Measuring Growth

Most business owners know the basics of how much money they have coming in and how much money is going out. But do you know the timelines between where cash is flowing in your business can have a huge impact on your success? If you’re running your own business, understanding the cash flow cycle in your business can mean the difference between making it—and not being able to pay bills on time. Getting a handle on your cash flow cycle is one of the first steps you need to take to grow your business. But what exactly is the cash flow cycle and how does it work?

One of the most important financial reports you need to know how to read as a business owner is your cash flow projection. It’s the secret to making sure your business is financially healthy and you’ll be able to keep things moving and growing in your business. You’re not alone if you have no idea what a cash flow is or how to build a cash flow projection for your business! Most small business owners have never seen a cash flow projection for their business, much less what to do with it. 

Money can make anyone feel uncomfortable. But as a small business owner, you need to get a handle on your finances, including cash flow management, so you can grow your business and achieve your goals. Cash flow management strategies can make the difference in your business between success and epic failure—but it’s not as hard as it sounds to figure out how to manage cash flow in your business effectively.

Optimizing and improving your business’ cash flow is one the most important steps to growing or scaling your business. For a business to be successful, it must have sufficient cash flow so you can achieve your business goals without getting stuck along the way. Having the right cash flow can be the difference between staying stuck struggling to pay your bills in your business on time and finally growing your business. In general, there are 4 main strategies you can use to improve and maintain a sufficient cash flow. 

The dream of a scalable business is the reason why so many of us decide to start an online business. Online businesses, after all, are supposed to be ripe with opportunities to scale them easily and quickly. But if you’re running an online business, you’ve probably already realized that scaling your business is proving to be a lot more difficult than it sounded. A goal that seemed like something you could relatively quickly and easily has turned into a “someday” dream of a highly scalable online business. 

It’s no secret that one of the hardest things to do when you’re starting your business is deciding how much to pay yourself from your business. Knowing what money to spend investing in the future of your business while also making your personal ends meet can be hard to balance. Paying yourself is just as important as taking care of your overall business health. How small business owners pay themselves has a huge effect on their business's ability to grow and if their business is meeting their personal financial needs.

Owning a business is one thing but making your business more profitable can seem like an entirely different hoop to jump through. Making your business profitable is a different skill than actually running your business—and that may be why you’re struggling.

When it comes to improving your finances as a business owner, your money mindset sets the foundation for your success or failure. The truth is, the way you think about money and what you believe about money determines your relationship with it. 

Struggling to pay your bills on time or even pay yourself in your business? You probably have some serious cash flow problems that could cause your business to fail. If you don't manage your cash well, you won't have money in your bank account to pay your bills. If that's the case for too long, you'll go out of business. Cash flow is one of the things you have to get right when you’re a business owner, but it can be a big struggle if you don’t feel confident in your small business financial knowledge.

Feel like you have no clue when it comes to small business financial management, financial reporting, or other financial essentials? Is the idea of figuring out where to start mastering specific financial skills confusing? You’re not alone! Most entrepreneurs don’t have the financial skills and background that’s pivotal to running a thriving business. But becoming a successful entrepreneur requires knowing how to avoid losses and find room for growth.

If your eyes glaze over at the idea of reading financial reports, knowing which reports are the most important can help save you a lot of time and heartache of figuring out your small business finances. Before you start digging into financial reports for your small business, knowing which ones are the most important and what they mean can be a huge help.

Having a business financial advisor as a part of your team can add value to your business and increase your growth. But when should you hire a financial advisor to help your business succeed? And what type of small business financial advisor do you need? And, most importantly, what kind of advice can a small business financial advisor help you with?

If you’re searching for help with scaling your business successfully, a virtual CFO can be a huge help. But how much do virtual CFO services actually cost and what can you expect to spend?

Hiring the wrong person to your team can have a massive impact on your business, but the impact of hiring the wrong outsourced CFO can be catastrophic to your business’ success. Finding the right person to help you solve your biggest financial challenges is something you don’t want to rush through. What’s the best way to find a virtual CFO to help you grow?

Most of how most people talk about what an outsourced CFO does is pretty vague. As a virtual CFO myself, I sometimes find it hard to explain what I do to help clients and put it into perspective, especially when most people think of the role of a CFO in a major corporation or large enterprise business. I want to clear up a bit about what a virtual CFO actually does and what you can expect when working with a financial advisor for your small business.

Let’s be honest, there’s no better feeling than seeing growth in your business. But even with all that growth, you might not be sure how your company is actually doing or where to go next to make sure that growth lasts. Virtual CFO services can help you make sense of your financials and make better decisions about the future of your business.

Before you decide to invest in hiring a digital CFO, it’s important to make sure that move is right for your business and the problems you want to overcome. Working with a fractional CFO isn’t right for every business.

Do I need a bookkeeper? Maybe an accountant? What about a virtual CFO? Most business owners don’t have a financial background so it can be hard to know who you need to hire, what it’s going to cost, and when you actually need each of these in your business.

Automation and AI aren't scary - they can make our lives easier.

How to get rid of client meetings and deliver even MORE value

Not sure how to get started with automating your workflow? Start here with our how-to guide.

Doing an annual software review is the easiest way to find some free money… that ends up as just pure profit. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you through the process.

Cash is crucial - make sure you have some by getting paid. Here are 3 simple steps to make sure you do.

Wish you understood how payment processing actually worked? We break it down here

Most businesses start out with a free tool, like Asana or Trello. But at some point, those free tools probably won’t cut it and it’s time to transition to something more robust. When is the right time to start thinking about moving to a "real" project management system?

Should you accept credit cards? Which ones? But the fees are so high! Find out the right way and the wrong way to accept credit cards in your business.

How to motivate yourself to become more productive with one simple change

When the world is full of limitless possibilities, choosing just one thing seems virtually impossible. Having a process can create major efficiencies in your business, but also be creatively liberating.

Change either makes your job easier to do, or it makes the business easier to operate. But it can be scary, stressful, and uncomfortable. The way you make change more comfortable and less scary is through change management.

What does SaaS actually mean, anyway? We break it down and tell you why it’s so much better than what we had before.

As you think about how and when to grow your business, you come to the decision point that inevitably hits any growing business - HOW do I grow to support the influx of business? Do I outsource? Hire employees? Employ a team of freelancers? Or do I consciously choose not to grow?

Sales are a vanity metric - using them as a measure of the health of your business is a mistake. Find out what you SHOULD be paying attention to.

Bigger business isn’t always better — before you decide to scale, here are three things to consider.

Cash flow and profitability are both important metrics used in business finance and especially in the world of accounting. They serve as great tools for measuring success and financial health and your accountant has probably talked about these before. If you’re confused, you’re not alone!