Small Business Cash Flow: Forecast, Control, Survive

What's inside

1. Level 1: Why Profitable Businesses Run Out of CashFree
   Learn the difference between making a profit and having cash in the bank, and why a growing, profitable small business can still fail to pay its bills (educational only, not financial or tax advice).
2. Level 2: Accruals in Plain WordsFree
   Understand the accruals basis: sales and costs are recorded when they are earned or incurred, not when cash moves, and see how this opens a timing gap between profit and cash.
3. Level 3: Depreciation, Capital Spending and Loans
   Learn why buying equipment, borrowing and repaying loans, and taking owner drawings or dividends move cash very differently from how they affect profit.
4. Level 4: Reading the Cash Flow Statement
   Read a cash flow statement through its operating, investing and financing sections and reconcile it from profit to the change in cash.
5. Level 5: Working Capital and Debtor Days
   Define working capital and calculate debtor days to measure how long customers take to pay.
6. Level 6: Creditor Days, Stock Days and the Cash Cycle
   Calculate creditor days and stock days and combine them with debtor days into the cash conversion cycle.
7. Level 7: Building a 13-Week Cash Forecast
   Set up a weekly, receipts-and-payments 13-week cash forecast in a spreadsheet, from opening balance to closing balance.
8. Level 8: Scenarios, Stress Tests and a Cash Buffer
   Test the 13-week forecast with best, base and worst-case scenarios and set a minimum cash buffer.
9. Level 9: Invoicing, Payment Terms and Deposits
   Design invoicing practice, payment terms and deposit policies that bring cash in sooner.
10. Level 10: Chasing Late Payment and Supplier Terms
    Build a credit control routine for late payers and use supplier terms responsibly to manage cash going out.
11. Level 11: Stock: Cash Sitting on Shelves
    Control stock levels so that less cash is tied up, without running out of the items that sell.
12. Level 12: VAT and Tax Timing in the Forecast
    Place UK VAT, PAYE, Corporation Tax and Self Assessment payments in the correct forecast weeks, using HMRC's current deadlines (other countries differ; not tax advice).
13. Level 13: Planning for Seasonal Cash Swings
    Forecast and manage the cash peaks and troughs of a seasonal business across the year.
14. Level 14: Overdrafts, Invoice Finance and Loans
    Compare the purpose and true total cost of overdrafts, invoice finance and term loans for different cash needs.
15. Level 15: Warning Signs and Acting Early
    Recognise the early warning signs of cash trouble and take corrective action before options run out.
16. Level 16: Cash Reports in Accounting Software
    Read the cash-related reports in accounting software and use them to feed and check the forecast.
17. Level 17: Final Challenge: Forecast, Diagnose, Act Exam
    Build, stress-test and diagnose a full 13-week cash forecast for an example business and recommend prioritised cash actions, drawing on the whole course.

Access

The first 2 levels are free with a free account. Every level, the podcast edition and the AI tutor come with All Access at £4.99/month or any Creator plan — see pricing.

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