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A business owner’s guide to understanding and working with the profit and loss statement [Part 2/4]

Creative CFP

The profit and loss statement (or P&L in accounting jargon) is arguably the central management statement for most SMEs, recording the majority of operational activities over any period of time, usually monthly. For revenue, ensure that you have a streamlined process for your invoicing and payment platforms.

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Tea Leaves and Financial Statements – Something in Common?

CFO Simplified

Look at these scenarios, and see if any sound familiar to you: An internet sales company showed financial reports with huge profits for three straight months, and then suddenly, huge losses during the next few. A services-based company sent out annual invoices in January and February. It’s that simple.

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Report: One In Seven UK SMBs Hit By Invoice Fraud

PYMNTS

Barclays said this week that as many as one in seven small businesses (SMBs) have been victimized by invoice fraud within the past 12 months. The report found that the scams may have been prevented with a bit of additional effort, as Barclays noted that only 25 percent of SMB employees double-checked the invoices with others at the firm.

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Protecting Your Law Firm

CFO Simplified

But what’s missing is the “home care” that’s needed to make sure that their firm is running efficiently and profitably. Financial Management: Many lawyers lack formal training in financial management, which can lead to challenges in budgeting, cash flow management, and understanding profitability. Impressive – really.

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Cash Basis vs. Accrual Basis: What’s the Difference?

CFO Simplified

Here, you’d have a huge amount of profit all at once. However, if you paid to cover all those past due payments, you would register a HUGE loss in that month because of the high amount of cash going out of your business. For example, if you have an invoice that you send out, that’s a sale.

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How Business Owners Can Create Good Banking Relationships

CFO Simplified

You don’t want to be showing a large profit one month and a large loss the next month—even if over a period of time that balances itself out. A rapid change in profitability or loss on a monthly basis looks bad because it shows that you’re not properly managing your financial reporting. . Positive cash flow.

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How to mitigate insolvency risk

Future CFO

Declining profitability: For example, are your sales lower or your cost of goods sold higher? Poor interest coverage ratio: This shows operating profits may not be able to cover interest expenses. Are they taking longer to settle invoices or make deliveries? Weakened balance sheet. Operating margins: Are they becoming thinner?