After you analyze the current cash situation and develop a forecast, you can focus on identifying the best ways to help clients adjust how they manage their cash flow. They’ll likely need to implement a combination of approaches to increase money coming in and decrease what they spend. As you did with the forecasting, use the data from key QuickBooks® reports to come up with recommended courses of action.
Increase money in
Speeding up existing revenue streams or finding new ones can give clients an infusion of cash that they can use immediately to continue running the business.
Accelerate accounts receivable
QuickBooks has several reports to help you quickly identify which customers have outstanding balances and who owes the most. You and your clients can then choose how to manage these accounts to increase cash on hand.
To see which customers owe the most, use the Open Invoices report.
For a detailed breakdown of how much each customer owes and the due dates, check the Customer Balance Detail report.
Explore relief funding options
There are many options available for eligible businesses and organizations to apply for loans, grants, and other funds. Intuit Aid Assist is a free resource to help you and your clients determine eligibility for the two largest federal relief programs for eligible businesses, the self-employed, and other organizations: the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan. For up-to-date information about state and local relief available in your area, check our state-by-state guide or SBA.gov.
Other ideas
You can work with your clients to implement creative ways to adjust their business models and increase their revenue options. Here are some ideas to get started:
- Set up a business for online sales
- Offer services remotely
- Use personalized invoices to speed up payments
Reduce money out
The less money clients spend, the longer their cash reserves will last. Several strategies can help clients manage their expenditures and have an immediate effect on their cash flow. If your clients use autopay for their bills, suggest that they turn it off until you prioritize the spending.
Lower or defer payments
Encourage clients to work with vendors, lenders, and government agencies to explore options for deferring payments or restructuring terms and rates. Use report data from QuickBooks to help your clients prioritize who to contact. Get tips on communicating with vendors
- Reduce fixed expenses: Large monthly expenses are the easiest to identify. Lowering them can have a substantial impact on available cash for the business.
- Rent: Use the rent or lease QuickReport to get the average monthly rent expenses.
- Insurance: Use the Transaction detail by account report to see monthly insurance expenses.
- Payroll: Help your clients assess a variety of options for managing their workforce. Or see if your clients qualify for a Paycheck Protection Program loan to help keep workers on payroll.
- Check current bill status: It may be most helpful to start with the bills that are already due. Vendors may be flexible on timing or be able to offer payment plans.
- For a snapshot of due and overdue bills, use the Unpaid bills report .
- To see how much your client owes each of their vendors, use the Expenses by vendor summary report .
- Explore options to defer loans and taxes.
- To identify lenders or other note-holders to contact about deferring loan payments, use the Transaction detail by account report.
- For a list of the client’s tax agencies, use the Taxable sales detail report.
- To calculate how much payroll tax the client pays, use the Total payroll cost report.
Cut back discretionary spending
There’s a wide range of expenses that clients can control. Identifying items that aren’t necessary—either in the short term or at all—can alleviate some of the stress around negatively affecting cash flow. If your clients use autopay for their bills, suggest that they turn it off until you prioritize the spending.
- Recurring expenses: Clients likely have monthly or quarterly expenditures that aren’t necessary in the short term. They may be able to cancel or suspend supply orders, subscriptions, or memberships. You can help clients find potential savings by identifying recurring transaction patterns. To see all transactions for a specific time period, grouped by vendor, run a Transaction list by vendor report.
- Marketing and advertising: Marketing budgets typically have some flexibility, and clients should be able to adjust them for the next few months. To see average spending, use the Transaction detail by account report.
- Meals and entertainment: Suggest that clients minimize spending in this area for the next few months. Use the Transaction detail by account report to see average meal expenses.
Loan and forgiveness calculations and eligibility may vary. Refer to the SBA.gov for information about your particular situation.
Relief programs are evolving regularly. Please visit SBA.gov or https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/top-priorities/cares-act/assistance-for-small-businesses for the most up to date information. The federal relief funding described is made available to businesses located in the United States of America and are not available in other locations
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