More than anything else in your business, you need to try to stay on top of your cash flow. This means you should constantly monitor the amounts of money coming in and out of your business. These numbers help you figure out how well your company is doing and whether changes need to be made. But how exactly do you make sure your cash flow is running smoothly?
Monitor it
One of the most important things you need to do, in order to stay on top of your cash flow, is monitor it on a regular basis. Ideally, you’ll be able to take some time every week and take a look at the money flowing in and out of your business. Using online accounting software such as QuickBooks Online is recommended as it can help you make the task a lot easier.
Find ways to cut your costs
Cutting your costs is an important part of managing your cash flow. The more money you manage to save every month, the better your business will do. Some of the best ways for cutting small business costs include renegotiating deals with vendors and buying office material in bulk. You can also rely more on natural light to reduce your company’s energy bill.
Cash in on your assets
Take a look around your workplace and chances are you’ll see equipment or inventory you no longer have any use of. While keeping it just in case may seem like a good idea, selling anything you don’t need can help you ensure your cash flow never edges into the red. Luckily, with websites like eBay and Craigslist, selling redundant equipment and inventory shouldn’t be tough.
Get the cash quickly
If you sell products or services to other businesses, it might be a good idea to get your money as quickly as possible. That way, you’ll have more money to work with and maintaining a steady cash flow will not be as difficult as it actually is. This can be done by turning to a company that offers debtor finance services and getting your money as soon as you make a sale.
Build in fat times
No matter what industry you’re in, there will be times when making sales will get more difficult than it actually is. This can hurt your cash flow and finding a way to deal with the issue is an absolute must. Your safest bet is to build cash in fat times and use it in lean times. Ideally, you’ll be able to set aside a small amount of money at the end of each month.
Get business credit cards
Another smart thing you can do is get a business credit card for your company. There are plenty of these that reward you with points you can use for making travel and business purchases. It’s also important to point out that having a business credit card also means that categorizing your purchases will become extremely easy.
Get creative with marketing
Investing in marketing is something every business has to do. However, if your cash flow isn’t that great at the moment, you can try to improve it by getting creative with marketing. Instead of paying for that expensive radio commercial, you can just start a social media marketing campaign which is absolutely free and keep the money in your pocket.
Manage your money
This one is a bit obvious but you’d be surprised how many entrepreneurs fail to manage their money the right way. So, in order to maintain a healthy cash flow, you should know exactly what you want to do with the cash that comes into your business. This includes things such creating a schedule for paying your company’s bills and repaying your loans on time.
Keep your accounting simple
In case you don’t know much about accounting, hiring an accountant is a smart move to make. This is the case because getting the hang of it isn’t easy and until you do so, your cash flow could already be negative. But if you decide to hire an accountant, you don’t have to worry about things like this and you can focus more on your core operations.
Follow the cash flow management strategies we talked about earlier and you’ll make sure your business makes more money than it spends. Of course, you should always keep looking for some new ways to improve cash flow management in your company.
