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Cash flow, profit, expenses, revenue. Financial terms can make your head spin as a new business owner. Don’t worry though, we’ve got a guide that breaks down everything you could ever want to know about cash flow—and we explain it in a way you’ll understand. Our guide to everything your small business needs to know about cash flow is going to make it easy for you to manage your business finances.
In this article, we give you a little preview before you download our guide and offer some tips on how to manage the cash flow in your business from day one.
What is cash flow in business?
In business, cash flow just means the movement of money into and out of a company over a specific period. This involves the cash created by a business’s activities—think the money you make by selling a dress at a clothing shop—as well as the cash used to support and sustain the business—think buying an inventory of dresses so you can sell them. Understanding and managing cash flow is directly linked to the financial health and stability of a business.
Why is knowing about cash flow so important for your small business?
Now that you know what cash flow is, what’s the big deal? Well, a lot.
1. Your business’ sustainability
Positive cash flow makes sure that a business has enough liquidity to cover day-to-day expenses. Things like rent, payroll, contractors, and inventory. Having a stable positive cash flow = financial stability.
2. Managing the ups and downs of running a business
It happens. New, small businesses—especially those in certain industries—have seasonal fluctuations in sales. Let’s take a retail store as an example. If a retail store owner spent all of the money that came in during the rush of the holidays, the business may not survive the slower January and February months. Those peak positive cash flow months are meant to help buffer against leaner times. Knowing your cash flow’s ups and downs makes sure you can cover expenses even when revenue is lower.
3. Keeping your team happy—and paid
A negative cash flow means that you are going to have to start making tough financial decisions—decisions like paying your team or contractors or suppliers late. This can strain relationships with the most important people in your business. The good news is, this can be avoided if you have a good handle on the cash flow of your business.
Easy ways to keep track of and plan your business cash flow
While our guide is going to teach you everything you need to know about cash flow, we do want to get you started on the right foot right away. Here are some quick and easy ways to start managing your cash flow.
1. Ditch that Excel spreadsheet and get yourself software to help keep track of your accounts
Whether you are using a spreadsheet on your computer or a pen and paper to track your sales and payments, trust us when we say, you are going to want to ditch them. Not only are you making things harder on yourself, the chances of making mistakes are pretty high.
There are great, easy-to-use software programs out there that are going to do a lot of the hard work for you. You just type in the numbers, and they do the rest.
2. Keep a separate bank account for your biz
Ok, maybe this is too basic, but we know it happens, so it has to be said—just so we cover all of our bases. If you are mixing any personal finances with business finances, you are going to want to stop that right now. The future you will thank you.
If you haven’t yet, go open a business account and even a business credit card—if you need one. This is going to make keeping track of your cash flow so much easier. Not to mention tax time.
3. Set up a cash flow planner
A cash flow planner is a system to help you see what’s coming down the line so you never unexpectedly find yourself short on cash. It predicts how much money is coming in and how much is going out based on history and projected growth. Our guide gives you an example of how to set up a cash flow planner for your business.
Download our free cash flow guide today
Have we convinced you to ditch the spreadsheet and take your cash flow into your own hands? If you still feel like finances are one big question mark, we’ve broken it down even further in our guide “Everything Your Small Business Needs to Know About Cash Flow”.
We break down all of the financial terms you need to know and teach you the ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how’ of cash flow so your business can have long-term sustainability, a healthy financial forecast, and grow.
Download our cash flow guide today: Homebase cash flow guide for new businesses
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