TL;DR: Cashflow management is one of the biggest challenges for small businesses. This guide covers practical strategies to improve your cashflow, including faster invoicing, better payment terms, and funding options like invoice finance.
A solid cashflow forecast helps you stay in control of your finances and plan ahead with confidence, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Here’s a fast-track method for building a 12-month cashflow forecast that gives you clarity in under an hour.
Include all regular revenue sources, sales, subscription contracts, and any seasonal income spikes. Look at past data to estimate realistic monthly figures.
These are the non-negotiables: rent, wages, insurance, subscriptions. Since they don’t change much month to month, they’re easy to plug in upfront.
These include marketing, raw materials, fuel, and utilities, anything that can change with activity levels. Adjust based on expected business activity each month.
Identify months where income tends to dip or expenses rise, for example, holiday slowdowns or inventory restocks. Mark these clearly so you can prepare.
Subtract your total costs from income to see if you’re in surplus or shortfall each month. Highlight months with negative cashflow so you can plan solutions in advance.
Pro tip:
Accounting tools like Xero can speed this up by pulling data straight from your books. And if you spot shortfall months, FundTap gives you a quick way to cover the gap, without locking into long-term finance.
With a clear 12-month cashflow plan, you’ll be better equipped to make smart decisions, handle challenges, and grow with confidence.
The most common cause is timing, the gap between earning money and receiving it. For B2B businesses, this means waiting 30-90 days for customers to pay.
Invoice promptly, shorten payment terms, follow up on overdue invoices, and consider invoice finance to access funds before customers pay.
Yes. FundTap provides on-demand invoice finance with no lock-in contracts and fees from 4%. Select an invoice and get funded within hours.