Free Cash Flow Health Check
Profitable business. Tight cash flow. What’s going on?
Our free Cash Flow Health Check analyzes your accounting data and identifies what is putting pressure on your cash flow — in a few minutes, with a read-only QuickBooks Online connection and no data stored.
10
cash flow metrics
scored across four key areas
2
immediate actions
for every red metric you get
0
spreadsheets
no manual data entry required
What you get
An overall score, and a clear picture of why
Our Cash Flow Health Check will give you an overall health score, so you know how well your business is doing when it comes to maintaining positive cash flow. It then breaks down where things are going well, and where things need some time & attention to improve. When the health check identifies an area of concern, it also provides a few actionable next steps to implement quick improvements. An example health check can be found below.
Who is this for?
Cash feels tight, even though the income statement says you’re profitable
Your business may have a cash flow problem if:
- Revenue is growing, but your bank account isn't
- You regularly wonder if you have enough cash to cover payroll, tax obligations, and upcoming bills
- Your customers are slow to pay, and you often need to chase them for payment
- You are often dipping into your line of credit to cover expenses
- Unexpected expenses cause a spike of stress and anxiety
- You make financial decisions based on what is in your bank account at the time
- Cash feels tight, but you aren't sure why
If any of the above sound familiar, our Cash Flow Health Check will help you identify where & how you can improve the cash situation in your business.
How does it work?
Three easy steps
- 1
Connect your QuickBooks Online account
Right now, the health check only works with QuickBooks Online, but we will be launching a Xero version shortly. We do not store any data from your accounting records.
- 2
We analyze your numbers
The health check evaluates the financial indicators that have the biggest impact on your cash flow.
- 3
Get your Cash Flow Health Check
You get to see what is healthy, what needs attention, and some practical ways to start improving cash flow immediately.
The health check only takes a few minutes and doesn’t require any manual data entry or complicated spreadsheets. Simply connect QuickBooks Online and review your report.
What does it look at?
Four questions every owner should be able to answer
Can I cover my bills?
Do you have enough cash to comfortably meet obligations? Looks at:
Cash runway
How many months you could keep paying the bills if income stopped today.
Quick ratio
Whether the cash and receivables you can access quickly cover what's due soon.
Working capital
The cushion left over once short-term obligations are paid.
Am I generating cash?
Is the business consistently turning its operations into cash? Looks at:
Operating cash flow margin
How much of every sales dollar actually turns into cash from operations.
Net cash flow
Whether more cash came in than went out over the period.
Gross margin
How much is left after direct costs to fund everything else and build cash.
Is cash getting stuck?
How effectively are you collecting from customers and managing payments to suppliers? Looks at:
AR days outstanding
How long, on average, customers take to pay you.
% of AR over 60 days
How much of what you're owed has gone stale and is at risk of not landing.
AP days outstanding
How long you take to pay suppliers, and whether that timing works for you.
Am I prepared for upcoming obligations?
Are you setting aside enough cash for obligations that may not be due yet? Looks at estimated upcoming income tax obligations specifically. Tax bills are predictable, but easy to be caught short on when cash isn't set aside ahead of time.
How does scoring work?
Simple scoring, so you know what needs attention
This part of your cash flow is performing well; no immediate changes needed.
There is room for improvement here; important to keep an eye on so it doesn't turn into an issue.
This is likely where cash flow pressure is coming from and needs some changes to improve your cash situation.
For every red metric, we’ll give you two immediate actions you can take to start improving your cash flow situation.
Your accounting data is secure
While the Cash Flow Health Check does connect to your accounting system, we do not store or have access to your confidential information. Our tool gets read-only access and only pulls a set of predefined numbers from your accounting system to calculate the cash flow metrics.
By connecting to the Cash Flow Health Check, you are not giving Bright Line access to all of your accounting data, and our team cannot login to your accounting system to make any changes. Our tool works by connecting as an app from the Intuit/Xero app store, and can be disconnected by you as soon as you are done using the tool.
What to do next?
Scores tell you where the problems are. We help you fix them.
Cash Flow Diagnostic
The Cash Flow Health Check is designed to identify areas of improvement that deserve your attention. While we do give you some immediate actionable solutions for problem areas, if you want to go deeper, our Cash Flow Diagnostic looks beyond the metrics and digs into what is actually causing problems with your cash flow. After the Cash Flow Diagnostic, you’ll have a customized 90-day action plan for your business that will address the top 3 cash flow problem areas in your business.
Ongoing controllership
Looking for ongoing help with cash flow? We have financial controllers on staff who can help you to implement your 90-day action plan. We can also provide fractional controllership services to your business. Our fractional controllership services include things like customized monthly reporting with a focus on cash flow, budgeting & forecasting to set cash flow goals and track how they are going, and regular financial health review meetings.