BABY STEPS - STEP 1 OF A 3 STEP ACTION PLAN FOR MANAGING CASH

I was reminded back in the summer of 2012 in a blog post by Jeff Walker, creating success happens in baby steps.  I needed that reminder today, to remind myself I am on a journey to building my business and it doesn't happen overnight . . although I would LOVE the success to happen yesterday. A heartfelt YES, and you?

So I thought, why not create a post that supports you the leader, entrepreneur, business owner, CEO, a baby step action plan for managing the heart of your business, cash.

Step #1 - Manage cash daily. 

How you ask?

With the daily, 12 month cash register.

Why manage cash daily? This is the path that provides direction for your financial goals for your business. This is so you know where you are at all times, and so you see where you are heading. Mapping out cash coming in and going out daily, allows you to see and plan what is needed. You know when monthly recurring bills and loan payments happen, so map it out and plan how much cash you need daily..

A question I am constantly asked - Why do I need to manage cash flow daily when I use QuickBooks.?

Great question - the answer - CASH is KING. Cash is worked daily, you need to know how much cash you have on hand at all times. YES, that means creating a new muscle, a new habit if you want to figure out how to work your cash flow differently.  Cash happens right now, in this very moment when you receive a payment or are purchasing goods or services. Working cash daily forces you to look at and think of what is coming up next. If it is next week, the end of the month, next month or next quarter, etc.

When I was working with the privately held corporations, as the CFO I worked and planned cash daily, always looking at each day, each week, each month and each year. My team worked on and updated the financials in the accounting software used. AR, AP, monthly transactions, etc were worked on thru out the month.  Cash and financials are two different animals, cash is cash and financials are the whole picture of the financial story for the business.

Even now, with our gym business, we manage cash daily with the daily cash register. IT's like a checkbook in Excel, that holds 12 months of info in one workbook. Each month has it's own tab, and each worksheet is linked to the next. Every day we look at cash and manage it daily. Each day's deposits are mapped out and updated daily at the end of the day or the next morning. Recurring payments such as payroll, trainers commissions, monthly loan payments, purchasing supplies and advertising. By doing this we are able to make a decision how much to transfer to savings each month.  We put aside the bi-annual property tax payments or plan for additional equipment purchases.  I also balance the bank statement to the daily cash register which is a check and balance system for balancing cash to QuickBooks at the end of the month.

Remember, CASH is KING, so you need to know where you are at all times.

Creating simple, easy baby step habits opens the door to new possibilities for you and your business.

Next, I will share step two - Managing cash weekly with the cash management register.

Get in to action, and get cracking on managing your cash daily. If you have any questions or need help with managing your cash, reach out and ask for help, e-mail me at d.rosenfelt@cfomadeeasy.com to set up an appointment to discuss your needs.

Warmly -


Debbie Rosenfelt MBA CPCC
President / CFO.