

Cash flow is directly related to all the money coming in and out of business. The first thing you could do to answer these questions is to look at cash flow. How would you find out? How would you determine how much money was coming into the business and how much you needed to cover expenses? Imagine you wanted to know how well your business is doing. Lifestyle and Technological Environment.Business Considerations from Globalisation.Risks and Rewards of Running a Business.Evaluating Business Success Based on Objectives.Information and Communication Technology in Business.Effects of Interest Rates on Businesses.Improving Employer - Employee Relations.

In months when you have more cash coming in than out, put a portion away in your savings for those leaner months.Think about how seasonal changes might affect your cash flow.Don’t forget to include annual registrations, subscriptions and other bills.If you pay staff fortnightly, some months will have 3 payrolls.Tips for an accurate cash flow forecastĬonsider the following tips to improve the accuracy of your cash flow forecast: If you're not going to be bringing in enough money to sustain your business, you can then take steps to improve your cash flow. Doing this will highlight any differences between estimated and actual so you can see why your cash flow didn't meet your expectations. Once you've done your cash flow forecast, make sure you go back and check what you estimated against the actual cash flows for the period. Review your estimated cash flows against the actual This will be the opening cash balance for the next period. The number at the end of each period is referred to as the closing cash balance. Next, add in all the cash inflows and deduct the cash outflows for each period. Since cash flows are all about timing and the flow of cash, you'll need to start with an opening bank balance – this is your actual cash on hand. Compile the estimates into your cash flow forecast 'one-off' bank fees such as loan establishment feesĤ.Other cash outflowsīeyond its normal running expenses, cash leaves a business ('cash outflows') in other ways. These will also depend on the type of business. This way, if you need to adjust your sales numbers later (for example, if you actually sold 10 units in March when you thought you would sell 5), it will be easier to adjust actual cost of goods sold.Įxpenses can be money spent on administration or operation. When you calculate your cash outflows, work out what it costs to make goods available. other sources such as royalties, franchise fees, or licence fees.owners investing more money (adding extra equity) in the business.These will vary from business to business but might include: Next you'll estimate your 'cash inflows', or sources of cash other than sales. changes in the economy such as interest rates and unemployment rates.your customer base and how quickly they pay you.This will give you an idea of how much money the business needs to bring in to cover it.īut keep in mind that sales figures can change all the time depending on: If you're a new business and don't have past sales figures, start by estimating all the cash outflows. You can make adjustments to your sales forecast based on whether sales increased, decreased or stayed the same. To forecast your sales, look at last year's figures to see if you can spot any trends. Forecast your income or salesįirst, decide on a period that you want to forecast. greater confidence paying your staff and suppliers on time, which protects your relationshipsĬash flow is all about timing, so when preparing your forecast, try to be as accurate as possible on the timing of your inflow and outflow estimates.the ability to identify problems and plan for times when you might be low on cash.less stress worrying where your money will come from.making a cash flow forecast to estimate your income and expenses in the futureĪ cash flow forecast (also known as a cash flow projection) involves estimating cash coming in and going out based on past business performance.Ĭash flow forecasting has several benefits:.managing your working capital ( managing stock and payments to suppliers and recovering debts).A positive cash flow will have more money coming in than going out. Your business's cash flow is represented in a cash flow statement. But it might also be money from debt repayments, selling unnecessary assets, rebates and grants. Cash flow is the amount of money that goes in and out of your business.Ĭash flowing in is most often the money you get from sales.
