Maintaining your cash flow in balance should be one of your primary concerns if you are a business owner. Proper cash management ensures stability in any kind of business. Every businessman should be aware of the term cash flow, how it works, and how it works to keep a business afloat.
What is the definition of “cash flow”?
The term ‘cash flow’ refers to the amount of money being transferred into and out of a business in the form of cash. It is measured by organizations over specific periods – such as annually, monthly, quarterly, or weekly. Cash flow helps you to analyze the complete picture because it includes incomes and expenses.
How can analyzing the cash flow of your business help you to keep your business afloat?
Let us look at how positive cash flow helps you to run your business viably.
1. Paying attention to your cash flow helps you to understand the state of your business. When you are aware of the nature of cash flow, you will have a more profound idea about your next step in the business. When the cash flow is continuously negative, where your expenses exceed your profit, the future of your business is at risk. On the other hand, if your profit exceeds your expenses, the cash flow is positive, which is a healthy sign for the future of your business.
2. A well-maintained cash flow record helps you to have control over your business. For any business, a positive cash flow is always desired. When you have a positive cash flow, you can go for new investments (new branches, more employees) and strengthen your business. To ensure your expenses do not exceed your profit, you have to take various possible steps. They include reducing the total wages or bills, cutting off the number of employees, selling off unnecessary equipment, and so on.
Does a negative cash flow mean loss and positive cash flow mean profit?
A negative cash flow report does not guarantee that your company is going through loss. Similarly, a positive cash flow report does not always ensure that your business is making a profit. With your business, you might possess an asset of a considerable sum of money, or you might have customers who owe you a significant amount of money. In such cases, until you collect the payment in cash or have spent it on your expenses, you have negative cash flow, although you might still be making a profit.
Positive cash flow indicates your company’s ability to pay for the liabilities through the calculation of transactions made with liquid currency, while profit refers to the financial gain of your company as a whole.
Importance of cash flow in new and seasonal businesses
We all know that no business can run without money. The reason behind the failure of new companies is that they usually run out of cash. In any new business, issues related to the flowing of cash are the most common. The problem we often face when trying to start and maintain a new venture is probably the great need for cash for investment. Any seasonal business that has higher revenue for a particular season and little revenue for the rest of the year cannot be successful without proper transactions of liquid money. Other cash businesses such as bars and restaurants heavily depend on these cash transactions. Thus, control and maintain the cash flow of your company wisely in order to succeed in your venture.
How do I control the cash flow in order to run my business successfully?
Here are some ways that can help you to manage and have control over the cash flow of your business:
1. Analyze cash flow regularly and act accordingly. It is imperative to regularly examine the financial transactions to have a clear idea of where your cash is being spent, and find out where you are gaining profit. You should make a habit of examining and analyzing your finances on either a weekly or monthly basis than inspecting and resolving financial issues only annually. When you are acquainted with the financial status of your company, you should be able to act accordingly.
2. Always keep your books organized. You should never ignore the importance of bookkeeping when you are running a company. If you do not pay attention to your financial liabilities, it is very likely that you will fall behind on the payment of suppliers, vendors, or investors. Thus, to ensure positive cash flow, you should always keep your eyes on organized bookkeeping.
3. Maintain a realistic budget. Developing a realistic budget is always a good idea when it comes to maintaining a positive cash flow. When you have a fair enough idea about how much your liabilities are, it becomes easier to assess your company’s profits at the end of the month. If the cash spent on expenses exceeds the cash inflow, you would know that your company is running in negative cash flow.
4. Sell out unnecessary and unused equipment. Selling stuff that is of no or little use for your business is another good way to grow more room for positive cash flow in your company. For example, if you are buying a more advanced version of a printer, selling the old one is wiser than keeping it aside.
5. Keep some cash in reserve. Have some cash in reserve to meet unforeseen financial requirements. An emergency can take place at any time. Always be prepared
It is almost impossible to run your business when you have no or little idea about the status of flowing cash. Monitor the nature of cash flow going within your business and take action accordingly by putting your management strategies into work. If you notice a positive cash flow, you could go for other options to expand your business for more profit.
If your cash flow is negative, take some factors into serious consideration to maintain its balance.
