Know Where Your Cash Is? Feel like your cash only flows in one direction -- out? These cash-flow tips will help you get back in control.
By C.J. Prince •
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Think fast--name the three things most important to the successof your business.
If cash management didn't make your list, you're notalone. Most entrepreneurs think a lot more about sales andmarketing than the specifics of managing cash.
And really, who could blame them? The term "cashmanagement" is broadly enough defined so as to be perpetuallymisunderstood. "People have a hard time describing it,"says Joe Scharfenberger, head of small-business financial servicesfor Chase Regional Banking in New York City. "But cashmanagement is nothing more than cash in, cash accumulated and cashout."
Sounds simple enough. Yet many business owners watch theirwould-be-profitable companies teeter on the brink because theydon't have a handle on what's coming in and what'sgoing out of their corporate coffers. "Maybe, because thesethings are basic, [business owners] assume they're being done;but there are always surprises," says , CFO partner with professional services firm TatumPartners LLP in Chicago.
To help minimize surprises, assume no cash issue is too basic.Here's a checklist to help keep you on track:
1. Know where you are and where you're going. Allgood cash management begins with a thorough assessment of yourbusiness's current cash position and the development of aforecast based on that, says Jonathan Gassman, a partner withaccounting firm Gassman & Golodny LLP in New York City. Thisshould tell you whether receivables are being collected quicklyenough to pay vendors on time and whether you're optimizingyour float.
2. Analyze accounts receivable and payable. If a cashposition analysis turns up more cash out than cash in, the bestplace to start is receivables. Zorko looks at receivables firstwhen he comes into a company to help with financial troubles.Usually, he finds customers aren't paying for reasons theentrepreneur had no knowledge of. Says Zorko, "It leads to adiscussion about product quality, service delivery or other thingsnot being done properly."
A glance at receivables may also remind you that you've beenshy about collecting, says Ira Davidson, director of the Small Business Development Center at Pace Universityin New York City. Davidson counseled one business owner who showedhim nine months' worth of uncollected receivables. "He wasafraid to collect because they might not pay and he'd losecustomers," says Davidson. Collecting on time and sticking tocredit policies are critical to keeping the money flowing in.
Accounts payable analysis will tell you whether you'repaying vendors too early to capitalize on float. Zorko recommendsasking, "Are we taking advantage of payment discounts? Are wepaying too soon?"
3. Use your bank's tools. With an array of cashmanagement tools available, you never have to be in the dark againabout your cash situation. "The biggest mistake small-businessowners make is using only a checking account to manage cash,"says Scharfenberger. He advises business owners to, at minimum, usean interest-bearing money market account to park excess cash.
Gassman and Zorko both recommend limiting the number of accountsat different banks. By consolidating accounts with one financialinstitution, you can also negotiate more favorable loan terms.
4. Get thee a good CFO. The first step on the way out ofdenial is admitting that you'd much rather be out selling thancrunching numbers--and then making sure you have the right personto do that for you. Most entrepreneurs have accountants, who tendto focus solely on tax minimization, or bookkeepers, who may nothave adequate training to handle more sophisticated corporatefinance. Says Davidson, "If [business owners] don't have afinancial VP, they really don't know the implications of whattheir cash on hand means to their business at large."
is executive editor of CEO Magazine.
