The fourth cause of poor cashflow - Your debt or capital structure

Anna Stubbs • April 19, 2024

Often a reduction in interest charges as well as significant cashflow improvements can be achieved with a regular review of existing debt.

A good place to start is to list all bank loans, mortgages, finance company loans, hire purchases, credit card debts, and any other debts (don’t include amounts owed to suppliers in this list). Add columns to cover:

  • The amount of the debt owed
  • The interest rate being charged
  • Whether the interest is charged on a fixed or floating rate basis
  • Repayment terms (the number of years the debt is to be repaid over)


Perhaps your debt can be consolidated, financed by one lender and paid off over a longer term. This will help you retain more cash in the business which is vital for growth (or even just to cover expenses and your drawings).

Are the drawings you take from the business for personal expenses placing pressure on cashflow? If so, that might mean that we need to look at strategies to lift the profitability of the business. It might mean that your drawings are just too high for the business to support right now. The business may need an injection of capital to fund its growth.

Here’s an interesting exercise for you to do. List out your annual personal expenditure in detailed categories; everything from rent, childcare, groceries and eating out. You may need to prepare yourself for a shock. If you’re serious about this, we have a Personal Budget Template that you can use to make life easier.

Getting your debt and capital structure right makes a big difference to the cashflow in your business. This is a subject that we have a lot of experience in. The first step is to prepare an updated personal budget and a Cashflow Forecast, then measure the extra cash the business will have as a result of making some simple changes. We can help you calculate this extra cash at our Cashflow & Profit Improvement Meeting.

Doing a forecast for the first time seems scary, but once you’ve done it, you’ll realise that it’s one of the most essential business tools you’ll ever put in place. We can do the forecast with you. You’ll sleep better for it!

Business credit: using loans to grow your business

By Anna Stubbs • August 21, 2025
Whatever stage you’re at in the business journey, having an injection of additional working capital is always welcome. Being able to borrow money and take on managed debt in the business is what allows you to fund the next stage in your growth. But how does your credit profile affect your ability to borrow as a business? And what types of debt financing will help you expand, grow and scale up the company? Let’s explore the impact of your risk rating and the types of finance that may be available  Your credit profile: and how it impacts your ability to borrow Your credit profile is a measurement of your risk as a borrower. It’s how banks and specialist business lenders assess whether you’re a good business to lend to. Lenders want to know you have the revenue and cashflow needed to repay a loan. This will generally be assessed based on your business credit score and your overall financial health and forecasted business performance. With a good business credit score, your application for a loan is more likely to be accepted. With a poor credit profile, those doors to potential lending are more likely to be closed.

5 ways to get in control of your business finances

By Anna Stubbs • August 21, 2025
Having proper control of your business finances is a big advantage. It helps you make well-informed business decisions and keeps your organisation profitable. With so many digital tools for managing your bookkeeping, accounting and management reporting, it's never been easier to manage, track and forecast your financial position. But what are the main tools you need? And how do you set up your financial systems, apps, processes and reporting to put yourself back in the finance driving seat?

Protecting you and your business: using trusts

By Anna Stubbs • August 21, 2025
Have you ever wondered about the best ways to protect you and your business? In this series, we’ll look at the key ways to use trusts, insurance and risk-management techniques to protect both your personal assets and the future of the company. In this article, we’ll look at how you can use a trust to shelter your assets.