subject: How to Manage Business Cash Flow | Cash Flow Management for Small Business [print this page]
How to Manage Business Cash Flow and Cash Flow Management for Small Business (A Practical Guide for Business Owners) Introduction There is a particular kind of stress that doesn't show up in a sales report. The orders are coming. Customers are buying. The business looks busy from the outside. Then the 7th of the month arrives, salaries are due, a supplier is calling, the electricity bill is sitting on the desk—and the owner starts checking the bank account. The money is there. Just not enough of it right now. That situation can be confusing, especially when the business is profitable. I've spoken to business owners who have had months with very good sales and still had to think twice before making the next purchase. The problem wasn't always a lack of money. Quite often, too much of the money was sitting somewhere else. A customer hadn't paid yet. Stock had already been purchased. A large amount was stuck in receivables. Or the business had taken on a commitment before the cash from the previous sale had actually arrived. This is why cash flow deserves a separate conversation from sales and profit.
