What is Cash Flow – Ways to Manage Cash Flow

If you call cash flow the lifeblood of the business world, this will not be wrong. An old yet famous saying about cash says cash is king in business activities. Realising this, we can say that the king keeps the heart of the kingdom pumping as well. Whether you carry out a small business or a large company,  cash flow is the most critical component.

 

There is no meaning of profit and losses in the absence of cash. It has been observed that the major reason behind bankruptcy is that the cash that comes in is less than the cash that goes out in the business activity. Before, we delve deep into the discussion of managing cash flow in a better way. Let’s first know what is cash flow.

In this article, we will discuss the following points:

• How to define cash flow?
• Popular ways to manage cash flow
• The Bottom Line

How to Define Cash Flow?

Having known the fact that cash is the lifeblood of business valuation and works as an engine that keeps the machine going. Many businessmen still do not realise how to manage it most productively. In this era, this poor management of cash flow is the reason behind the constant failure of the business. Especially when it comes to new individuals who are trying to make their place in the market.

Cash flow is a parameter to measure the amount of cash that comes in and goes out while you are carrying out your business activities. This is observed in a specific period as well. If the cash flow is positive, this simply means that the amount of cash coming in is more than the amount that is going out. This makes you accomplish such a level that allows you to pay the bills and handle other business expenses easily.

This is how your business valuation increases and it starts to go up with the time it flourishes and has a solid ground in the market. Having enough cash to handle your expenses will further allow you to focus on growing your business. We call it working capital as well in business terms.

Popular Ways to Manage Cash Flow:

In simple words, we can say that managing cash flow means figuring out when exactly you need to have cash coming in hand, how to get more cash, and what are the possible ways to manage the spending to avoid cash flow problems that can cause serious problems and damage your business. Moreover, managing business finances is like a foundational building block. If you get this right, expect healthy profit growth in business.

Some popular ways to manage your cash flow include the following:

1- Accounts receivable needs to speed up:

It is understood that the faster the cash is coming in, the more cash flow will be activated. So, to ensure this speedy accounts receivable will help you to achieve the required standard.

2- Lower Spending and Expenses:

Unnecessary business expenses are immediately needed to cut down as overspending will cause serious damage to the business. This will eventually increase the cash flow as well.

3- Analysis of Cash flow:

Take your company’s cash flow statement into serious consideration to get a clear picture of your cash flow analysis. This will further help to understand the flow of money in your business activity. This will allow you to know the overspending and extra business expenses as well.

4- Cash flow statements:

This part is often done by the accountants if your company has one hired. The other options in the case of small businesses are spreadsheets and calculating the details using online software.

5- Managing Bookkeeping:

The financial transactions of a business are well understood by managing bookkeeping in an organised way. Further steps of accounting are also based on organised bookkeeping.

The Bottom Line:

To sum up, the discussion of what is cash flow, we can say that managing cash flow properly can help you to be more confident, while you present your business details to clients. This is possible to do with the help of your accountant as well.

 

Disclaimer: This article intends to provide general information based on what is cash flow and how you manage it.