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7 Stress Saving Strategies for Beating the Small Business Cash

Article:

Small business owners can relieve a lot of their own cash flow

problems, according to Caroline Jordan, small business advisor

and author. "Small business owners have more control over their

cash flow than they realize." says Jordan.

To help you get a jumpstart on solving your own cash flow woes,

Jordan offers a free, "Cash Flow Master checklist" that you can

get by sending a blank email to

TheJordanResult-110571@autocontactor.com. Jordan also suggests

the following tips to help you understand why cash flow problems

plague 66% of small businesses.

1. Avoid the dreaded "Fly by the Seat of Your Pants" accounting

method.--Businesses need to systematically track income,

expenses, accounts receivable, and accounts payable. If you only

know how your business is doing once a year at tax time, you're

bound to end up deeply mired in the Cash Flow Swamp.

2. Developing "Strength in Numbers"--Once you have your

accounting system in place you need to learn what the numbers

are telling you and how to use those numbers to manage and grow

your business.

3. Keep tight control of credit--Business owners can get

themselves in credit trouble two different ways; poor credit

granting practices and shortsighted use of credit from banks,

credit cards, and vendors.

4. Be sure your Receivables and Payables "play nice"

together--The money owed to you by your customers should arrive

in time for you to pay your vendors and your employees. When

your customers take 60 days to pay and your vendors want to be

paid in 30 days, you can quickly end up with a Cash Flow Crunch.

5. Make decisions based on Cash Flow not Profit--Many businesses

that fail are profitable when the doors close. What those

businesses don't have is CASH. When you pursue that big, juicy

contract or think about hiring another employee, always ask

yourself "What will this do to my cash flow?"

6. Don't forget your debt to society-- Some bills are easy to

forget. Bills like sales tax, payroll taxes, and estimated

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taxes. Ignoring them doesn't make them go away. Planning ahead

makes the bite easier to take and keeps your from suffering Tax

Day sticker shock. Scrambling to find money for taxes causes

major cash flow problems.

7. Don't spend your company's future on a speed boat--Everybody

loves toys. Don't make the mistake of thinking all the profits

of your business are "fun money". You've heard it many times

from personal financial planners that you should have enough

cash put aside for six months of expenses. This is true for your

business, too. Sales ebb and flow. Expenses rise. Customers

leave. Vehicles break down. Computers fry. The number one rule

of small business is "Stuff Happens". Having a reserve of cash

keeps your cash flow from tanking every time a new challenge

appears.

About the author:

Caroline Jordan, MBA helps self employed professionals build

successful businesses, attract clients they enjoy working with,

improve cash flow, and develop additional sources of revenue. To

find out how visit: http://www.TheJordanResult.com