Every business needs:
• 5 year P&L model
• Cash forecast
• Weekly company dashboard report
• Bi-weekly reviews
• KPIs for each business unit
• Understanding of adjustments & the real state of your business
You, as Owner, need this information consistently every week and more frequently in times of cash crunches or business crises. Having these items always being available to you allows to smooth operations and you the time to focus on growing your business. Without them you may have a bookkeeper but you might be setting your business up for bigger headaches than you need. One piece of truth I know is that having a bookkeeper doesn't mean you have a clean set of books or are getting the information you need consistently and in a timely manner.
The problem is that the majority of bookkeepers out there don't understand the importance of providing this easily & readily available information to you every week, week in week out. They either don't have the desire to prepare the reports or they simply don't know how to prepare, compile and present the information to you in a manageable, useable way. Either of these outcomes is not desirable as a business owner and is hurting your business in many ways. One huge issue is knowing exactly what your free cashflow is. Cashflow is the lifeblood of your business and I haven't come across any business owner who has never had a cash crunch or a need for cash sooner than it comes in.
You need to know what the cashflow of your business is on a weekly or even daily basis, if the current business environment mandates it. Why?
cashflow is real unlike profits that hide in spreadsheets and P&L reports
cashflow doesn't lie, when its short it will hit you in the gut with the force of a Mike Tyson punch. When you are flush with maintainable free cashflow it feels like that warm summer breeze by the ocean
Another issue is the ability of your bookeeper to tell you with confidence and certainty what the numbers in the management reports are telling you; is the bright light the sunshine after a tough slog completing a contract to finally get that hold back billing out the door or is it the headlight from a freight train of change orders, delayed payments, invoice changes, & creditor liens.
If your bookkeeper or accountant is providing you with the canned cashflow report from your accounting software then you are not getting the whole picture, you are getting the operating cashflow picture which is about 1/3 of the whole cashflow calculation. Here's the whole cashflow picture:
You as Owner should care about this:
Where is the cash being generated from and how can we sustain it or increase it.
The reason for this is made clear in the next picture which is Capital Allocation:
Where and how should the free cashflow be allocated?
At CFO3 Business Services Inc. we specializes in helping clients build their business by offering accounting, bookkeeping, business strategy, operational optimization to businesses doing $1million - $10 million. We use the knowledge & experience learned from working at some the largest corporations and apply those principles to your business. Not every business wants to become a big business but every business can learn and grow using the same principles.
If you want to get your books cleaned up, need help managing cash flow, or want access to real-time KPIs and are doing $1m-$10m/yr Let's have a chat:
Click link below to book free 30 min one on one to learn about how we can help build your business
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