Hello Reader,
Before you say yes to a big purchase, a new hire, or a bigger order, there's one question worth asking first. Can my cash actually support this over the next month, not just this week?
Most owners answer that question with a feeling, not a number. That's how a decision that looked fine on Monday turns into a scramble by the third week of the month.
Here's a simple way to check, using numbers you already have.
Write down what's sitting in your account today. Add what you're confident will come in over the next four weeks. Then subtract what you know is going out over that same month, wages, rent, suppliers, loan repayments, and the new cost you're considering. What's left is your real number. Not your profit. Not your sales target. The actual cash you'll have in four weeks if nothing changes.
If that number stays healthy after adding the new cost, you're likely fine to go ahead. If it drops close to zero, or below it, that's your answer. Not because the idea is bad, but because the timing is wrong.
I see this all the time. A decision that made sense on paper causes real pressure a few weeks later, because nobody checked the cash side before saying yes.
That's not a bad decision problem. It's a timing problem, and it's fixable before you commit, not after.
This is exactly the kind of thing the new Cash Flow series is built around, real numbers, real decisions, no theory. It starts this Thursday, 3 September, 9am, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube.
Before Thursday, do the four-week check on one decision you're currently sitting on. Then come Thursday, press play and see how it compares to what we cover in episode one.
๐ง Cash Flow Podcast Seriesโ
Talk soon,
Paul Sweeney
Chartered Accountant & Business Advisor
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