Excellent cash flow forecasting is the key to the success and expansion of any small business.
It is cash flow forecasting which will enable your business to remain afloat and identify places where you can invest and enhance, whilst generating breathing space when any unforeseen problems occur.
Therefore, when putting together a prediction, you need to always analyse the moves of the last year to give you a good notion of flow into and out of the business. And remember to create a note of the timing of those movements, that way you can see peaks and troughs from incomings and outgoings, due to seasonal industry trends and other elements.
But to make the most of cash flow forecasting, you have to get it right.
Online accounting methods like Xero can produce the cash flow forecasting simpler for smaller businesses, as they link directly to your internet bank account and store any information safely on the Cloud, which may be accessed from various devices.
At this point you're all set to predict your monthly money spend for the following year.
The figures will be based on averages, which can be easily customised to make aspects of business life even easier and make it possible for you to make informed decisions about future strategies.
You will also get a picture of the liquidity of the business in the next 12 weeks
Then figure out whether you will need to develop a cashflow budget for the next year.
Xero includes a series of helpful add-ons, like the cash flow control system Float, which will pull your entire data to automatically generate cash flow predictions and assist control cash moving in and out of your enterprise.
Another helpful add-on is one which manages one of the largest problems for small companies -- bills not being paid on time.
By utilizing an online accounting system such as Xero as well as the plethora of helpful add-ons, small business owners can analyse and interpret the results
Take guidance from your accountant
Working closely with your accountant will also help you to learn the craft of cash flow forecasting and get sound advice on what to do to help you grow your business.