Cash flow is the amount of money that goes in and out of your business; that is, income and expenses. Having enough cash at the right time will make it easier for your business to pay bills and other expenses and meet your tax, superannuation and employer obligations.

Paying regular attention to your record-keeping and reporting tasks will help you better manage your cash flow. Managing your cash flow allows you to plan for the
future, for example, prepare for large expenses that are associated with successful growth.

Prepare a cash flow budget or projection

The best way to make sure you have enough cash available to meet your tax and other obligations is to do a cash flow budget or projection. This information will help
you to:

• see your likely cash position at any time
• identify any fluctuations that may lead to potential cash shortages
• plan for your tax payments
• plan for any major expenses
• provide lenders with additional information.

Accounting for income and expenses can help keep your business running smoothly by giving you an overview of when you can expect money to come in and when it may
go out and highlighting where you may need to direct your money.
There are three main things to consider when creating your cash flow budget:

Timing

• A cash flow budget isn’t ‘set and forget’. You can choose to work out your  budget on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis, depending on what you
  need or works for you.
• As your business grows or your situation changes, keep monitoring your budget to see how you’re tracking and update it if needed.
• Watch out for things such as significant differences between your budgeted amounts and your actual results.