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Profit is of course what most people are in business for. It’s an easy measure of ‘success’, and without profits, it would be impossible to secure finance, attract investors, or grow operations.
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Why cash flow can be more important than profit
07 July 2016
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11 minute read
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However, in order to achieve this profit in the first place, businesses must first align the timing of their cash used, with the timing of their cash received. That is, they need to shore up a steady cash flow.
Now for seasoned finance professionals, this may seem like a no-brainer. However, the profit trap can be an easy one for anyone to fall into. Below are three reasons it can pay to spend less time focusing on your bottom line, and more on observing and shoring up steady cash flow.
- Focussing on cash flow can higlight operational issues
Movements in cash flow can sometimes indicate operational, as opposed to sales-related, issues.
As an example, what may appear to be a quiet month revenue-wise might actually be a large number of clients neglecting to pay on time. Those same clients may all decide to pay at once in the following month, making it appear that revenue is back on track when in actual fact it’s just that your cash flow is out of balance.
In this case, these cash flow movements highlight a need to implement systems that ensure more steady payments from clients.
- Growth becomes more manageable
Growth should be the Holy Grail for most business owners. Expanding your offering’s reach through investment in new locations, R&D, or new staff can all help to boost future profits. And if you are able to understand what your net cash position is, you will be better positioned to make more informed decisions to grow your business.
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Decisions on factors such as staffing, office space, leases, and even business structure all become far clearer with a clear understanding of your business’s cash flow.
- Debt becomes cheaper and easier to manage
Your business may be healthy, have a great profit margin, and your staff may be motivated and great at their jobs. But if you don’t have cash at the right time to pay your debts, you may be in trouble.
Debt obviously becomes more expensive if you’re unable to pay on time, with late fees and overdrafts adding up. This can also cause unnecessary stress for the business owner. But with steady cash flow a business manager can plan for debt repayments, and make better decisions regarding how much debt to take on.
Bruce Coombes, managing director, QuickFee
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