Cash Flow Problems? Why Does My Business Always Feel Cash-Strapped at Month-End, Even When Revenue’s Up?

When your dashboards don’t tell the whole story, you are running your business blind.

If you are making spending decisions based on the numbers you see in your bank balance, your P&L, your CRM, or a mix of all three, you are running blind.

These dashboards might make you feel like you have the full picture, but they do not show:

• What is already committed

• What is due in and when it will arrive

• What is due out before that money arrives

• How timing differences will impact your bank balance

  
  

This is the number one reason I see otherwise healthy businesses still feeling broke at month-end.

Here is the fix, and the steps that actually make it work in real life.

1. Stop using your bank balance, your P&L, or your CRM dashboard as your guide

Each of these gives you only part of the picture. Your bank shows cash now, your P&L focuses on profit not cash, and your CRM shows expected income that may not arrive when planned.

The only way to get a clear view is to use a rolling cashflow forecast. Even a simple spreadsheet will do. It should map expected income and outgoings over the next few months so you can make decisions with the full picture.

If you want, you can use a free template for this – but remember, that is just the first step.

2. Monitor forecast against actuals every month

Most businesses stop at “create a forecast” and never check if reality matched the plan. Without monitoring, the forecast becomes guesswork.

Each month, compare your forecast to what actually happened. This shows you:

• Where income fell short

• Where expenses were higher than expected

• Which costs or delays you did not see coming

  
  

Over time, this makes your forecasts more accurate and gives you the first real sense of control.

3. Make sure your actuals are accurate

A forecast is useless if the numbers you are comparing it to are wrong. This is where financial controls come in.

Check every month:

• Bank reconciliations – does your accounting system match your bank?

• Accounts payable – are there old supplier bills that are not real?

• Accounts receivable – are there invoices marked unpaid that have been paid?

• Apps reconciliation – if you use Stripe, GoCardless, PayPal, Shopify, etc., do they reconcile with your bank?

• CRM to finance – does your customer and sales data match your invoicing and accounts?

  
  

Without this, you are basing decisions on false information.

4. Analyse the variances and act

Once you have clean actuals, compare them to your forecast and look for patterns.

Ask yourself:

• Was the gap caused by a one-off event or something that will happen again?

• Do you need to adjust sales targets, pricing, or cost controls?

• Is the issue operational, such as slow fulfilment or high staff turnover?

  
  

The metrics you track here should be tailored to your business and your goals. They should help you understand what drives your cash position and allow you to act before problems escalate.

The takeaway

Treating your bank balance, P&L, or CRM as the full picture is the fastest way to suffer from cash flow problems.

To fix it, you need:

1. A forecast that looks ahead

2. Monthly monitoring against actuals

3. Accurate actuals based on strong controls

4. Action on the differences you find

   
   

That is the process we follow in the Alvido Diagnostic. We do not just hand you a template, we make sure you have the systems, processes and controls in place so your cash position is never a surprise again.

Book your free Alvido Diagnostic