VIRTUAL WORKSHOP
YOUR BUSINESS�IS MAKING MONEY...
So where is it going?
How to use your financial reports to make better business decisions.
with Sarah Hanford�Bee Social Solutions
SEPTEMBER 10 • 12–1 PM • ZOOM
Working Moms of San Antonio
START HERE
A profitable business can still feel cash-poor.
If that sentence feels familiar, this hour is for you.
“
My P&L says I made money.�So why doesn’t my bank account feel like it?
That is not a silly question. It is a signal that you need to connect the reports to the way money actually moves through your business.
TODAY: ACCURATE → UNDERSTAND → ACT
Bee Social Solutions | Transformation Through Information
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THE GOAL
You do not need to become an accountant.
You need enough financial visibility to make the next decision with better information.
1
ACCURATE
Can I trust the information I’m looking at?
2
UNDERSTAND
What are the numbers actually telling me?
3
ACT
What decision can I make with this information?
Good bookkeeping is not the finish line. It is the foundation for useful decisions.
Bee Social Solutions | Transformation Through Information
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ACCURATE
A clean-looking report can still be wrong.
Automation can save time. It cannot replace review and context.
The “set it and forget it” problem
A recurring vendor gets assigned one category. Later, purchases from that same vendor include marketing, office supplies, COGS, travel, or something else. The rule keeps running anyway.
Why it matters
The bottom line may barely move, but job costing, margins, budgets, spending trends, and growth decisions can all be distorted.
If the inputs are wrong, the decision built on them can be wrong too.
Bee Social Solutions | Transformation Through Information
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QUICK CHECK
Can I trust these numbers?
✓
Reconciled
Bank and credit-card accounts match the books.
✓
Current
Transactions and balances are up to date.
✓
Categorized with context
Rules and automation have been reviewed.
✓
Complete
Major liabilities, loans, A/R and owner activity are captured.
✓
Explainable
Big changes or unusual balances can be explained.
Bee Social Solutions | Transformation Through Information
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UNDERSTAND
Three reports. Three different jobs.
Start with the question you are trying to answer.
PROFIT & LOSS
Shows income and expenses over a period of time.��Use it for:�• revenue trends�• gross profit / margin�• operating expenses�• net income
BALANCE SHEET
Shows what the business owns, owes, and has accumulated at a point in time.��Use it for:�• cash�• debt�• receivables / payables�• owner equity
A/R + CASH VIEW
Shows timing: what is owed to you and what is available now.��Use it for:�• collections�• cash timing�• upcoming obligations�• short-term capacity
Bee Social Solutions | Transformation Through Information
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IMPORTANT DISTINCTION
Profit is not the same thing as cash.
REVENUE
Sales / income
→
PROFIT
What remains after expenses
→
CASH
What is actually available
A business can show profit while cash is tied up in receivables, debt payments, inventory, owner draws, equipment, taxes, or timing differences.
Bee Social Solutions | Transformation Through Information
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MONTHLY REVIEW
Stop asking “Is this number good?”
Ask what changed, why it changed, and whether it matters.
1
What changed from last month?
2
What changed from my expectation or budget?
3
Where did cash increase or decrease?
4
What needs an explanation?
5
What decision is coming next?
Bee Social Solutions | Transformation Through Information
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ACT
A bank balance is not a business plan.
Before you hire, buy, expand, or increase your pay, look beyond what is in the account today.
CAN I HIRE?
Look at recurring revenue, margin, payroll burden, cash runway, seasonality, and whether the role creates or protects capacity.
CAN I BUY IT?
Look at total cost, financing, cash after purchase, expected return, maintenance, and timing.
CAN I PAY MYSELF MORE?
Look at profit, cash, taxes, debt, upcoming obligations, and working-capital needs.
Bee Social Solutions | Transformation Through Information
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THE DECISION TEST™
Before you make the move,
test the information behind it.
1
What decision am I actually making?
2
What do I know?
3
What don’t I know yet?
4
What do the financials tell me?
5
What happens if I’m wrong?
The goal is not certainty. The goal is a better-informed decision.
SCENARIO 1
Can I afford to hire?
A growing service business has $42,000 in the bank and wants to add a $55,000/year employee.
DO NOT STOP AT
“There’s $42K in the bank.”
LOOK FOR
Recurring revenue • gross margin • payroll taxes/benefits • cash runway • seasonality • A/R timing
ASK
What must this role produce, protect, or free up for the economics to work?
Bee Social Solutions | Transformation Through Information
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SCENARIO 2
Can I afford the equipment?
The equipment costs $15,000. The business technically has enough cash to buy it today.
PRICE ≠ COST
Include financing, delivery, setup, maintenance, insurance, training, and downtime.
CASH AFTER
What remains after the purchase, and what obligations hit before cash is replenished?
RETURN
Will it increase capacity, reduce labor, protect margin, or create revenue? By how much?
Bee Social Solutions | Transformation Through Information
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SCENARIO 3
Can I pay myself more?
The business is profitable. That does not automatically mean every dollar of profit is available to distribute.
PROFIT
What the P&L says the business earned.
CASH
What is available right now.
OBLIGATIONS
Taxes, debt, payroll, vendors, planned purchases.
BUFFER
What the business needs to operate without panic.
Bee Social Solutions | Transformation Through Information
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YOUR HABIT
Have a monthly Money Date with your business.
Thirty focused minutes is more useful than ignoring the reports until tax time.
1
Reconcile & confirm
Are the numbers trustworthy?
2
Review
P&L, Balance Sheet, A/R and cash.
3
Compare
What changed and why?
4
Decide
What needs attention or a decision?
5
Act
Choose one next step and assign a date.
Bee Social Solutions | Transformation Through Information
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TAKE FIVE MINUTES
Use the workbook on your next real decision.
Pick one decision you expect to make in the next 90 days:
Hire or outsource
Make a purchase
Increase owner pay
Raise prices
Add a service / market
Something else
Then run it through The Decision Test™ instead of deciding from one number.
Bee Social Solutions | Transformation Through Information
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REMEMBER
Better books do not make the decision for you.
ACCURATE
→
UNDERSTAND
→
ACT
Accurate information gives you something reliable to understand.�Understanding gives you something useful to act on.
The numbers don’t improve a business. The decisions you make with them do.
Bee Social Solutions | Transformation Through Information
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QUESTIONS?
What decision are your�numbers trying to help you make?
Sarah Hanford | Bee Social Solutions
Operational bookkeeping for growing businesses
beesocialsolutions.com | sarah@beesocialsolutions.com
Accurate → Understand → Act