The fourth cause of poor cashflow - Your debt or capital structure

Anna Stubbs • April 19, 2024

Often a reduction in interest charges as well as significant cashflow improvements can be achieved with a regular review of existing debt.

A good place to start is to list all bank loans, mortgages, finance company loans, hire purchases, credit card debts, and any other debts (don’t include amounts owed to suppliers in this list). Add columns to cover:

  • The amount of the debt owed
  • The interest rate being charged
  • Whether the interest is charged on a fixed or floating rate basis
  • Repayment terms (the number of years the debt is to be repaid over)


Perhaps your debt can be consolidated, financed by one lender and paid off over a longer term. This will help you retain more cash in the business which is vital for growth (or even just to cover expenses and your drawings).

Are the drawings you take from the business for personal expenses placing pressure on cashflow? If so, that might mean that we need to look at strategies to lift the profitability of the business. It might mean that your drawings are just too high for the business to support right now. The business may need an injection of capital to fund its growth.

Here’s an interesting exercise for you to do. List out your annual personal expenditure in detailed categories; everything from rent, childcare, groceries and eating out. You may need to prepare yourself for a shock. If you’re serious about this, we have a Personal Budget Template that you can use to make life easier.

Getting your debt and capital structure right makes a big difference to the cashflow in your business. This is a subject that we have a lot of experience in. The first step is to prepare an updated personal budget and a Cashflow Forecast, then measure the extra cash the business will have as a result of making some simple changes. We can help you calculate this extra cash at our Cashflow & Profit Improvement Meeting.

Doing a forecast for the first time seems scary, but once you’ve done it, you’ll realise that it’s one of the most essential business tools you’ll ever put in place. We can do the forecast with you. You’ll sleep better for it!

Bringing your cashflow processes into the digital age

By Anna Stubbs • July 2, 2025
Keeping on top of your cashflow is even more important during tough economic times.  With global uncertainty, recent high inflation, energy prices soaring, supply chain challenges, cash is likely to be tight over the coming year. Cloud technology and fintech apps, can give your business the best possible control over its cash.

Making your business work for you: making enough to retire

By Anna Stubbs • July 2, 2025
You may love running your business. But in the back of every owner’s mind is the knowledge that one day you’ll need to sell the company and retire. But with global markets in upheaval and the future less certain than ever before, how can you guarantee that your business will be worth enough on the open market for you to retire? In this series, we’ll look at the core ways your business can be structured to deliver on your own personal, family, philanthropic and leisure goals, now and into retirement.

Business tips: Budgeting and managing cashflow

By Anna Stubbs • July 2, 2025
If you want to stabilise your finances and grow the business, working to strict budgets becomes a necessity. Managing the cashflow twists and turns of a project can be hard work. But it’s easier to do when you have an agreed budget and can track your spending and performance.  So, what’s the best way to stay in control of the budgets you’ve set? And how can you manage your cashflow position to make sure there’s always enough cash to fund the project?