I’m writing this on a public holiday, the sun is shining and, after this, the dog and I are going for a run on the beach.
I’m doing it today because always I write these blog posts on Sunday mornings, not every Sunday but, when I do, it’s on a Sunday morning. That’s typical discipline for an accountant. There are always so many things to do that you need order and routine to keep on top of it all.
I’m not suggesting for a minute that you suddenly become uncool, and as a business owner, you have hundreds of things flying at you from all directions. You can’t nail all that down.
But I think that these 3 reports are critical to any business’ success and you should make sure they are regularly produced and, most importantly, block out time in your diary to review them with the person that prepared them. For most businesses that’s monthly.
These 3 reports will be in addition to any weekly operational reports like utilisation/sales against targets per income-stream/person/team/office etc.
Report 1 – Sales Pipeline
You need to be able to estimate, as best as you can, what’s coming in over the next few months so you can plan resources and make adjustments to tactics, and maybe even strategy, if you’re off track.
Report 2 – P&L Forecast
This is where you plan the numbers that fall out of projected sales.
Report 3 – Cash Flow Forecast
Almost all cash flow problems are profit problems, in both the short and long run.
Have a lovely day.
Photo by Florencia Viadana on Unsplash