How using predictive software can help improve cash flow management
Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2024 5:10 am
You’ve probably heard it many times before: “Cash is king.” This information may be even more true when we focus on small businesses that are dedicated to maintenance and repair services.
Your small maintenance and repair business relies on cash flow to survive . You need to make sure you have more cash coming in than going out to keep your business running.
But if you also work with projects, this task can be even more difficult, since each project can be unique with special conditions at the level of both the contract and payments to suppliers or collections.
To overcome this challenge, it is bestgreece email list to create a cash flow forecast . This will help you calculate your expected income and expenses so you can make informed decisions and keep your business running.
Cash flow forecasting , is it enough?
Creating a cash flow forecast will help you in the initial stages, but if you do not review the forecasts and update the information periodically , it may become invalid and unreliable.
One way to do this is through a spreadsheet , it can be a laborious process and you will probably have a hard time keeping all the information up to date to keep track.
There are accounting solutions, such as Sage 50 , that help you with cash flow forecasting by automating the process and freeing you from the burden of manually updating information.
When selecting a software solution, you may want to consider a dedicated cash flow management solution that offers real-time analytics, or a solution that can download data and ensure that the information is up-to-date .
Business management and accounting
Try Sage 50 for free, the accounting and business management software
for SMEs.
Switching to an accounting software solution will not only save you time on manual data entry, but will also provide you with queries or reports that will help you use the solution right away.
Once you implement accounting software , you will no longer have to worry about whether your Excel spreadsheet is up to date with the latest revenue and forecast and actual data.
You can skip the laborious data review process and easily create new forecasts that reflect the current state of your business.
2. You will improve your ability to keep track of details
A spreadsheet full of numbers can help you forecast cash flow, but it's easy to overlook the details that provide context for those numbers.
Were you considering new employees or a new project in development? Has your situation changed?
It may take more than a month before you update your forecast, so you may not always remember what factors you took into account in your calculations.
You can add different budget items that will allow you to control balances , perform follow-ups or check deviations.
Plus, with this accounting solution, all financial changes are automatically reflected in the forecast, so you don't have to worry about continually recording all the changes and updating them manually.
3. You will have a more accurate perspective of your finances
In addition to being a cumbersome process, manually entering all data into Excel increases the risk of making errors.
If you make a mistake, such as forgetting to put in a decimal point or swapping the order of two numbers, all your foresight becomes useless.
By automating the process with an accounting software solution , you eliminate the need for double entry and ensure that the forecast uses the most up-to-date data, greatly reducing the chance of errors and giving you an accurate view of your finances.
Your small maintenance and repair business relies on cash flow to survive . You need to make sure you have more cash coming in than going out to keep your business running.
But if you also work with projects, this task can be even more difficult, since each project can be unique with special conditions at the level of both the contract and payments to suppliers or collections.
To overcome this challenge, it is bestgreece email list to create a cash flow forecast . This will help you calculate your expected income and expenses so you can make informed decisions and keep your business running.
Cash flow forecasting , is it enough?
Creating a cash flow forecast will help you in the initial stages, but if you do not review the forecasts and update the information periodically , it may become invalid and unreliable.
One way to do this is through a spreadsheet , it can be a laborious process and you will probably have a hard time keeping all the information up to date to keep track.
There are accounting solutions, such as Sage 50 , that help you with cash flow forecasting by automating the process and freeing you from the burden of manually updating information.
When selecting a software solution, you may want to consider a dedicated cash flow management solution that offers real-time analytics, or a solution that can download data and ensure that the information is up-to-date .
Business management and accounting
Try Sage 50 for free, the accounting and business management software
for SMEs.
Switching to an accounting software solution will not only save you time on manual data entry, but will also provide you with queries or reports that will help you use the solution right away.
Once you implement accounting software , you will no longer have to worry about whether your Excel spreadsheet is up to date with the latest revenue and forecast and actual data.
You can skip the laborious data review process and easily create new forecasts that reflect the current state of your business.
2. You will improve your ability to keep track of details
A spreadsheet full of numbers can help you forecast cash flow, but it's easy to overlook the details that provide context for those numbers.
Were you considering new employees or a new project in development? Has your situation changed?
It may take more than a month before you update your forecast, so you may not always remember what factors you took into account in your calculations.
You can add different budget items that will allow you to control balances , perform follow-ups or check deviations.
Plus, with this accounting solution, all financial changes are automatically reflected in the forecast, so you don't have to worry about continually recording all the changes and updating them manually.
3. You will have a more accurate perspective of your finances
In addition to being a cumbersome process, manually entering all data into Excel increases the risk of making errors.
If you make a mistake, such as forgetting to put in a decimal point or swapping the order of two numbers, all your foresight becomes useless.
By automating the process with an accounting software solution , you eliminate the need for double entry and ensure that the forecast uses the most up-to-date data, greatly reducing the chance of errors and giving you an accurate view of your finances.