John, the Co-Founder of an IT startup, leaned forward across the coffee shop table, his brows furrowing with concern. “You know, Sarah, starting a new tech venture is like riding a rollercoaster. We’ve got groundbreaking innovations, but there’s this one giant challenge – keeping our finances in check.”
Sarah, the visionary behind an eco-friendly products startup, nodded emphatically. “I couldn’t agree more, John. Our products are gaining traction, but juggling the numbers feels like a tightrope walk.”
Their conversation echoed a familiar sentiment in the startup world. Irrespective of industry or innovation, managing cash flow remains a paramount challenge.
John leaned back, sipping his coffee thoughtfully. “So, Sarah, any ideas on how to tackle this cash flow hurdle?”
Sarah setting her cup down, says “Well, John, I’ve been researching this extensively. Turns out, there’s a vital tool every startup needs – Cash Flow Management.”
Cash Flow Management: The Real Success Mantra
When being a startup founder, you monitor and optimise the movement of money in and out of your business, it’s called Cash flow management. If done correctly, your company never runs out of money as it has enough cash flow to meet its financial obligations.
Common Cash Flow Issues
There are many cash flow issues that a startup faces, often stemming from various factors such as:
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Bookkeeping errors
As a startup, it is necessary to maintain a record of the finances. It becomes difficult to understand why the numbers are not adding up. If you are making bookkeeping errors, it is better to hire a bookkeeper for the company so that you know exactly where the money is going.
To give yourself a clear picture of cash flow, record all the transactions carefully.
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Overspending
As a new startup, sometimes you may overspend on going out for lunches for business meetings, software, office equipment, and advertising. You need to evaluate where exactly you should spend the money and where you have to do cost-cutting. Cost-cutting helps you save a lot of money and keeps your budget intact.
Cash Flow Management will help you identify unnecessary business expenses. Once you have the list of such expenses, you can cancel them to save money.
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Lack Of Financial Goals
Budget is a crucial aspect of your startup, and you should have realistic financial goals to ensure you don’t run out of money. There has to be a balance in the budget. If it is too tight, you have overspent it. If you have too much budget, you will use it on unnecessary things.
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Expecting Immediate Results
One of the major mistakes a startup makes is expecting profits in the first few years of being established. As a startup, you would spend a big chunk of money without getting any profits in the first few years.
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Too Much Payroll Spending
A startup has a lot of expenses, such as payroll expenses, overhead costs, and office expenses. Hiring employees and paying them more than the standard price to retain them creates a problem later on. It is necessary to stick to your budget as the company has to pay for the debt and interest each month.
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Not Reviewing And Adjusting Your Monthly Forecasts
As it is your first startup, you might spend twice and gain less profit. It is a learning experience, and you should review your monthly financials. As a company, you should know why cash flow forecasting is important and know how to make a forecast regarding the budget and adjust accordingly.
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Maximise Your Tax Return
Being a new startup, the company can avail of several tax breaks to minimise liability. Below are some ways to get the most out of your tax returns:
- Keep track of business spending, incorporation of paperwork, accounting costs, and legal fees.
- Claim deduction for marketing research and expenses.
- Make contributions to 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts.
Summing Up
For any startup, cash flow management is not just a helpful tool, it’s a necessity. It offers several advantages like preparedness for future emergencies and business growth, maintaining working capital, liquidity, funds for future growth prospects, and more.
Startups, by their nature, often require continuous funding to thrive. However, some startups use all their money, which can ultimately lead to a startup’s demise. Hence, mastering cash flow management is significant for the sustainability and success of emerging startups.
