Skip to content
American ExpressAmerican ExpressAmerican ExpressAmerican ExpressAmerican Express
  • Card Accounts

    • Your Account
    • Activate a New Card
    • Register for Online Services
    • Amex Mobile App Features
    • Add Someone to Your Account
    • Moving Abroad? Transfer Your Card

    Business Owners

    • Your Account
    • Activate a New Card
    • Register for Online Services
    • Membership Rewards & Travel
    • Add Someone to Your Account

    Other Accounts

    • American Express @Work
    • Online Merchant Services
    • International Payments for Businesses

    Contact Us

    • Support 24/7
    AustraliaChange Country
  • Personal Cards

    • View All Personal Cards
    • Learn About Credit Cards

    Popular Personal Cards

    • The Platinum Card
    • The Qantas Ultimate Card
    • The Explorer Card

    Cards for Business Owners

    • View all Business Cards
    • Popular Business Cards
    • Manage Your Business

    Corporate Cards

    • View All Corporate Cards
    • Corporate Payment Solutions
    • Corporate Purchasing Card
    AustraliaChange Country
  • Online Travel

    • Book Travel Online
    • Book Fine Hotels & Resorts
    • Book The Hotel Collection

    Travel Resources

    • Destination Guides
    • Travel Insurance
    • Using Your Card Overseas
    • Card Member Benefits
    • Find a Travel Service Office

    Business Travel

    • Global Business Travel Solutions
    • Small Business Travel
    • Foreign Exchange Services

    Travel Money

    • Travelers Cheques
    • Qantas Credit Cards
    • Travel Rewards Credit Cards
    AustraliaChange Country
  • All Insurance Services

    • Insurance Home Page
    • Insurance with your card
    • Other Insurance

    Travel Insurance

    • Travel Insurance
    • Multi-Trip/Annual Policy
    • Single Trip Policy
    AustraliaChange Country
  • Membership Rewards

    • Use Points for Gift Cards
    • Use Points for Travel
    • Rewards Changes

    Rewards Programs

    • Membership Rewards Cards
    • Qantas Frequent Flyer

    Card Member Offers & Benefits

    • Explore Card Benefits
    • Amex Experiences
    • Refer Friends. Earn Rewards
    AustraliaChange Country
  • Merchants

    • Merchant Home
    • Accept the Card
    • Manage Merchant Account
    • Contact Us and FAQs

    Corporations

    • Corporate Cards
    • Purchasing Solutions
    • Customer Centre
    • Global Business Travel Solutions
    • Meetings & Events
    • International Payments for Businesses

    Business Owners

    • Popular Small Business Cards
    • View All Small Business Cards
    • Manage Your Business
    • Business Credit vs Charge
    • How to Apply for a Business Card

    Global Network

    • Home
    • Issuers
    • Acquirers
    • Service Providers
    • Developers
    AustraliaChange Country
  • Contact Us
  • Log In
      • Your Account
      • Activate a New Card
      • Register for Online Services
      • Amex Mobile App Features
      • Add Someone to Your Account
      • Moving Abroad? Transfer Your Card
      • Your Account
      • Activate a New Card
      • Register for Online Services
      • Membership Rewards & Travel
      • Add Someone to Your Account
      • American Express @Work
      • Online Merchant Services
      • International Payments for Businesses
      • Support 24/7
      • View All Personal Cards
      • Learn About Credit Cards
      • The Platinum Card
      • The Qantas Ultimate Card
      • The Explorer Card
      • View all Business Cards
      • Popular Business Cards
      • Manage Your Business
      • View All Corporate Cards
      • Corporate Payment Solutions
      • Corporate Purchasing Card
      • Book Travel Online
      • Book Fine Hotels & Resorts
      • Book The Hotel Collection
      • Destination Guides
      • Travel Insurance
      • Using Your Card Overseas
      • Card Member Benefits
      • Find a Travel Service Office
      • Global Business Travel Solutions
      • Small Business Travel
      • Foreign Exchange Services
      • Travelers Cheques
      • Qantas Credit Cards
      • Travel Rewards Credit Cards
      • Insurance Home Page
      • Insurance with your card
      • Other Insurance
      • Travel Insurance
      • Multi-Trip/Annual Policy
      • Single Trip Policy
      • Use Points for Gift Cards
      • Use Points for Travel
      • Rewards Changes
      • Membership Rewards Cards
      • Qantas Frequent Flyer
      • Explore Card Benefits
      • Amex Experiences
      • Refer Friends. Earn Rewards
      • Merchant Home
      • Accept the Card
      • Manage Merchant Account
      • Contact Us and FAQs
      • Corporate Cards
      • Purchasing Solutions
      • Customer Centre
      • Global Business Travel Solutions
      • Meetings & Events
      • International Payments for Businesses
      • Popular Small Business Cards
      • View All Small Business Cards
      • Manage Your Business
      • Business Credit vs Charge
      • How to Apply for a Business Card
      • Home
      • Issuers
      • Acquirers
      • Service Providers
      • Developers
  • Contact Us
AustraliaChange Country
  • Card Accounts

    • Your Account
    • Activate a New Card
    • Register for Online Services
    • Amex Mobile App Features
    • Add Someone to Your Account
    • Moving Abroad? Transfer Your Card

    Business Owners

    • Your Account
    • Activate a New Card
    • Register for Online Services
    • Membership Rewards & Travel
    • Add Someone to Your Account

    Other Accounts

    • American Express @Work
    • Online Merchant Services
    • International Payments for Businesses

    Contact Us

    • Support 24/7
  • Personal Cards

    • View All Personal Cards
    • Learn About Credit Cards

    Popular Personal Cards

    • The Platinum Card
    • The Qantas Ultimate Card
    • The Explorer Card

    Cards for Business Owners

    • View all Business Cards
    • Popular Business Cards
    • Manage Your Business

    Corporate Cards

    • View All Corporate Cards
    • Corporate Payment Solutions
    • Corporate Purchasing Card
  • Online Travel

    • Book Travel Online
    • Book Fine Hotels & Resorts
    • Book The Hotel Collection

    Travel Resources

    • Destination Guides
    • Travel Insurance
    • Using Your Card Overseas
    • Card Member Benefits
    • Find a Travel Service Office

    Business Travel

    • Global Business Travel Solutions
    • Small Business Travel
    • Foreign Exchange Services

    Travel Money

    • Travelers Cheques
    • Qantas Credit Cards
    • Travel Rewards Credit Cards
  • All Insurance Services

    • Insurance Home Page
    • Insurance with your card
    • Other Insurance

    Travel Insurance

    • Travel Insurance
    • Multi-Trip/Annual Policy
    • Single Trip Policy
  • Membership Rewards

    • Use Points for Gift Cards
    • Use Points for Travel
    • Rewards Changes

    Rewards Programs

    • Membership Rewards Cards
    • Qantas Frequent Flyer

    Card Member Offers & Benefits

    • Explore Card Benefits
    • Amex Experiences
    • Refer Friends. Earn Rewards
  • Merchants

    • Merchant Home
    • Accept the Card
    • Manage Merchant Account
    • Contact Us and FAQs

    Corporations

    • Corporate Cards
    • Purchasing Solutions
    • Customer Centre
    • Global Business Travel Solutions
    • Meetings & Events
    • International Payments for Businesses

    Business Owners

    • Popular Small Business Cards
    • View All Small Business Cards
    • Manage Your Business
    • Business Credit vs Charge
    • How to Apply for a Business Card

    Global Network

    • Home
    • Issuers
    • Acquirers
    • Service Providers
    • Developers

AustraliaChange Country
Skip to content
DON'T do business WITHOUT IT
DON'T do business WITHOUT IT

Small Business Cards

Cards

  • American Express® Platinum Business Card

  • American Express® Qantas Business Rewards Card

  • American Express Business Explorer® Credit Card

  • View All Cards

  • Compare Cards

International Payments

  • International Payments

  • American Express AccessLine™

  • View All International Payments

Manage Your Business

  • Business Benefits

  • Why Amex for your Business?

  • Business Credit vs Charge

  • Business Rewards

  • Business Cash Flow Management

  • Business Travel Rewards

  • Existing Customers

  • Order Cards for Employees

Corporate Card Programs

Cards

  • American Express® Corporate Platinum Card

  • American Express® Qantas Corporate Platinum Card

  • American Express® Corporate Gold Card

  • View All Corporate Cards

  • Compare Corporate Cards

Payment Solutions

  • Buyer Initiated Payments

  • American Express vPayment™

  • View All Supplier Payments

  • International Payments

  • American Express AccessLine™

  • View All International Payments

Business Class

  • Business Class

  • Products & Solutions

  • Service & Expertise

  • Existing Customers

Business Class

Business Class

Insights and Inspiration to Help Grow Your Business

Security

  • Managing Supply Chain

  • Managing Data and Trends

  • Managing Risks

Growth

  • Expanding

  • Adapting to Change

  • Future Proofing

Funding

  • Managing Cash Flow

  • Financing

  • Becoming More Efficient

People

  • Leading My Team

  • Managing Talent

  • Collaborating

  • Trends and Insights
  • Funding
  • Managing Cash Flow
Business Class

28 July 2017

The Best Cash Flow Boot Camp for Your Business

The Best Cash Flow Boot Camp for Your Business

Twitter Icon
Facebook Icon
LinkedIn Icon
Alexandra Cain

Writer, Cain Creativity, Inc.

Summary

Effective cash flow management can be the difference between success and failure for any business.  Re-examining your practices can help ensure you have the access you need.

Twitter Icon
Facebook Icon
LinkedIn Icon

Standard accounting software packages can help businesses foresee bottlenecks and timing issues, and gives enough time to take action to resolve these difficulties.

Great cash flow management, however, is more than running an accounting software package. The following steps can help any business ensure it is managing cash flow effectively.

Best practice in cash flow management

According to Craig West, CEO of business strategy firm Succession Plus, most businesses don't forecast cash flow. "They may have experienced an extended time when cash flow has not been a problem so they drop the discipline of projecting cash," he says. "Then something happens – for example a financial shock or a client goes bad - and suddenly cash flow is a problem."

It is relatively easy to predict cash outflows, as companies know when they have regular payments such as tax, salaries and operational costs. Inflows are much less certain, as it's difficult to know exactly when customers are going to pay. "Overdue payments are the biggest risk to small and medium business cash flow," says Ennio Alberici, Finance Director for Sage Software Australia.

Craig West suggests some practices for managing late payments. “Have an automated system in place that follows up late payments, do credit checks on all new clients no matter how good they look, and establish a relationship with a bank that understands your business model and your cash flows," he says.

Good technology and systems are key to improving and managing cash flow. This includes receiving timely information from an integrated digital banking platform. “Best practice for billing means using cloud-based software and electronic payment solutions, which provide invoicing tools that save time and optimise cash flow," says Alberici. "They allow you to offer multiple forms of payment and quickly follow up with clients by giving business owners easy access to invoice records and reports."

Planning around larger cash inflows and streamlining invoicing processes also help to smooth cash flows and prevent bottlenecks and shortfalls.

Best practice for running a cash flow forecast

Running a cash flow forecast doesn't have to be complex or time-consuming. A cash flow forecast can be mapped out in just 30 minutes, says Kerry Dutton, Founder of online bookkeeping business Think180degrees.

"It's easy to start looking in the wrong places, such as manuals, external data analysis and complicated templates. The main purpose of your cash flow forecast is to provide a forward thinking perspective you can use to plan ahead," she says. “Use a cash flow forecast to aim the business towards success and give the business owner clarity, financial focus and balance."

Here are Dutton's three steps for implementing best practice cash flow forecasting:

1. Just begin

Start, as something is better than nothing. Begin with what you know and review the forecast at least every six to 12 months.

2. Use good business data

Industry data and competitive analysis is often backward looking and of little use when it comes to cash flow forecasting.

It may be appropriate to use historical assumptions where these are relevant to predict a likely future outcome. For example, the most reliable source of historical evidence in a business is key performance metrics, such as average client conversion rates and growth rate of new clients per month.

3. Apply 'what if' scenarios

The basis of cash flow forecasting is to model alternative scenarios that could take place during the forecast timeframe. It is tempting to pick the rosiest scenario and hope that this will eventuate. But a more realistic approach would evaluate less beneficial scenarios too, thus helping the business foresee and develop strategies for managing "worst case" cash flow problems. It is also important to question growth assumptions, and consider what would happen if certain services didn't perform as expected.

For example, suppose you forecast your business to grow from $300,000 to $1 million, but a huge proportion of this is reliant on the success of a first online program. If that program falls short of expectations, the forecast will be wrong. Launching an online program for the first time is a risky business, since there is typically little historical evidence on which to rely. So a prudent forecast might apply a discount factor to the ideal outcome to recognise the risk that sales might disappoint or the program develop problems.

Great cash flow management isn't a quick fix. It needs discipline and attention to detail. Cash flow needs to be reviewed at least monthly to help the business move through any money limitations.

Key Takeaways

  1. Don't undercharge upfront: revalue products by breaking down all the included value and the time spent on each component.
  2. Love the numbers: create a monthly cash flow plan and set three goals to improve cash flow in 90 days.
  3. Overcome limitations: ensure business processes are appropriate. For example, don't provide a service prior to a deposit payment.
Twitter Icon
Facebook Icon
LinkedIn Icon
Want to Dig Deeper?

Get an American Express Card

  • Personal Cards
  • Credit Cards
  • Small Business Cards
  • Corporate Cards
  • Add Someone to Your Account

More Products & Services

  • Insurance
  • Accept the Card
  • Online Services
  • Book Travel
  • Business International Payments
  • Refer a Friend

Important Links

  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Chip & PIN
  • ATM Locator
  • Accessibility
  • Safe and Secure

Company Information

  • About American Express
  • About American Express Australia
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • Site Map
  • Facebook
    • Personal Cards
    • Credit Cards
    • Small Business Cards
    • Corporate Cards
    • Add Someone to Your Account
    • Insurance
    • Accept the Card
    • Online Services
    • Book Travel
    • Business International Payments
    • Refer a Friend
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Chip & PIN
    • ATM Locator
    • Accessibility
    • Safe and Secure
    • About American Express
    • About American Express Australia
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
    • Site Map
    • Facebook

American Express
AustraliaChange Country
  • Connect with Amex on Facebook
  • Connect with Amex on Instagram
  • Tweet your questions to @AskAmex
  • Connect with Amex on LinkedIn
  • YouTube

  • Website Rules and Regulations
  • Trademarks
  • Privacy Statement
  • Security Alerts

Copyright © 2021 American Express Company