The Fuel Accounting blog page

Wait, what? Am I telling you that you need more than one bank account? Yes, I am!! Remember how our grandparents did finances? The paycheck got cashed, and the money came home and was put into separate envelopes: Rent, Food, Clothing, etc.

Funnel cakes, funnel clouds, sales funnels, there are funnels all around us… You’ve probably been hearing this term used a lot lately, along with a sales pipeline. There are many confusing definitions surrounding this area. A sales funnel and a sales pipeline are really two things describing one thing: So let’s land the plane here and make it simple. 

We’ve been through so much turmoil in the last 3 years.  So what is the forecast for this year?  While we don’t have a crystal ball, here are Peter’s predictions for 2024. Inflation is going to continue to be a problem:  Wage growth is going to continue – probably stronger than in the past few years as the population continues to struggle with the ravages of increases in the cost of basics such as food and housing. 

Well, have you been thinking about your goals? Oh wait, are you one of those people that believe in New Year’s Resolutions? I used to be one of those myself. But I’ve since learned the difference between a wish and a plan. So what is the difference between a wish and a plan? 

Did you see the article about bank financing? If not, go back and read it, please. Ok, are you back now? Great!! Let’s talk turkey (which is appropriate to do since we recently celebrated Thanksgiving). Dealing with banks can be challenging. It seems like they are always willing to lend us money when we don’t need it. And that’s why it’s important to have a good relationship with a commercial lender.

We are debt averse in general. Borrowing money should be the choice of last resort, not first. But there are times where capital is needed and the business does not have sufficient time to generate the capital needed through its regular operations. In that case, borrowing might be useful. But you’d better have a good reason to go down this road. There are several reasons to borrow money:

Great question!! And it can be a complex one too… There are two considerations that must be factored in: What are you worth as an employee of your company?  If you needed to hire someone to do all the work you do, how much would you have to pay them? I’m certain it would not be minimum wage, right? You provide much more value than that. 

Excuse me for being obvious. If you ride a rocking horse long enough, you’ll end up creating a rut from repeating the same motion over and over. In other words, things that don’t change stay the same. And over time, inertia makes it more and more difficult to change. Feel stuck (like you’re in a rut)? Are you ready to get out? First, you must accept two business truths.

The famous economist Milton Friedman once once made this observation. This article is all about understanding how to make your business system function more effectively from a cash management point of view. There is no way we can make a pencil. Why? Well silly, think of all the skills needed between wood working, making the eraser, the lead, paint, lettering, the metal part holding the eraser.

Sometimes it’s cheaper (or you have no choice) to pay for recurring expenses (such as insurance or software subscriptions annually rather than monthly.  Now this can mess up your cash flow a bit, but if you plan it right you can get both the savings and a smooth cash flow (see my Top 10 Tips to Save Money on your Software Subscriptions article).