Cash Flow Confidence for Small Businesses
Chosen theme: 9. Best Practices for Small Business Cash Flow. Welcome to a practical, story-driven guide for keeping your company liquid, resilient, and ready for opportunity. Subscribe for weekly tactics, templates, and founder-tested routines that turn cash flow from worry into strength.
Build a Rolling 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast
Thirteen weeks strikes the sweet spot between actionable detail and meaningful horizon. It exposes crunch points, seasonality, and vendor cycles early enough to act—renegotiate terms, trim spending, or time promotions—before cash gets tight and choices become expensive.
Build a Rolling 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast
List expected receipts by customer and date, and payments by vendor and due date. Separate recurring from one-off items, and always track opening and closing balances. Keep assumptions visible, and update weekly with actuals to sharpen accuracy over time.
Accelerate Receivables Without Burning Relationships
Send invoices the same day work is delivered, with specific line items, due dates, and payment instructions. Confusion delays cash. Attach proof of delivery or sign‑offs to reduce back‑and‑forth. Invite customers to confirm receipt so issues surface before the due date.
Accelerate Receivables Without Burning Relationships
Accept cards, ACH, and digital wallets. Add a click‑to‑pay link on every invoice and email. For larger contracts, use deposit milestones. The easier you make payment, the less your customer relies on their own slow internal processes to move your money.
Know Your Cash Conversion Cycle
Track days inventory outstanding, days sales outstanding, and days payables outstanding. Shortening inventory and receivables days while responsibly extending payables compresses the cycle. Even small improvements stack up, unlocking practical working capital without new debt.
Know Your Cash Conversion Cycle
Adopt deposits for custom orders, milestone billing for projects, and clear stop‑work clauses for chronic delays. These policies safeguard cash without damaging trust when communicated upfront. Ask your customers what would make paying faster; surprising insights often emerge.
Build Buffers and Backups
Target one to three months of fixed operating expenses as a starting buffer, adjusting for volatility and seasonality. Move funds into a separate, interest‑bearing account. Celebrate milestones—first week, first month—and tell us what helped you build momentum.