The increasing number of banks and fintech firms using cash flow management software to improve their efficiency and boost the market's growth is expected to drive the market's development. Besides managing multiple functions, such as online banking and bill payments, this software provides users various advantages, such as mobile billing and report groups.
The global cash management market is expected to grow at a rate of 12.6% during the next few years. It is estimated that the market will be valued at around $25.37 billion by 2027. The primary factors that are driving the growth of the finance software market are the increasing number of people using mobile applications and the increasing number of enterprises focusing on digitization. The market is also growing due to the increasing number of internet users worldwide.
To ensure that your company’s operations are running smoothly and efficiently, you should consider investing in a cash management system. It can manage your cash flows and provide you with the necessary insight to make informed decisions.
This article will describe the importance of cash flow management and provide a list of the most powerful and useful software.
What is cash flow management software?
A cash management system is a tool that enables companies to manage their cash flows. It can be used to forecast and report on various aspects of their operations, such as their foreign exchange and interest payments.
A cash management system can be used to integrate with various accounting software and ERP systems. It can also be customized to meet the needs of different companies. The average cost of building a cash management system is $150,000 to $400,000, depending on the complexity of the solution.
Why should you use cash flow management software?
A study conducted by U.S. Bank revealed that 82% of small businesses fail when it comes to dealing with cash flow issues. The main reason why these businesses fail is due to their lack of knowledge about how to manage their cash flow.
The primary source of income for many companies and individuals is cash. The company's cash flows must be managed properly to meet its obligations and maintain its business stability. In addition to meeting its financial obligations, a cash management system can also help minimize risk by allowing employees to earn a return on their idle cash.
Most companies have a chief financial officer or a business manager responsible for overseeing their cash flow management. Other individuals such as corporate treasurers and business managers are also usually responsible for the overall strategy and execution of cash management.
There are various metrics that cash management executives can use to monitor and analyze their company's cash flows. These include quarterly, monthly, and annual reports.
The cash flow statement is a vital part of any cash management system. It is typically reported to the company's stakeholders on a quarterly basis, but it can also be maintained and tracked daily. This report shows all of the company's cash flows, including all of its interest payments and foreign exchange transactions, and determines how much money it has available.
Here is case study how Mad Devs implemented the B2B payment management solution - BandPay. BandPay is a milestone based payments platform that takes on the duties of a project manager, a lawyer, and an accounting officer, enabling people to run their business effectively.
Challenges without cash flow management
Poor Liquidity: Without a cash management system, it is hard to keep track of the company's available cash. If a company goes short on cash, it can be forced to make late payments to banks and vendors, which can result in higher interest rates and damage the company's credit score.
High costs: Maintaining a cash flow is a complex operation that involves a variety of expenses, such as advertising, legal fees, accounting fees, repairs, taxes, and supplies. Without a cash management system, it can be very costly to perform this process.
Poor decision-making: The lack of cash flow management can lead to various problems, such as inaccurate reports and confusion. This can also affect the company's ability to make sound business decisions. Having a poor cash management system can prevent the treasury from seeing the trends and issues in the company's operations.
What is the difference between revenue, profit, and cash flow?
When it comes to starting a business, one of the most common questions that new entrepreneurs ask is, “What is the difference between profit and cash flow?” While profit and cash flow are important financial measures, they are not the same.
First of all, let’s clarify the difference between revenue and profit:
Revenue: The amount of money that’s come into your business from direct business activity (such as sales) or investors.
Profit: The amount of money that's left over after all of your expenses are paid is known as profit. To determine this, take the revenue coming into your company and divide it by the number of expenses. If the amount of money coming into your business is lower than what's required to pay your expenses, you're not making a profit.
And cash flow refers to the amount of money that a business is able to spend on and out of its operations at a given time. It's the money that it has available to meet its current and near-term obligations, such as paying employees and suppliers.
Types of cash flow
Six types of cash flows are used in financial analysis. These tools are powerful tools that can help you run your business and make informed decisions.
Cash flow from operations
The cash flow from operations is a measure of a company's ability to generate money from its regular operations. It shows whether or not it has enough funds available to pay its bills and operating expenses. Having more operating cash flows than cash outflows is considered to be a sustainable business strategy.
Cash flow from investing
The cash flow from investing is a measure of the amount of money that a company generates from its various investments. These activities include the purchase of securities or assets, as well as the sale of those assets.
Cash flow from financing
The cash flow from financing activities is a measure of the company's ability to fund its operations and capital. These activities include the issuing of debt and equity, as well as the payment of dividends.
Free cash flow
The free cash flow of a company is a measure of its profitability. It shows how much money it has left over to reinvest in the business or return to its shareholders.
Unlevered free cash flow
Unlevered free cash flow is a measure of a company's overall financial flexibility. It excludes interest payments and other financial obligations. Before taking into account these obligations, UFCF shows how much cash a company has available.
The unlevered free cash flow of a company is different from the levered free cash flow of a company. It shows whether the business is operating with a healthy level of debt or overextended.
Discounted cash flow
A discounter cash flow analysis is a method that takes into account the expected cash flows from an investment. It then tries to estimate the value of an asset by taking into account how much money it will earn in the future.
How do you manage cash flow and profit?
The timing of your cash flow management strategy is the most important to ensure that it's working properly. For instance, if your bills are due at the start of the month, you might not have the money in the bank to pay them. On the other hand, if you make more than you spend during the month, you might have a cash flow problem.
Here is how to deal with profit - If you're not profitable on paper, you're in a poor position and need to either increase or decrease your expenses to stay in business. Even though you're profitable, it's still important to maintain proper cash flow control to avoid running on autopilot.
Although it can be very intimidating, cash flow management can benefit a company. It can help manage the money flow and ensure that the company has the necessary resources to meet its financial obligations. One of the most common types of cash management that is used by companies is the management of their outflows and incoming flows.
The cash flow spreadsheet is a great tool to visualize and manage your cash flow. It shows you when and how much money is coming in and going out. It can also help you adjust your approach to cash flow management. This process can be very complex since different banks and accounts are involved. Having the right software can help make the process easier for an individual. There are many paid tools that can help with this.
It’s very easy to customize and adapt to your specific situation. You can also choose to create and maintain a wide range of different types of charts and graphs. Creating and updating these spreadsheets can help you better understand your current situation.
List of cash flow management software
Truebill
It is a money management app helping people to find and cancel unwanted subscriptions. The Truebill app helps users keep track of their spending and create a budget. It also provides users with useful tips and advice on how to manage their finances.
Although the Premium subscription is very affordable, the rate for successful rate reduction is high - 40%. It’s worth trying out if you want to reduce your costs.
Over the past year, the number of people searching for Truebill has increased by 147%. It currently has a monthly volume of around 26K searches.
Price: free plan, free trial, Premium - ranges from $3 to $12 per month
Credflow
CredFlow is a cash flow management solution that helps users create an automatic payment collection engine for their businesses. It is compatible with the latest version of Microsoft's ERP 9 software, and it is used by over 5000 companies. It allows them to send and receive timely payments, and it also allows them to share details with their clients.
With CredFlow, teams can easily analyze their debtors' behavior and improve their efficiency by developing incentive schemes that encourage timely payments. And it provides detailed business insights that help them make informed decisions regarding their finances.
It also provides a variety of reports that are auto-generated for promoters. They can opt for the services that they provide, and it will automatically send and receive reminders for payments. It helps companies understand their finances by projecting their cash flow and analyzing the average period of collection. Its data input is secure, as it has multiple layers of security.
Although CredFlow isn't the oldest tool in the market, it has already gained a following of over 5000 users. It has raised over $2.1 million in seed funding.
Price: free plan, $82 per year for the company.
Divvy
Divvy is a financial management platform that aids businesses in running their organization. The free expense platform of Divvy is designed to bring together people and technology to make it easy for them to manage their spending. It eliminates the need for manual receipts and provides a convenient way for users to pick a budget and manage their spending. Everything is pushed to the cloud so that users can see how their money is being spent.
According to the vendor, employees can have a risk-free company card with Divvy, as it controls their access to funds, credit limits, and budgets. It also offers virtual cards that can be used to manage subscriptions, security breaches, and over-the-counter transactions.
The vendor claims that its users can spend more efficiently and travel for less with its free expense platform. It also eliminates the need for manual receipts and provides a convenient way for users to pick a budget and manage their spending.
Divvy's estimated annual revenue is currently $139.2M per year.
SoFi
Money management app. It offers personal loans, investment, and bank-like services. SoFi Automated Investing is the robo-advice service that offers free access to a Certified Financial Planner for its members. Its five risk levels and low-fee diversified low-cost exchange-traded funds make it an ideal choice for investors. Its unlimited free access to a financial planner can help you navigate through the various questions that come up during the process.
SoFi is regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Its investors are protected by a high protection limit of $500,000.
Price: $1 to open an account, $5 to begin investing.
Mint
It is a fee-free financial management service that helps consumers monitor their money. Although other budgeting apps offer free features, Mint has a robust lineup. It can help you keep track of all of your financial activities and manage your spending. You can sync your bank accounts, credit cards, and retirement accounts to Mint, which will keep track of all of your purchases, savings, and income. It also has a daily budget planner that will help you set goals and monitor your spending. It also has a variety of categories that allow you to create a plan and improve your money management easily.
In November 2009, Intuit bought Mint for $170 million.
Yolly
Yolly is financial bookkeeping platform built for businesses to track, analyze, and manage your assets. With the help of a Yolly AI-powered recon engine, you can easily map your outgoing and incoming invoices. It can also detect suspicious transactions and improve the efficiency of your accounts receivable process.
The system automatically generates a baseline forecast that takes into account all of your spending and earning patterns. It can also analyze past data of your customers and suppliers.
Price: free trial, €9.99 per month.
Airbank
Airbank is a financial management platform that combines all of your bank accounts into one place. It's designed to help modern finance teams improve their efficiency and control their finances.
You can easily see your total balance across different accounts with Airbank's automatic update. It can also help you reconcile transactions and view outstanding invoices.
Airbank recently raised a €2.5 million seed round led by Jean de la Rochebrochard and Pia d'Iribarne of New Wave. Other investors included Speedinvest and Tiny VC.
Price: free plan, Premium - €29.00 per month/user.
How to choose cash flow management software
Look for software that will help improve your efficiency and visibility into your company's financial data while being flexible enough to help you meet the needs of your business.
One of the most important factors that you want to consider when it comes to choosing cash management software is its ability to operate in real time. This is because it will allow you to spend more time improving the efficiency of your organization and less time managing the software itself.
Key questions:
- Is the information real-time and accurate?
- Is it capable of handling all of your data according to your bank API, or is it only loaded at the end of the day?
- Is the system capable of handling your future needs? As you expand into more accounts, currencies, and banks, can it keep up with your growing needs?
- Is it flexible enough to allow you to create insights quickly without the need for manual export-to-Excel workflows?
- Does it have risk management?
- Does it include automation and standardization core features?
How do you create a cash flow system?
So, let’s get started with these simple tips for creating your cash flow budget and forecast:
Project collections. Your goal when it comes to planning your collections is to determine what you expect to bring in as revenue. For instance, if you have a standard net of 15 terms, then you will have to take into account the amount of time that your client spends paying invoices. So, if your client is paying bills in 30 days, then you might expect that September's revenue is more than February's revenue.
Before you start planning your accounts receivable collections, take into account the various factors that affect the amount that you expect to bring in. For instance, if your customer's payment cycle is different from your net terms, then you might expect that the total amount that you collect will vary.
What are the other cash flows that you anticipate bringing into your business? Are you planning on making new deposits for your clients or selling a property?
You should also detail all of your cash outlays and expenses. Doing so will allow you to keep track of all of your expenses for the previous period. If you have variable or fixed expenses, make sure that you adjust them to reflect the changes in your previous expenditures. This will allow you to make informed decisions regarding your cash outlays. You should start with your usual expenses such as rent, payroll, and insurance. Once you have started to think about your cash outlays, you can then make more informed decisions regarding your marketing and equipment needs.
You should also take a look at the previous period's accounts payable (month, year, quarter) to see what the due dates are. When will you pay those expenses?
The following five steps will help you create a cash flow forecast that will allow you to have a clear understanding of your company's financial health. Having an accurate forecast will allow you to make informed decisions and keep track of all of your financial activities.
Before you start creating a cash flow budget, it's important that you regularly review your projections. This will allow you to make adjustments to the amount of money that you're spending and the way that it's coming in. One of the most important steps that you should take is to compare the forecast with the actual cash flow.
After creating a cash flow budget, always share your numbers with your team members so they can support you in meeting your goals. You should also assign budget responsibilities to your management team so that they can focus on the areas that are most important to you.
To wrap up
Proper cash flow management is very important for any business, as it can help it avoid failure and success during times of uncertainty.
Having the proper amount of money to hand can help you weather the storms that may come your way. One of the most important steps that you can take to improve your financial situation is to regularly schedule time for planning.
Follow these steps and ensure you always have access to professional advice. The necessary tools and resources can help you improve efficiency and manage your cash flow.
Running a business can be very challenging, but with the right tools and resources, you can easily grow your business. If you have any questions about cash flow management or you are thinking of developing your own cash flow management software, you can always contact our specialists.
