When a strong month still leaves the account thin

Owner-managers often bring us a month that “felt good” and a bank balance that did not. The gap is rarely a mystery once you line up three clocks: when you recognise revenue, when customers pay, and when you settle suppliers and GST.

Revenue is not a deposit

In wholesale and project work especially, invoices can land in a month while cash arrives in the next GST period — or later. If your management accounts celebrate invoiced sales without an aged receivables view beside them, the month will flatter you.

Margin hides in discounts and freight

A busy month built on discounting to clear stock, or on freight you absorb to win a tender, can post strong top-line figures and weak contribution. Ask which product families or jobs actually earned their keep after variable costs, not after hope.

Owner drawings blur the picture

Drawings taken irregularly — a lump in a “good” week — make cash feel personal rather than operational. Separate living costs from business buffers on paper, even if both leave the same account.

A practical check this week

Pull last quarter’s invoices over 60 days unpaid, list the three largest supplier payments due in the next fortnight, and compare both to your forecast cash low. If you cannot answer that in an hour, the books may be fine — the owner view is not.