Business finances can be tricky, but managing your finances doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Keep an eye on your company’s financial health with our checklist of essentials to keep your business in good shape and manage your finances like a pro.
1. Analyze your financial statements.
These financial statements are the keys to unlocking the narrative of your business’s financial health:
- Cash flow statement. Shows how your business manages its cash inflows and outflows.
- Profit and loss statement (income statement). Shows how much money your business made or lost during a specific period.
- Balance sheet. Shows what your business owns and owes at a particular point in time.
The numbers in these financial statements are more than just figures. Use them to calculate simple ratios to get a clearer picture of how your business is performing. Useful financial ratios include:
- Current Ratio: This balance sheet ratio tells you if you have enough funds to cover what you owe in the short term.
Current Ratio = Current Assets / Current Liabilities
- Debt-to-Equity Ratio: Use this balance sheet ratio to see how much of your business is funded by debt.
Debt-to-Equity Ratio = Total Debt ÷ Total Equity
- Gross Profit Margin: Using data from your profit and loss statement, you can see how much money you’re making from your sales once you’ve accounted for your costs.
Gross Profit Margin = (Revenue – Cost of Goods Sold) / Revenue
Tips & Tools: An accounting tool like QuickBooks, FreshBooks or Wave simplifies financial analysis by automatically calculating key ratios for you.
2. Compare budgeted numbers vs. actual numbers.
Seeing how your actual earnings and spending measure up against your budget provides a financial reality check. It shows where you’re on track and where things might be slipping through the cracks—and losing you money.
Keep an eye on funds coming in and going out each month. If you find that you’re spending more than you planned or not making as much in revenues as expected, you’ll know right away. This lets you make quick, informed decisions, like reducing unnecessary spending or figuring out how to increase sales.
Tips & Tools: Schedule email reminders or calendar alerts to set up a routine for reviewing your budget versus actuals at the end of each month.
3. Audit your expenses.
Take a close look at where your money goes each month. Pay special attention to recurring payments for expenses like software subscriptions, tech purchases and utility bills. These costs can quietly increase and take a bigger chunk out of your budget than you might expect.
When reviewing these costs, think about whether you really need each service—for example, accounting software or apps are typically worth their monthly fee because most small businesses use them regularly to help save both time and money—or if there’s a cheaper option that would fit your needs. Canceling a rarely used subscription or switching to a more affordable provider will help lower your expenses. These savings may seem small, but they can add up quickly.
Tips & Tools: Use a mobile app like Expensify, Emburse Certify or Shoeboxed to log receipts and track your business spending in real-time.
4. Monitor the timing of your cash flows.
Your cash flow statement comes in handy for checking in on how money flows in and out of your business. But there’s more you can do to keep your cash flows healthy, such as sending out invoices as soon as possible—and watching how quickly your customers pay these invoices.
If delays in payment are common, it might be time to review your payment terms. For example, you could offer early payment discounts or impose late fees to encourage faster payments. Regular follow-ups with customers who are slow to pay can also help speed up your payments.
Tips & Tools: For a smoother invoicing and payment process, create a system that covers everything involved: sending invoices, following up on payments, recording receipts promptly, and anything else that you need to do to get paid.
5. Practice proactive debt management.
Keep a detailed record of all your business debts. This includes how much you owe, who you owe and due dates for each payment. Careful record keeping helps you avoid missing payments and plan your finances.
To see how well you’re managing your debts, use this simple calculation: Divide your yearly profit (before interest and taxes) by your total yearly debt payments. A result of 1.25 or more means your business is earning enough to comfortably cover its debts. If the result is lower, you might need to adjust your spending or find ways to increase income.
Tips & Tools: If you have high-interest debts, consider using the “avalanche” debt management method, where you pay your highest-interest debt off first, then move to the next highest, until all your high-interest debts are cleared.
6. Optimize your inventory and vendor management.
Take a good look at how quickly your products are selling. If they’re not moving fast, you might be using up valuable space and money that could be better used elsewhere. To manage this, track how long each item sits on the shelves before it sells. Regularly adjust how much you order based on what sells fastest.
It’s also wise to think about where your products come from. Relying too much on one supplier can be risky: If that supplier runs into problems, you might run out of stock and disappoint your customers. Build a network of dependable sources by identifying alternate suppliers for your most important items. Then order small amounts from these new suppliers to test their reliability and product quality.
Tips & Tools: Use Excel or Google Sheets to create a spreadsheet to compare different suppliers’ reliability, delivery times and product quality.
7. Evaluate revenue streams.
Regularly reviewing your sources of revenue can help you understand how secure your business is financially. Does revenue come mostly from one source, or is it evenly spread out? If most of your revenue is tied to a single source—for example, if you own a bakery and most of your sales are from walk-in customers—it’s probably time to broaden your horizons.
Consider other ways you can make money; exploring new channels to generate income can give you a buffer against the unexpected. This could mean offering new products, tapping into different markets or using online platforms to reach more customers. For example, a bakery might explore working with food delivery apps or hosting baking classes to reduce its dependency on foot traffic.
Tips & Tools: Use online survey tools like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms to gather feedback from customers about what new products or services they’d like to see.
8. Review your employee compensation and benefits.
If you have employees, balancing your financial health with attractive compensation is important. You want to offer competitive and fair salary and benefits, but your compensation packages should also be sustainable for your business.
Each year, take some time to see how your wages and perks stack up against other local businesses. If you need to increase salaries to keep up, do it wisely. Make small adjustments to avoid going over your budget. And if you don’t have room in your budget, consider adding perks like flexible work hours instead.
Tips & Tools: Use online salary comparison tools on job and career sites like Monster and GlassDoor to ensure your compensation packages stay competitive within your industry.
9. Explore growth and investment opportunities.
Look at ways to grow your business that make sense for what you already do. For example, if you run a coffee shop, you might consider adding a line of coffee-making accessories. This expands what you offer without straying too far from your current setup. Make sure any new idea fits well with your overall direction and can be easily adopted without disrupting your current operations.
Before moving forward with any new idea, think about the costs involved and the money you expect it to bring in. Start small to help manage costs and test out ideas without a huge financial commitment. Understand when you might start seeing a return so you can keep your spending in check.
Tips & Tools: Regularly look at what your competitors are doing well and where they’re lacking. This can highlight where you might succeed by filling gaps or doing better.
10. Build and maintain an emergency fund.
An emergency fund is your safety net to keep your business running if unexpected costs come up. Start by figuring out how much money you’ll need in your fund. A good rule of thumb: You want your reserves to be able to cover at least three to six months of your usual business expenses, such as rent, utilities and salaries.
Once you know how much you need, plan out how you’ll save that amount. For example, you might decide to set aside a fixed percentage of your monthly income or save a set amount of money each month. Whatever strategy you choose, be consistent. Regular contributions are key to building your fund steadily over time.
Tips & Tools: Schedule automatic monthly transfers to your emergency fund to keep your safety net growing steadily.
By regularly working your way through this checklist, you can ensure your business finances stay organized and on track for success.
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