Cashflow mistakes

It’s been a busy couple of weeks here at GoodOaks, with some interesting conversations with prospective partners looking to open new GoodOaks locations. Some of those conversations have included reviewing cashflow forecasts, which got me thinking about some of the common issues we see.

Over the years I’ve seen a fair few cashflow forecasts. Some are things of beauty, others are dangerously inaccurate or incomplete. 

For those approaching their first cashflow forecast, here’s 5 key takeaways: 

1. You won’t get your income in the month you did the work in. If you deliver 100 hours of care in July, and charge £35ph, you’re not going to get 100 x £35 in your bank account in July. Care businesses generally invoice in arrears as there is often variation between the planned visits and what actually happens. If you invoice every two weeks, and payment terms are another two weeks, you’ll get most of July’s money in August (and that’s if there aren’t any issues with payment). There’s ways to minimise this headache through taking deposits, setting up Direct Debits, etc, and we support our Franchise Partners with this.
2. Not accounting for your own drawings. If you need to take money out of the business to pay your bills, it needs to be in the cashflow forecast. 
3. Your costs grow as your income grows (but not as fast) – factor in increasing software costs, insurance premiums, CQC fees, office salaries etc. There will be times where new office hires might be essential for growth, but might temporarily make your business cashflow negative while you increase your client base.
4. Get someone experienced to look it over – in your business you’ll have known knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. It’s the last ones that are most dangerous. By partnering with a franchise like GoodOaks, you’ll be able to reduce the unknown unknowns by working with an experienced, transparent team who’ll tell you what you need to know, warts and all.
5. Personally, I’d always verge on pessimism rather than optimism. The cashflow forecast is there to tell you whether the business is viable, rather than motivating you to smash through new records of turnover and profit. You want the cashflow forecast to show that even if you do under-perform, you can get through that tricky period into the sunny uplands of breakeven and eventually profitability. You don’t want to rely on being in the top 10% of performers to make the numbers stack up.

Not sure where to start with a cashflow forecast? It’s all part of the service with us; our independent business coach will talk you through it, and you’ll plug your numbers into our model forecast to create something bespoke for you and your area of operation.

As always, if you’d like to find out more about homecare start-up, franchising, or GoodOaks, simply book a call with me.

Best wishes, Ben.