What is an operating budget? An operating budget is a resourceful tool that enables businesses to estimate income projections and expected expenses and plan for low-earning or high-spending months. This financial plan provides data that constantly records the costs of your business operations for a specific period (mainly up to the end of the year). It also serves as an outline detailing how much money a company spends and incurring expenses ..read more

Whether you are managing inventory or planning an acquisition, to maintain day-to-day operations you need a clear cash flow forecasting process. Staying on top of cashflow means you can gauge your solvency and profitability from a long and short-term perspective ..read more

Phocas Software rapidly rolled out AI-powered queries and visualizations making it even easier to use its Analytics product for manufacturing, distribution and retail businesses. More than 40,000 customers using Phocas Analytics can now simply ask questions rather than navigating the database to find answers to guide their planning and decision making at work.   Phocas AI (artificial intelligence) uses a natural language processing model to optimize all departments’ access to actionable insights leading to more informed decisions across the business.   So far, the new AI feature i ..read more

Scenario analysis effectively manages and prepares for possible outcomes by examining the potential impacts of future events and anticipating alternative scenarios, such as economic downturns or expanding a product line within a budget model ..read more

Making sound business decisions requires accurate financial information. However, budgets are forward-looking and static. It’s easy to create forecasts that are too optimistic about sales or underestimate expenses. This gap can lead to significant differences between what you predicted and what happens, disrupting your cash flow ..read more

If the owner of your business wants to expand to a new State, would you have the sales forecasting figures to know whether the business can afford to do that or not? Or, if you had to produce a 3–year solvency projection for the CEO, is your sales forecasting process robust enough to support a reliable analysis ..read more

Predicting the future is a daunting task, unless you possess a time machine like Marty McFly in the 1985 film, 'Back to the Future'. If you don’t have such a tool, the next best thing is financial modeling. It can offer valuable insights and guidance into the future financial position of your business ..read more

As your business grows or becomes more complex it becomes crucial to have a budget plan. An essential tool in your Swiss army knife of financial planning is budgeting. A budget is a financial plan that outlines projected income and expenses over a specific period, typically a fiscal year. This not only provides a clearer view of your costs but also serves as a guide for managing and allocating financial resources to achieve organizational goals and objectives. Before we delve into the different types of budgets let’s explore the advantages of using a budget ..read more

Cash flow is vital for businesses. It is the money coming in and going out of a business. It’s like fuel for a car. Without enough fuel, a car can't move forward; similarly, without enough money, a business can't operate or grow effectively.   ..read more

Many successful business owners find themselves worrying about cost blow-outs, how to find new audiences for their products or being undercut by the competition. Much of this stress can be controlled with better planning which is why budgeting is so important for business.   ..read more