Those who...
1. Track everything
2. Track nothing
Whether ignorance or information overload - neither is ideal.
Instead, choose fewer, but more meaningful KPIs.
The #1 reason a company fails:
Cash flow issues.
Track this metric to thrive:🧵
Those who...
1. Track everything
2. Track nothing
Whether ignorance or information overload - neither is ideal.
Instead, choose fewer, but more meaningful KPIs.
The info can be applied to:
1. Finance
2. Operations
3. Customer Management
One centralized KPI keeps departments working together.
The best part?
It's centered around cash.
The time (in days) it takes a dollar to go from product or service to cash in the bank.
Note: CCC is used for inventory investments, but the service equivalent is called:
Service-to-Cash Cycle.
Same principles, so we'll use CCC for simplicity.
In days, and...
Above 0 = longer to sell & collect cash than to pay vendors.
Below 0 = faster to sell & collect cash than to pay vendors.
The lower, the better.
Higher numbers indicate current or future cash flow issues.
How is it used across departments?
Strong CCC means there is cash to fuel growth.
Without it, growth must be financed.
It's risky - with larger receivables, comes larger payables.
When bills are due & there's no cash...
You know what happens.
Make cash collection a priority & finance teams can analyze new opportunities instead of restructuring debt.
Collecting cash quickly is a function of operational efficiency.
Product/service, sales, A/R, & A/P teams must be working together with accurate and timely information.
This is easier said than done.
Low CCC = effective management.
Getting great payment terms from customers & vendors requires quality relationship management.
Consistency, reliability, & being liked will dramatically improve the cash position.
Treat them well and be clear with expectations.
Extremely.
Harvard Business Review credits a negative CCC for Amazon's survival of Dot Com bust.
By collecting before spending, sustainable growth was possible.
Competition was financing product purchases, hoping to collect.
A viscous cycle.
With my SEO company, Bright Line Media, I collect cash 21 days before I owe vendors.
It wasn't always this way.
I once paid a vendor 2X before getting paid and it prompted change.
Here's what I did:
1. Payment date to the 5th
2. Must pay via Stripe
3. NO physical checks
Receivables, solved.
I negotiated better payment terms by always paying on time & promising to pay via ACH (no fees).
Payment Date 26th.
21 Days from collection to payment.
New sales enter into this cycle & never incur an out of pocket cost.
Quick Summary:
1. Don't overproduce / hire
2. Collect cash quickly
3. Set consistent payable cadence
4. Cross department communication
Build a healthy company - on the cash you're owed!
Follow me @barrettjoneill for more on business, growth, & SEO.
More from Barrett O'Neill
More from Accounting
MCap is a function of market sentiments. Balance sheet, cash flows, R&D execution, talent acquisition, regulatory compliance, M&As and so on....are a function of management/governance. Never mix the business with the stock. Stock is not the business. Business is not the stock :)
It's simple, if ""FY23 PAT of this API to CDMO = FY21 PAT of largest pure-play CDMO/API"" then the FY23 Mcap of this API/CDMO= FY21 Mcap of largest pure-play CDMO/API, am I correct Sajal saab??
— richman (@greatrichman3) June 14, 2021
You May Also Like
I’m torn on how to approach the idea of luck. I’m the first to admit that I am one of the luckiest people on the planet. To be born into a prosperous American family in 1960 with smart parents is to start life on third base. The odds against my very existence are astronomical.
I’ve always felt that the luckiest people I know had a talent for recognizing circumstances, not of their own making, that were conducive to a favorable outcome and their ability to quickly take advantage of them.
In other words, dumb luck was just that, it required no awareness on the person’s part, whereas “smart” luck involved awareness followed by action before the circumstances changed.
So, was I “lucky” to be born when I was—nothing I had any control over—and that I came of age just as huge databases and computers were advancing to the point where I could use those tools to write “What Works on Wall Street?” Absolutely.
Was I lucky to start my stock market investments near the peak of interest rates which allowed me to spend the majority of my adult life in a falling rate environment? Yup.
Ironies of Luck https://t.co/5BPWGbAxFi
— Morgan Housel (@morganhousel) March 14, 2018
"Luck is the flip side of risk. They are mirrored cousins, driven by the same thing: You are one person in a 7 billion player game, and the accidental impact of other people\u2019s actions can be more consequential than your own."
I’ve always felt that the luckiest people I know had a talent for recognizing circumstances, not of their own making, that were conducive to a favorable outcome and their ability to quickly take advantage of them.
In other words, dumb luck was just that, it required no awareness on the person’s part, whereas “smart” luck involved awareness followed by action before the circumstances changed.
So, was I “lucky” to be born when I was—nothing I had any control over—and that I came of age just as huge databases and computers were advancing to the point where I could use those tools to write “What Works on Wall Street?” Absolutely.
Was I lucky to start my stock market investments near the peak of interest rates which allowed me to spend the majority of my adult life in a falling rate environment? Yup.
