Manage Your Cash Flows Better To Maintain A Profitable Business

Management of cash flows is critical for maintaining a healthy business. For a company to prosper, there is a lot more than just profit that needs to be tracked. You need to have effectively balanced books, visibility over everything like payroll to day to day expenses. In short, cash flows have the potential to make or break a business. If a company is struggling with the cash flow, then they will not be able to maintain an inventory, payout wages or make any investments. This is where cash flow software can help you track and manage your finances.

What is cash flow management software and why should you use it?

Calculating and managing cash flow manually is possible but it is a time-consuming, error-prone and resource-intensive process. A software like Monite can help you aggregate all your financial data in one place and generate efficient cash flow statements. 

You must be wondering why change something that is working fine. Well there are more than enough reasons for you to implement a cash flow software. It offers numerous benefits, some of which are:

• Real-time access to data to empower your decisions. You just need to open the tool, run the report and in seconds you will have the entire information. With updated information, you will be able to see sources from where cash is coming in and where it is going out.
• If you do not know your cash flow well, decisions to invest and leverage opportunities become very complex. With robust cash flow data which is updated real-time you can confidently make business decisions, while knowing how much cash you have left.
• The system helps you save time and money. There is an initial investment cost, but you will save on various recurring costs related to generation of reports and statements.
• It is very easy and common for cash flow problems to spiral out of control, which results in unpaid invoices and unhappy suppliers. This can cause damage to your reputation and partnerships. With a good software you can schedule invoices and plan for payment in advance.

Tips for choosing the right cash flow management software

With so many options available in the market and so many criteria to consider the decision of choosing the right software can become overwhelming. Here are some tips and factors that you must consider while evaluating and comparing different tools:

• Customization possible: Cash flow management software will help you run your day-to-day operations, therefore the extent of customization possible is an important criterion to consider. Check for the possibility of including specific items as per your requirement.
• Ease of use: The tool must be user-friendly and have an easy to understand navigation. It is important that it is intuitive and helps you save time. 
• Multi-user access and tiered access: In a business multiple people will need to have access to the system. However, to ensure data security tiered access is also important. Check for these features before you buy the tool.
• Data security: The software will process sensitive information and so it must have all security features. Check for SSL certificate and other important data security norms.
• Multi-currency support: For businesses with global presence, it is important that the tool has multi-currency support. Automatic application of exchange rates and fees will help you save time and achieve greater accuracy.
• Customer support: Even though the need for customer service will be rare, but you may need their support to optimize the tool or improve user experience. So, look for a tool that provides good customer support.

Apart from the above factors, you must ask for a detailed demo of the tool and a trial access. This will help you confirm all the above factors and make decision making easier. Selecting the right tool is the first and most important step in the journey of managing your cash flows automatically. So, you must spend enough time in conducting due diligence in this area.

If you intend to implement a cash flow management software in your company, you must get the buy-in of all key stakeholders. Show them the potential benefit of the tool, identify the potential hurdles with the accounting and technology teams and identify a project manager. If you own a large business, you can spread out the implementation into phases with clearly defined timelines.