Of course, businesses evolve – new products, services, markets etc. – so it’s important you keep these three building blocks under review and in sync with each other and in line with the path your business takes.
I come to praise spreadsheets not to bury them – but you may not have the balance right.
One thing you shouldn’t do at this stage is think:
“I know! let’s connect the online platform app to the cloud accounting software.”
“A sprat to catch a mackerel” can easily turn in to a sprat to catch plankton!
This gives your business the best of both worlds – the senior financial input you need but without a full-time cost. It’s a solution that an FD would be proud of!
Fair play – the two of them had got in touch because they knew something wasn’t right and were reaching out for help.
If you’re a CEO and you want to upgrade your finance function to match the needs of your business, the thought process to follow is refreshingly simple and as old as the hills
We could see what the cashflow would look like if the money came in late – the day when the overdraft limit would be exceeded and by how much.
It is not good enough for the accountant to use accrued income to save the day – no-one ever got paid for accrued income!
The Customer Timeline is a window into the soul of your customers – use it to get paid quicker and keep your customer accounts in good shape.
All good until it came to getting paid. It turned out that the retailer was happy to pay our client’s invoices somewhere between 90 and 120 days after presentation.
Financial information, allied with non-financial metrics, used sensibly, is at the heart of pretty much every successful business.
