Small Business Information

Beating the Small Business Cash Flow Blues


Small business owners can relieve a lot of their own cash flow problems, according to Caroline Jordan, small business advisor and author. "Small business owners have more control over their cash flow than they realize." says Jordan.

To help you get a jumpstart on solving your own cash flow woes, Jordan offers a free, "Cash Flow Master checklist" that you can get by sending a blank email to TheJordanResult-110571@autocontactor.com. Jordan also suggests the following tips to help you understand why cash flow problems plague 66% of small businesses.

1. Avoid the dreaded "Fly by the Seat of Your Pants" accounting method.--Businesses need to systematically track income, expenses, accounts receivable, and accounts payable. If you only know how your business is doing once a year at tax time, you're bound to end up deeply mired in the Cash Flow Swamp.

2. Developing "Strength in Numbers"-Once you have your accounting system in place you need to learn what the numbers are telling you and how to use those numbers to manage and grow your business.

3. Keep tight control of credit-Business owners can get themselves in credit trouble two different ways; poor credit granting practices and shortsighted use of credit from banks, credit cards, and vendors.

4. Be sure your Receivables and Payables "play nice" together-The money owed to you by your customers should arrive in time for you to pay your vendors and your employees. When your customers take 60 days to pay and your vendors want to be paid in 30 days, you can quickly end up with a Cash Flow Crunch.

5. Make decisions based on Cash Flow not Profit-Many businesses that fail are profitable when the doors close. What those businesses don't have is CASH. When you pursue that big, juicy contract or think about hiring another employee, always ask yourself "What will this do to my cash flow?"

6. Don't forget your debt to society- Some bills are easy to forget. Bills like sales tax, payroll taxes, and estimated taxes. Ignoring them doesn't make them go away. Planning ahead makes the bite easier to take and keeps your from suffering Tax Day sticker shock. Scrambling to find money for taxes causes major cash flow problems.

7. Don't spend your company's future on a speed boat-Everybody loves toys. Don't make the mistake of thinking all the profits of your business are "fun money". You've heard it many times from personal financial planners that you should have enough cash put aside for six months of expenses. This is true for your business, too. Sales ebb and flow. Expenses rise. Customers leave. Vehicles break down. Computers fry. The number one rule of small business is "Stuff Happens". Having a reserve of cash keeps your cash flow from tanking every time a new challenge appears.

Caroline Jordan, MBA is the small business Cash Flow Master. Get more free cash flow resources by visiting http://www.TheJordanResult.com/mastering.html


MORE RESOURCES:


The Daily Titan

Small Business Choice for Governor is Meg Whitman
Fox and Hounds Daily (blog)
The nonpartisan National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Save America's Free Enterprise Trust announced its endorsement of Meg ...
Your letters: September 7, 2010Ventura County Star

all 109 news articles »


Forbes (blog)

Rates for small business credit cards climb higher
Creditnet.com
According to a new report from Billshrink, credit card interest rates for small business accounts have increased 30 percent since the start of the year, ...
What's in your wallet? A big loopholemsnbc.com (blog)
Membership Has Its CostsPortfolio.com (blog)
Credit card offers are up -- what's in your wallet?istockAnalyst.com (press release)
Credit Loan (blog) -USA Today
all 63 news articles »


S--SMALL BUSINESS SET ASIDE FOR GROUNDS SERVICES IN ALABAMA- HUNTSVILLE AND ...
Trading Markets (press release)
ONLY ACCEPTING SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS. BASIS OF AWARD: Award shall be made to that responsive, responsible contractor whose total aggregate ...

and more »


CCU Small Business Center sponsors tax seminar
WMBF
CONWAY, SC (WMBF) - The Coastal Area Small Business Development Center will be sponsoring a tax seminar for small business owners on Sept. 16. ...
Free tax seminar to be held for small-business ownersMyrtle Beach Sun News
Business seminars for start-ups plannedSanta Cruz Sentinel

all 3 news articles »


Small Business Loan Opportunities And Business Tax Credit Hiring Incentives ...
Red, White, and Blue Press (blog)
Small business loans have been asked for by many companies who are in need of extra capital which they can invest in their business and ...
Small Business Tax Cut Plan to Aid Small Business Budgets; Small Business Loan ...Learning and Finance (blog)
For small businesses, the good and the bad of government programsWashington Post

all 9 news articles »


Impact Media (blog)

SEO India For Small Business
FPRD (press release) (blog)
SEO India has helped a lot of small business in increasing their revenue through website. SEO India is one of the leading search engine optimization company ...
SEO Marketing Company UK launches small business packagesPRLog.Org (press release)
13 Questions To Ask Before You Hire A Local SEO ConsultantSearch Engine Land (blog)
Click Ready Marketing Announces Gaining Seven More Georgia Businesses As ...PR Web (press release)

all 31 news articles »


Hands-On with Windows Small Business Server "Aurora"
Windows IT Pro
I've written about Microsoft's new Windows Small Business Server offering, code-named Aurora, a lot over the past few months (most recently in "A Closer ...

and more »


County's libraries unite to help small-business owners
Delaware News
New and aspiring small-business owners and entrepreneurs have opportunities to learn more about their options throughout Central Ohio next ...

and more »


CBIZ Small Business Employment Index Falls 1.01% in August
Trading Markets (press release)
CBIZ Payroll Services, a business unit within professional and financial services firm CBIZ, Inc., has announced the CBIZ Small Business Employment Index ...

and more »

Google News

home | site map | Web directory | Pham Thanh Long | Luat su| Lawyer| Links
© 2006