What Should Entrepreneurs Know About Cash Flow?
To help entrepreneurs navigate the complexities of cash flow, we’ve gathered eight insightful tips from CEOs, founders, and other industry professionals. From setting aside funds for taxes to monitoring ROI for budget adjustments, these leaders share their invaluable advice on what entrepreneurs need to know about cash flow.
- Set Aside Funds for Taxes
- Maintain a Financial Cushion
- Monitor Your Business Expenses
- Leverage Automated Cash Flow Tools
- Control Expenses, Ensure Income
- Understand Cash Flow Versus Profit
- Manage Your Cash-Flow Cycle
- Monitor ROI for Budget Adjustments
Set Aside Funds for Taxes
With cash flow, entrepreneurs must always keep in mind the need to pay the appropriate taxes. Companies that don’t set aside the funds that will be needed when tax time rolls around may struggle to make the payments, which could jeopardize their business in a myriad of ways.
The first and most crucial step to ensure compliance is to work with a tax professional who can provide valuable information that will keep them on track and may even help them save money in the end.
Mike Wallace
CEO, Greenback Expat Tax Services
Maintain a Financial Cushion
Cash flow is like a roller-coaster ride; sometimes you’re up in the clouds, other times you experience stomach-churning dips! Here’s the juicy data: Poor cash flow management sinks 82% of small businesses—yikes!
But fear not, for here’s the golden tip: Always have a cushion, like a plush safety net. A real-life example? Imagine you land a massive client, and the cash starts flowing like a chocolate fountain. But hold your horses!
Don’t splurge it all like a kid in a candy store. Keep some stashed away for rainy days. Cash flow is the superhero that keeps your business soaring. Nurture it, protect it, and let it be your trusty sidekick!
Himanshu Sharma
CEO and Founder, Academy of Digital Marketing
Monitor Your Business Expenses
Entrepreneurs must gain clarity on their business expenses and track every penny going in and out. By diligently monitoring expenditures, identifying areas of excess, and optimizing spending, entrepreneurs can maintain a healthy cash flow.
This knowledge enables them to make informed decisions about resource allocation and identify cost savings and revenue growth opportunities. A firm grasp of where money is allocated empowers entrepreneurs to take proactive steps to ensure their business remains financially stable, sustains growth, and navigates challenges more effectively.
For being successful and lasting in entrepreneurship, staying vigilant about cash flow is vital.
Peter Reagan
Financial Market Strategist, Birch Gold Group
Leverage Automated Cash Flow Tools
Today, there’s a host of free, automated tools that can help you manage your cash flow more effectively. For instance, software like Wave offers features such as invoice management and expense tracking, while Mint helps with budget planning.
These tools give you a clear, real-time picture of your business finances, helping you make informed decisions. Even in my own entrepreneurial journey, I’ve found immense value in automating functions. I run a business that helps with automating crypto-tax reporting, leveraging the same principles.
David Kemmerer
Co-Founder and CEO, CoinLedger
Control Expenses, Ensure Income
Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business, often a source of stress for entrepreneurs.
One thing that entrepreneurs need to know about cash flow is that it ebbs and flows. It’s not just about the number of sales coming in—there’s also a focus on how much money is going out.
Expenses can quickly get out of control, especially when paying employees or contractors who are working remotely.
Many people get into trouble because they don’t keep track of their expenses as closely as they should. To keep a business running strong and avoid getting into debt, it’s important to ensure expenses don’t outweigh income!
Jaanus Põder
Founder and CEO, Envoice
Understand Cash Flow Versus Profit
One essential piece of knowledge I believe every entrepreneur should have about cash flow is that it’s not synonymous with profit. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of equating profitability with positive cash flow.
While profit is the revenue remaining after deducting all business expenses, cash flow refers to the net amount of cash being transferred into and out of a business. A business might be profitable on paper, but it can still run into trouble if it doesn’t manage its cash flow properly.
For instance, if customers are slow to pay their invoices, or if too much capital is tied up in inventory, a business might find itself short of cash to meet immediate expenses such as salaries or rent. Therefore, understanding and managing cash flow effectively is crucial for the financial health and sustainability of any business.
Katie White
Content Marketing Manager, Centime
Manage Your Cash-Flow Cycle
Imagine you own a personal-loan business. When you issue a loan, it’s a significant cash outflow from your business, and the cash doesn’t flow back in until the borrowers start their repayments. This period, from when the loan is given until you receive repayments, is your cash-flow cycle.
If this cycle duration becomes too long, you might find yourself in a tricky situation where you’re short on cash to lend to other customers or to cover your business’s operating costs. So, by carefully tracking and managing the cash-flow cycle duration, you can ensure the solvency and profitability of your business.
Fred Winchar
Founder and Certified HR Professional, MaxCash
Monitor ROI for Budget Adjustments
In any business, following a budget is important. But how can an entrepreneur know how to adjust a budget to ensure that the company’s resource allocation will help the business grow? This is where Return on Investment comes in. The importance of paying close attention to the ROI for marketing and sales initiatives, as well as labor expenses, cannot be overstated.
When founders decide where to spend their money, goals must be developed and measured to determine how effective those decisions are. When there are numerous unknowns regarding which investments will be successful and which will fail, it is critical to test every assumption made in the early stages of a startup. The key to determining which expenses need to be adjusted is the ROI. You can use many different ROI calculators available so you can have an idea of how your business operations are doing in terms of profitability.
Samantha Hawrylack
Founder, How To FIRE
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