade Excel sheet? For some businesses, this may work ok. However, all it takes is one error in a formula and things can get out of whack quickly. We hate it when things are out of whack, right?
Enter CashFlowTool
If your business is looking for a way to automate the management and forecasting of your most prized asset, look no further than the CashFlowTool solution. Did I mention that this application connects to both QuickBooks Desktop and QuickBooks Online to make things even simpler (no double data entry needed!)? CashFlowTool is one of the most powerful, yet easy to use solutions I have seen when it comes to managing your cash. Even better, the team at CashFlowTool has a Lite version for free and has also lowered their pricing for their Pro version for just $50/month. Now is a perfect time to tap into this terrific tool so you can keep your thumb right where it needs to be – on your cash flow management. |
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