Knowing what to measure and how to measure it can make running your business easier.   To make better decisions you need to gather the relevant data and format it into a report showing the essential information.  Your decision makers can then be taught how to use that report to make sensible decisions or to recognise that they need additional information or instructions from you.   For Measuring your Cash Flow you need to know: Who your debtors are, how much they owe you and when they are likely to pay. Who your creditors are, how much you owe them and when you need to pay them. What your regular outgoings are (rents, rates, salaries etc).   Only when you have gathered the data can you then make a reasonably accurate Cash Flow Forecast.  This will enable you to make decisions about who to chase for cash and who to pay in order to manage the cash in your business.   When making a decision on buying a piece of Capital Equipment you … [Read more...]