Choosing the right cash flow solution for your business

Tracking cash flow should be a top priority for all business owners and choosing the right cash flow management tool to match the size and needs of your business is crucial.

By selecting the right cash flow management solution for your needs, you’ll be able to make smarter financial decisions about your business’ future.

Choosing from the vast array of software solutions available can be daunting, and every business is different. Your accountant is well-placed to advise you on the most appropriate solution for you and your future plans. We would be happy to talk through your options with you.

Here are a few things to consider when deciding on the best way to keep track of your business’ cash flow:

How complex are your needs?

Do you need a cash flow forecast available to you on a daily, weekly or monthly basis? 

Are you planning a number of changes for your business such as launching a new service, recruitment of new staff or opening a new location?

If you need infrequent reports and are not expecting any significant changes to your business, then you may only need a simple cash flow tracking solution.

If, however, you are looking to grow your business or adapt to a changing economic environment, then a more sophisticated solution may be better suited to your needs.

Real-time insights 

Your business’ financial data is always changing. Ideally your chosen cash flow management tool will provide you with a real-time snapshot of the money coming in and going out of your business, so that your decisions are based on the latest numbers and any key changes in your business.

Use your time efficiently  

Cash flow forecasts are most valuable when they are as up to date as possible. Using simpler solutions, such as spreadsheets, can be appealing and may suit businesses with less complicated cash inflows and outflows. But, if you are spending significant amounts of time inputting data manually, you may find that a software solution would better suit your requirements and allow you to focus your time on acting on reports rather than generating them.

Connect to your bookkeeping software

Consider a cash flow management solution that can connect with your bookkeeping software, so that your forecasts are in synch with your latest data.

Sophisticated management tools also use artificial intelligence to learn from your accounting data, spot trends, automatically generate your forecasts and alert you to potential upcoming problems.

Ability to plan for different scenarios

If you are planning for rapid growth or changes in your business and you need to adapt quickly, your chosen tool needs to allow you to quickly forecast for different scenarios. Check that the solution you will be using is flexible enough for your needs.

What do we recommend?

There is no one-size fits all product, so we don’t have a single recommended solution. Instead, we work with a range of software partners so that we can help you select the right solution to suit you. To talk to a local accounting expert about your cash flow management needs, call 01257 277 999 or enquire online here

Date published 3 Jul 2020 | Last updated 3 Jul 2020

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.