Cash Flow Tips-Part 2: Finding the Hidden Dollars in Your Business
Here are five quick tips that show you how to increase your cash flow without searching for new clients or quick sales. You could say this is where to find the money you didn’t even know you had!
1. Don’t Pay Your Bills Early
If you’re one of those people who pays bills as soon as they come in, stop it!
You are probably wasting time doing more administrative work than you need to, and you’re strapping your cash flow in the process. Instead, schedule bill paying just once, or, at most, twice per month. You can still pay on time while holding onto your cash until you really need to let it go.
A great way to make sure no bills are forgotten is to use the Enter Bills and Pay Bills functions in QuickBooks®. Then, use the Reminders or To Do List functions to be reminded when it’s time to pay your bills. This saves time, effort, and a drain on your cash flow.
2. Reduce Your Overhead
Now that you’ve carved out a little extra time for yourself with #1 above, why not review the regular bills you are paying monthly, quarterly, and annually. Are you getting the most for your money? Do you really need all those goods or services? If you do, can you negotiate a better price?
Review your bills at least annually to trim away accumulated fat from your payables. You’ll be amazed at how much this simple ritual can save you.
3. Sell Off What You Don’t Need
Since you’re now running in “clean and lean” mode, why not take a stroll around your office and clear out the clutter?
Do you have equipment you don’t use anymore? Put it up for sale on eBay! Wouldn’t you rather have a little extra cash in your bank account than old stuff that just takes up space?
Do you have books accumulating on your shelf too? If you don’t need them any longer, get rid of them! Used books (and many other things) are easily sold on Amazon or eBay’s book site, Half.com. This is all found money.
4. Prioritize Your Time Based on Cash
If you’re like most of us, you generally think you can get a lot more done in a day than you really can. The reality is we can usually only get two, maybe three important tasks done in a day.
A habit that will make a BIG difference on your cash flow and ultimately your bottom line is to begin each day focused on the two or three (no more) most important tasks you need to accomplish. ‘Most important’ should translate into actions that boost cash coming in to the business quickly.
Write these tasks on a sticky note or an index card and put that short list right in front of your face on your desk or computer.
Focus is extremely powerful. Make it a daily habit to stay focused on cash-related tasks. The effects on your cash flow and your bottom line will be dramatic.
5. Keep Up with Your Bookkeeping
Huh? Keeping your books up to date will increase your cash flow?
Well, not directly. But it will help you see where exactly your money is coming from and where it’s going, and tell you what you need to do to hold onto more of it.
Timely record keeping also helps you to avoid money-sucking mistakes like double-paying bills and being assessed for late fees. Can you really afford to lose precious cash to unnecessary service charges, penalties, and higher interest rates?
Up-to-date bookkeeping records also save you from facing cash crunches when quarterly tax payments are due. Neither will you get hit with a mega crunch on April 15th because of being blindsided by an unexpected, nasty tax bite when your tax returns are completed for the year.
These five tips are just a few ways to increase your cash flow, to be sure. But even if you use only one or two of these simple techniques, you’ll be well on your way to consistently improving your cash flow.
So which cash flow tactic will you put to work right now in your business?
Additional Resource:
If you’d like to learn how to build a simple system to boost your business cash flow year ’round, then you will want to take a look at my special report, Cash Flow Kick-Start.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR OWN BLOG OR E-ZINE? You have permission to re-publish it, as long as you include the following author’s bio and link:
Gabrielle Fontaine, PB is a freelance Professional Bookkeeper and Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. She specializes in assisting Internet-savvy entrepreneurs to get control of their books and maximize profits. Gabrielle also publishes the business-boosting online ezine, Smart Money Choices. Get more information at http://www.BookkeepingDirect.com
