Business Opportunities Weblog

February 26, 2007 by Rich Whittle | 4 Comments

Rhonda Abrams at Gannett News Service:

Money! That’s what business is supposed to be all about. So why do so many people in business fail to pay attention to it?

Oh sure, we spend lots of time and effort on how to make money. But most of us hate to deal with the often-unpleasant aspects of how to manage our money.

But most of us in small businesses are lucky if we have enough money in our checking accounts to pay the bills and make payroll.

Managing your money doesn’t have to take a great deal of time, especially if you get in the habit of taking care of a few money matters on a regular basis, such as:

• Sending out your bills. This seems obvious, but many entrepreneurs fail to send bills in a timely fashion. Get in the habit of billing immediately when you’ve delivered a product or service, even if the bill isn’t due for 30 days.
• Reviewing your finances regularly. At least once a month, but preferably once a week or quickly every day, look at your overall figures, such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, income statement, checkbook balance, cash flow and credit card balances.
• Looking ahead. When looking at your books, don’t just look at the present, look at the past and then look toward the future, projecting income and cash flow.
• Getting a backup source of capital. The best time to get a loan is when you don’t need one. So take the time now to get a line of credit from a bank.
• Saving. Every business has income fluctuations. The best way to have cash when you need it is to put some away when you’ve got it.

Photo by MSDesign.

In Financing, Operations, Strategy | 4 Comments