Cashflow & Growth Planning
A business can be doing well on paper and still feel stretched for cash.
Tell us what you are thinking aboutGrowth can be exciting, but it still needs to be affordable
That can happen when you are taking on staff, buying equipment, moving premises, investing in marketing or simply growing faster than the money is coming in.
Cashflow planning helps you look ahead before those decisions are made.
It gives you a clearer idea of what the business may need, where pressure points could appear and whether the timing feels right.
Profit and cash do not always move together
This is an important distinction.
You can have a profitable business and still find yourself short of cash.
A customer may not have paid yet. You may have spent money upfront on stock or equipment. A large tax payment may be due before the income you are expecting arrives.
A forecast helps us see those gaps before they become uncomfortable.
It also gives us the chance to talk about whether anything needs adjusting.
Thinking about making a big move?
This is where cashflow planning can be particularly useful.
If you are thinking about hiring someone, for example, we can look beyond the salary itself and consider the wider cost to the business.
If you are planning to move premises, we can look at the deposit, rent, rates and any fit-out costs alongside the normal running costs of the business.
If you are considering a large purchase, we can look at what paying upfront or using finance may mean for cash over the following months.
You still make the decision.
We simply help you see more of the picture before you make it.
Growth is not always “more turnover, more staff, bigger premises”.
Sometimes it is “I want to take more money out”, “I want to work fewer hours”, “I want to buy a house”, “I want to build my pension”, or “I want the business to give me more freedom”.
When not everyone sees the opportunity the same way
Growth decisions are not always straightforward, especially when there is more than one person involved in the business.
One director might be keen to invest, hire, expand or take on a new opportunity.
Another might be more cautious and want to understand the risk first.
That is completely normal.
We can help by putting the numbers around the idea and giving everyone something clear to work from.
What would the opportunity cost?
What would it do to cashflow?
How long might it take to pay back?
What happens if things go to plan?
What happens if they do not?
Sometimes the most useful thing we can do is give everyone the same financial picture and be there as a sounding board while you work through the decision together.
The final decision is always yours.
Our role is to help make sure it is an informed one.
Plans change, so the numbers can change too
A forecast is not a promise about exactly what will happen.
Businesses change too quickly for that.
It is something we can update as new information becomes available.
Perhaps sales are stronger than expected.
A large customer may be taking longer to pay.
A planned hire might move forward by three months.
We can adjust the assumptions and see what that does to the picture.
That makes the forecast useful as a working tool rather than something that gets created once and forgotten about.
Sometimes it helps you feel more confident too
Cashflow planning is not only useful when there is a problem.
Sometimes the numbers show that the business is in a stronger position than you thought.
You may discover that there is room to make the investment you have been putting off, take on another member of staff or move ahead with a plan you were unsure about.
Having the figures in front of you can make those conversations much easier.
Got something in mind for the business?
Tell us what you are thinking about.
We can look at the numbers with you and help you understand what the plan may mean for cash over the months ahead.
You do not need to have a finished business plan or know exactly what you want to do.
Sometimes the most useful place to start is simply with the idea.
Tell us what you are thinking about