Practical guides for running the books
Honest writing on invoicing, cash flow, AR/AP, sales-tax compliance, and the messy realities of keeping a regulated small business audit-ready.
The 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast: The Short-Range Radar Every Small Business Needs
Your profit and loss statement can look healthy while your bank account runs dry — profit and cash are not the same thing. The 13-week cash flow forecast is the short-range radar that shows exactly when money will be tight, week by week, far enough ahead to do something about it. Here is how to build one, why 13 weeks is the magic number, and how to use it as a living tool instead of a spreadsheet you build once and forget.
Profitable but Broke: Why the P&L Says You Made Money and the Bank Says You Didn't
It is one of the most disorienting moments in running a business: your profit-and-loss statement shows a healthy profit, yet there is nothing in the bank account. Profit and cash are two different things, and the gap between them has specific, findable causes. Where the money goes, how to spot each cause on your own books, and how to stop the surprise from happening again.
Deposits in Transit and Outstanding Checks: The Timing Gaps in Every Reconciliation
Your book balance and your bank balance almost never match to the penny on the same day — and usually nothing is wrong. The difference is timing: deposits you recorded that the bank hasn't posted, and checks you wrote that haven't cleared. What these timing items are and why they don't mean an error.
Cash Runway and Burn Rate: How Many Months Can the Business Survive?
Burn rate is how fast you spend cash; runway is how long until you run out. Two numbers every owner should be able to recite from memory. How to calculate both from your own books, with worked examples and the difference between gross and net burn.
Working Capital: The Cash Trapped Inside a Growing Business
A profitable business can still run out of cash if too much of it is stuck in unpaid invoices and unsold stock. Working capital is the measure of that trapped cash, and the cash conversion cycle tells you how long it stays trapped. How to read both, why growth makes them worse, and the levers that free cash back up.
The Statement of Cash Flows, Explained: Operating, Investing, and Financing
Your P&L can show a profit while your bank account empties. The statement of cash flows is the report that explains the gap — where cash actually came from and where it went. A plain-English walk through all three sections.