{"id":6778,"date":"2019-11-20T12:58:07","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T17:58:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/?p=6778"},"modified":"2026-01-16T05:50:44","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T10:50:44","slug":"4-tips-to-improve-your-business-cash-flow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/4-tips-to-improve-your-business-cash-flow\/","title":{"rendered":"4 tips to improve your business cash flow"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/category\/money-matters\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Money Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t4 tips to improve your business cash flow\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2019-11-20T12:58:07-05:00\">November 20, 2019<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"4 tips to improve your business cash flow\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/4-tips-to-improve-your-business-cash-flow\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/author\/owen\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/fr-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/2019\/04\/Owen_sage-advice-002.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" height=\"40\" width=\"40\" fetchpriority=\"high\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Owen Sweeney<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s very common for a business to encounter a cash flow crunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cash flow challenges can happen to a business when a customer pays late (or doesn\u2019t pay at all), when an unexpected cost pops up, or when an anticipated sales deal falls through. When it happens, take a breath, and explore possible solutions\u2014you\u2019ve got this!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider these strategies to keep your business cash flowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><br><h2>Update your cash flow forecast and strategy<\/h2><br><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s helpful to pinpoint the amount of money coming in and out of your business for the next 12 months, so you can spot any shortfalls and take corrective action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use your accounting software or a cash flow forecast template available online.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter amounts expected from sales each month.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter expenses you must pay each month.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Look at the difference each month\u2014is there more money going out than coming in? Play with the figures and timing to see if you can keep the balance in the positive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You can also approach a lender or investor to get access to the cash you need.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you anticipate a shortfall in an upcoming month, and you have time, you can try one of the strategies below to improve cash flow.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Free Interactive Guide: Manage your cashflow and keep customers happy<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Learn how to stay on top of your cash, get your invoices paid all without sacrificing your customer service<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-bc7f4853-2309-4817-b945-f226887a99d1\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Access the interactive guide<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1213\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/EliteCV_FY19_Accounting_14-1213x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Woman using a laptop and a tablet to look at financial data\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/07\/EliteCV_FY19_Accounting_14-1213x810.jpg 1213w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><br><h2>Speed up customer payments<\/h2><br><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>How your customers pay, when they pay, and how you manage outstanding invoices will affect your cash flow. Try to speed up customer payments by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Asking for payment upfront.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Accepting credit card payments and debit payments. There are plenty of options online, and modern <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/sage-business-cloud\/accounting\/\">accounting software programs feature a payments option<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Invoicing right away, with short payment terms. Ask for payment in 10 days instead of 30.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Staying on top of receivables\u2014make it a habit to check the age of your receivables daily so you can take action.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Need a cash flow boost? Learn how in a free webinar from Sage Canada called <\/em><em>\u2018<\/em><em>Strategies to improve your business cash flow<\/em><em>\u2019<\/em><em>. Check out webinar details, date and time here.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"3\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><br><h2>Delay payables\u2014without incurring late fees<\/h2><br><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Managing payables is just as important as collecting customer payments. Keep more money in your business for a longer time by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Negotiating a longer payment period with your suppliers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Paying a portion of an invoice now and paying the balance in 30 or 60 days. If you\u2019re in a cash pinch, call the supplier to negotiate a payment schedule.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Using a credit card to make payments. When used wisely, business credits cards can provide an effective short-term interest-free loan that can ease a temporary cash flow crunch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"4\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><br><h2><strong> Sell some inventory and look at your inventory management system<\/strong><\/h2><br><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>If much of your cash is tied up in inventory, it may be time to evaluate your current inventory management system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How often is your inventory turning over? Consider adjusting prices and reducing future re-stocking orders.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Are you running out of best-selling items? It deprives your business of cash from sales.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Get rid of stale inventory. Hold a sale to move old inventory so you can invest in stock that turns over more frequently.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Good quality <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/sage-business-cloud\/accounting\/\">accounting software<\/a> can make inventory management easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By using accounting software to stay on top of your cash flow, you can help avoid a cash flow pinch and plan ahead with confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"cta-content__title\">Get a roundup of our best business advice in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-8949a954-88b2-43bb-8b8a-77c53eb34350\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s very common for a business to encounter a cash flow crunch. Cash flow challenges can happen to a business when a customer pays late (or doesn\u2019t pay at all), when an unexpected cost pops up, or when an anticipated sales deal falls through. When it happens, take a breath, and explore possible solutions\u2014you\u2019ve got [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":737,"featured_media":237,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[168],"business_type":[3],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[127],"persona":[83],"imagine_tag":[34],"coauthors":[310],"class_list":["post-6778","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-money-matters","tag-business-management","business_type-small-business","industry-financial-services"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-ca","author_name":"Owen Sweeney","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-187512771.jpg","imagine_tags":{"34":"Accountants"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice Canada English","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6778","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/737"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6778"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6778\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6778"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6778"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6778"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=6778"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=6778"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=6778"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=6778"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=6778"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=6778"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=6778"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}