Think of cash as the blood supply that keeps not only your business, but the entire economy pumping. When times get tough, cash flow can slow, and when that happens, everything slows down. The economy doesn’t pump as well as it should, and your business may feel slower than normal, too.
   There’s no doubt about it. Cash flow is a key to keeping your business humming along, whether times are good or bad; but, in tough times, it’s even more important for you to crack down on your cash flow. 
   So, what does a plumbing business owner need to do about cash flow in these tough times to keep things on track?

Watch It
The first step is watching your cash flow, so that you know what you have coming in and going out. To keep an eye on the dollars and cents of your business, it’s best to:
   • Get Daily Reports—Make sure that you have a report that delivers the most important financial information about your company to you every day. The members of Plumbers’ Success International have Daily Management Essentials that ties all of the key numbers together at a glance. You should have some tracking system in place that allows you to get a handle on your business and react quickly every day. 
   • Analyze Your Financials—While you should act daily to boost your cash flow, your monthly financial statements will give you the full picture of where your cash is coming from and where it’s going. But, be sure that you know what each of those numbers means. You need to have someone who can break it down for you, because in those numbers is the health status of your business.

Get It
In tough times, your company needs to be a cash magnet to attract as many revenue dollars as you can. Keeping the flow going in your business starts with:
   • Getting Calls—You need calls to have a shot at generating cash. Getting those calls starts with keeping your marketing going and training your team on the phones, so that they book as many calls as possible. 
   • Collecting On Calls—While your team is on the phone with your clients, the most important thing they can do after booking the call is set up the expectation that your technician will collect payment for the work. Then, it’s up to your technician to collect that payment while they are in the home.
   • Keeping Accounts Receivable Low—If your technicians collect on the call, your AR should be low. That is the key to keeping the cash flowing through your company. 
   • Financing—Some AR is acceptable. That’s the accounts receivable generated when your clients finance your work. Financing can be a great tool to keeping your cash flow up, especially when your clients are struggling with their own cash flow.

Keep It
Now that you have the cash, you need to keep it! Especially in tough times, when it’s more difficult to get credit, having cash will allow you to take advantage of opportunities that arise and keep your company running normally. Keeping your cash involves:
   • Lowering Expenses—Be as lean and mean as you can in tough times. Trim the excess fat from your business expenses and get a handle on the expenses that could be lower. This will allow you to keep more of that hard-won cash. 
   • Knowing Your Needs and Watching Your Wants—You’ll naturally spend money, but make sure you’re spending it where your company needs it; like marketing, training and equipment, for example. Avoid spending it on items that you simply want, like the new truck that could wait until times are a little better.

Put these strategies to work for you today, and when the economy turns around, your business will be in prime health and ready to race ahead of the competition. 
   The focus on marketing is another of the recession-proofing strategies that Terry Nicholson describes on his new CD, “How to Recession-proof Your Business in Tough Times.” He’s offering it to contractors for free now at