Playbook
Twelve moves that change the picture
Not hacks. A sequence: see everything, stop the leaks, fund a buffer, then raise revenue. Do them in order if the month currently feels loud.
- 01
Write the full picture once
List cash, unpaid invoices, bills due, payroll dates, tax, and debt on a single page. Mystery is expensive. Clarity is the overhaul.
- 02
Track thirty days without judgement
Do not change anything for a month. Record what actually leaves the operating account. You cannot overhaul a story you have not measured.
- 03
Separate operating cash from tax and profit
One pot is how VAT and a good month both disappear. Four pots — operating, tax, profit, owner pay — is the whole method.
- 04
Know your true runway
Opening cash plus any credit line, divided by net burn. If the answer is under three months, the next decision is revenue or cost, not a new logo.
- 05
Invoice the day the work ships
Seven days to pay. Chase on day eight. Aged receivables are an unpaid loan you did not agree to make.
- 06
Kill the silent subscriptions
Open a year’s worth of statements and highlight every SaaS name. Cancel, downgrade, or defend each one out loud. Software loves to hide in ‘other’.
- 07
Name sinking funds
Annual insurance, stock builds, a laptop cycle, a conference, a quiet August. Irregular is not unexpected. Give those costs a monthly line now.
- 08
Attack the dearest debt
Minimums on everything, extras on the highest rate. When that one dies, roll the same payment onto the next. Avalanche, not vibes.
- 09
Renegotiate the big three
Rent, payroll mix, and software dwarf coffee. A cheaper desk, a contractor converted or released, a stack reviewed — that moves the needle.
- 10
Raise prices on a calendar
Book a date to lift retainers 8–12%, or to stop discounting the next ten jobs. Overhaul is not only austerity. A budget cannot outrun a shortfall.
- 11
Review monthly, not hourly
A 20-minute sitting at month-end beats daily anxiety. Compare the plan to the bank, adjust one line, leave the rest alone.
- 12
Protect the surplus
When a month is good, freeze operating spend for six months and send the difference to tax, debt, or the profit pot. Lifestyle creep is the quiet tax on a lucky quarter.
When the picture is on the page, put the numbers in the planner.