Business and Financial Guru

. Sales are pretty good but getting the money in is the hard part. If you are spending too much of your time juggling funds you have probably got a cash flow problem and this can be distracting for business.

All of a sudden the vast majority of your energy is spent chasing money rather than making money. You need to take control of your cash flow; perhaps it means being more careful and specific about your trading terms with clients. Perhaps it means having someone else control this side of the business so you can get on with making money.

Perhaps your debts need to be restructured or reorganised or you may need an overdraft to smooth out the cash flow position. Whatever situation you are in, if you are constantly waiting to get paid and you can’t pay bills, you need to do something about it. Start with your accountant—they should be able to give you some good advice.

You may need to hire the services of a credit controller whose main job is to make sure your money is flowing in rather than dribbling in, but you certainly need to address the situation. Winning businesses need the undivided attention of the business owner and entrepreneur to grow and if their time is being used to chase debts the business will never be able to reach its full potential.