Six article topics for Palestine, TX owners, plus three cash-flow notes: timing a tire machine repair at an auto repair shop, a forecast that starts from an HVAC contractor's parts shelves, and an invented 13-week cash table for a retail store with a software renewal in week 8.
How can a business improve cash flow? Timing a tire machine repair at an Anderson County, TX auto repair shop
A tire machine that stops working mid-week is two costs at once: the repair invoice and the tire jobs that wait until it runs again. How the shop pays for the repair decides whether the next payroll still clears. Five moves an Anderson County, TX auto repair shop controls:
- Pay the repair from the account when the balance after it still covers the next payroll
- Ask the repair company whether it bills on 30-day terms, which moves the invoice past the next round of customer payments
- Collect at pickup on every ticket instead of billing account customers at month end
- Draw on a line of credit for the repair and pay it down as the delayed tire jobs are paid
- Fold the repair into a working capital loan when it lands in the same weeks as a parts order
A machine that needs replacing rather than repair is an equipment financing request.
How to prepare a cash flow forecast for a Palestine, TX HVAC contractor, starting from the parts on its shelves
A Palestine, TX HVAC contractor's forecast can start from the stock it already owns, because those parts are cash already spent on jobs not yet billed:
- Count the condensers, coils and fittings on the shelves and note the booked job each one is set aside for
- Write down the date each of those jobs can be invoiced and the date its customer is expected to pay
- Add the supply-house orders the booked jobs still need, on the dates the supply house wants its money
- Add payroll on its real paydays, then the van payments, insurance and rent
- Carry today's bank balance forward week by week through every line
- Find the week the running total drops under the next payroll amount: that date and the shortfall are what to call about
Parts bought for jobs and paid back as the jobs are paid is the pattern a business line of credit follows; one large stock purchase fits inventory financing instead.
A 13-week cash flow forecast for a Palestine, TX retail store, with a software renewal landing in week 8
Illustration only, invented figures: a Palestine, TX retail store starts the quarter with $12,600 in the bank, pays $7,400 of payroll in odd-numbered weeks, $3,300 to suppliers in a normal week and $8,900 in week 6 for a reorder, $3,250 of rent every fourth week starting in week 1, and $4,680 for its yearly point-of-sale software renewal in week 8.
| Week | Deposits | Payroll | Suppliers | Rent and renewals | Ending balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | $8,600 | $7,400 | $3,300 | $3,250 | $7,250 |
| Week 2 | $9,100 | - | $3,300 | - | $13,050 |
| Week 3 | $8,400 | $7,400 | $3,300 | - | $10,750 |
| Week 4 | $9,800 | - | $3,300 | - | $17,250 |
| Week 5 | $8,700 | $7,400 | $3,300 | $3,250 | $12,000 |
| Week 6 | $8,900 | - | $8,900 | - | $12,000 |
| Week 7 | $8,300 | $7,400 | $3,300 | - | $9,600 |
| Week 8 | $9,300 | - | $3,300 | $4,680 | $10,920 |
| Week 9 | $8,500 | $7,400 | $3,300 | $3,250 | $5,470 |
| Week 10 | $9,000 | - | $3,300 | - | $11,170 |
| Week 11 | $8,600 | $7,400 | $3,300 | - | $9,070 |
| Week 12 | $10,200 | - | $3,300 | - | $15,970 |
| Week 13 | $8,800 | $7,400 | $3,300 | $3,250 | $10,820 |
In this invented table the renewal week itself ends at $10,920, so week 8 does not look like the problem. Week 9 is: payroll and rent fall in the same week right after the renewal, and the balance ends at $5,470, the smallest ending balance in the 13 weeks. Without the renewal, week 9 would end at $10,150 (our arithmetic).
Spreading the renewal into monthly charges, if the software company offers that, or a short draw on a line of credit paid back in weeks 10 and 12 are two ways to lift that week.
Six article topics for Palestine, TX businesses, from medical office loans to rate factors
The six article topics on this blog, each tied to a cost covered on the product pages:
- Medical office loans for a Palestine, TX physician office moving to a leased suite
- Where Palestine, TX restaurants find funding for a prep station, a catering order and a holding cabinet
- Term loans for Palestine, TX businesses: a home health agency matches the term to its cars and tablets
- After buying a store or an engineering office in Palestine, TX: the first costs a new owner funds
- Applying for a small business loan in Palestine, TX: a landscaping company sizes a second crew
- Business loan rate factors, with two dental scanner offers compared on total cost
Each article links back to the product pages its costs belong on, such as the term loans page and the working capital page.
By Eaglerock Business Capital · Updated