Cash Flow Forecasting Solution

We all know that cash flow is the life blood of our business (whether you’re a contractor or a CPA firm).  For those of you that do forecasting, I’ve noticed that Microsoft Excel is popular.   But are we  spending hours on formulas, creating multiple worksheets and successfully extrapolating all the data accurately and efficiently?  Do we roll over data to forecast the next 6 months with a mouse click or spend 30+ minutes performing cut & pastes?  Can we create what-if scenarios that help us to understand the impact of changes in expenses, sales or receivables collection? Do you know how long your cash will last?

It’s not unusual for a CFO, controller or outside consultant to develop a company’s sales forecast from a marketing plan developed in an Excel™ spreadsheet, then drop the numbers into the company’s forecast. A time consuming process! The time consumed is the task of developing the sales numbers as it relates to a marketing campaign.

I found a better  tool that looks like Excel in many respects but has the bells and whistles that a CFO, financial manager, controller and the CPA professional will appreciate.  To see your future rather than the past, to become more goal oriented,  take a peek at Up Your Cash Flow (UYCF).

UYCF can be used on all types of business and it has specific features that contractors will appreciate like revenue and collection using % of completion to provide net revenue analysis,  job cash flow analysis, credit availability data and 5 year forecasts for your Balance Sheet,  Profit & Loss Statement, and Cash Flows.   If you have multiple businesses or numerous clients you can analyze up to 98 entities and then compare 5 of them at a time.  Annual ratios and footnoted assumptions will explain how your numbers were calculated in layman’s terms so the executive can understand the report contents.  Should you need to manage cash more closely, one to thirteen week “weekly” cash flow forecasting capabilities are built-in.

The need for developing “dynamic financial plans” that will both change as facts and circumstances change and also allow management and their counsel to predict and manage the future financial activities of the business is paramount for survival.  You must develop and manage a “dynamic financial plan” that will  increase cash flow, profitability, and help management foresee its financial future today.  I hope this helps you and I expect to see you all still contracting or consulting the construction industry in 2010, 2012 and beyond.