Explanation · Money
How much can you pay yourself without leaving the business short?
Connect your household needs with the business’s upcoming commitments, and distinguish the amount you can fund from the correct way to pay it.
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Tax masterclass: eight lessons with worked examples · Business calendar
Explanation · Money
How much do you need to sell to cover the cost of being open?
Turn prices and costs into a sales target, then check whether demand, working hours and cash can support it.
Explanation · Money
A 30% markup is not a 30% margin
The same sale can produce two different percentages. Learn which amount each uses and why the costs you include matter just as much.
Explanation · Money
The work is finished. Why are you still waiting to be paid?
Find out whether an invoice is missing information, waiting for approval or disputed, and what the delay means for your next payment commitments.
Explanation · People
Can the business afford another employee?
Look beyond the wage to training, supervision and the work a new person can take on. Test the plan through a slow start and a quiet month.
Explanation · Operations
Is the cheaper supplier actually cheaper?
Compare usable quantities, delivery, preparation and payment terms before treating a lower quote as a saving.
Explanation · Operations
Your shelves are full. Where did the cash go?
Separate stock that protects service from stock that ties up money, and test whether a bulk discount is worth the extra purchase.
Explanation · Marketing
Will a discount bring useful sales or just cheaper ones?
A busy promotion can leave less money behind. Compare additional demand, contribution and the customers who would have paid full price.
Explanation · Marketing
Customers try the business. What brings them back?
Follow what happens after the first purchase, compare customers fairly and find the obstacle before creating another reward or offer.
Explanation · Leadership
Can you take more orders without making the business worse?
Find where work waits, compare the demands of different jobs and decide what you can promise without disappointing existing customers.
Explanation · Money
The business is busy. Why is cash still tight?
Sales, profit, and available cash move at different times. Find the week when the business may need to act.
Current briefing · Money
The Federal Reserve raised its rate. Your borrowing rate is a different number.
The federal funds target is now 3.75% to 4.00%. A business loan still depends on its own benchmark, margin, terms, and risk.
Current briefing · Money
Consumer prices rose 0.4% in August. Your costs may have moved differently.
The national consumer index is context. Pricing decisions still require the business’s own invoices, usage, payroll, and margins.
Current briefing · Operations
Businesses reported pressure on revenue while input prices stayed high
The Census revenue index is 41.9 and its current input-price index is 69.4 for data through September 6.
Editorial · Leadership
A business can outgrow the way its founder makes decisions
Handing over tasks still leaves you with the decisions unless people know what they can approve, the limits and the information they need.
Explanation · Money
How much cash should a business keep available?
Use upcoming bills, expected customer payments and possible delays to work out how much cash the business needs to keep available.
Explanation · Money
Will a price increase improve the business?
Compare what sales leave after direct costs at each price. Then calculate how many sales you could lose before the price increase leaves you worse off.
Explanation · Starting
What records should exist from the first sale?
Keep enough evidence to trace what happened, what was collected or paid, how it reached the books, and why it belongs to the business.
Explanation · Leadership
What should a first manager decide without the owner?
Agree on what the manager can decide, the limits, what to record, when to ask for help and how you will review the results.
Explanation · Operations
Why does service change when the owner is away?
A missing order or three different answers can reveal a gap in information, training or capacity. Find the cause before adding another rule.
Explanation · Marketing
People like the idea. Will they pay for it?
Find out what people already do about the problem and whether they will commit time or money to your solution. Compliments alone do not establish demand.
Explanation · Marketing
What does one new customer actually cost?
Count the costs and new customers over the same period, then compare the cost per customer with what their purchases leave after direct costs.
Explanation · Technology
What should be written down before buying software?
Write down the tasks, users, records, access rules, costs and risks. Decide how you will test the product and recover your data if you leave.
Editorial · Leadership
Growth creates more work before it creates a stronger company
More customers and staff can increase coordination, training and cash needs. Understand what must change for the business to handle the extra work.
Editorial · Technology
Why new software may not fix the problem
Work out whether the problem comes from unclear responsibilities, missing instructions or the software itself. Then decide what needs to change.
Working tool · Money
13-week cash workbook
Enter dated receipts and required payments to find the lowest projected balance before it becomes an emergency.
Working tool · Money
Price change calculator
Compare current and proposed contribution, the units needed to preserve the current result, and the effect of an expected volume change.
Working tool · Leadership
Weekly owner sheet
Keep current facts, decisions, responsible people, limits, due dates, and unresolved work in one weekly view.
Working tool · Marketing
Customer interview record
Record what happened the last time a customer faced the problem, what they tried, what it cost, and what commitment came next.