1. Show Me the Money!

How confident are you in your ability to manage cashflow: ^*

I often have to use a line of credit to pay bills and payroll

I occasionally worry about getting bills paid in time

I am completely on top of cashflow and have plenty of reserve

2. Let’s Get Fiscal: Number-Crunching

How confident are you in your foundational bookkeeping & accounting processes, including financial reporting, transaction classifications, bill paying, invoicing, payroll, etc.: ^*

I don't have a dedicated bookkeeper and my books are a hot mess

I have a bookkeeper and sort of leave it to them. Finance is not my strong suit

My dedicated team are whizzes at keeping the books clean and the bills paid. I get regular reports and even read them

3. Budgeting: The Business Owner’s Version of Dieting

Rate your ability to create and stick to a budget: ^*

Budget? What's a budget?

I make a budget and look at it

but it gets out of date fast and by the end of the year we're running without it

I am pretty disciplined about reviewing budget to actuals on a monthly or quarterly basis

4. Predict the Future and Laugh All the Way to the Bank

How would you rate your ability to forecast gross revenue, gross margin, and net margin: ^*

Forecast? What's a forecast?

I typically set a revenue growth goal and then use a compound annual growth rate formula to benchmark against

I have a fairly sophisticated forecasting process that includes monthly reviews of pipeline and actuals

5. KPIs: The GPS for Your Business Journey

Rate your ability to set key performance indicators (KPIs) and benchmark against them ^*

I don't track KPIs but have a general sense of how I'm doing compared to my competitors

I look at revenue growth and net profit and cashflow but haven't delved too much deeper

I have defined financial KPIs for each department including finance, sales & marketing, HR, inventory management, etc

6. Taxes: The Only Thing Certain Besides Death

How confident are you in your tax strategy: ^*

It's always a surprise and a scramble when I find out how much I owe

I generally have the money to pay quarterly taxes and my accountant helps me crunch those numbers once a year

I do quarterly strategic tax planning that includes savings opportunities and quarterly estimating, and am confidently in compliance with federal, state and local tax laws

7. Debt Be Gone

How would you rate the health of your short-term business debt (e.g. line of credit): ^*

I don't qualify for a line of credit

I have a line of credit and use it more than I’d like to cover short-term bills and payroll

I have a regularly-renewable line of credit that covers 10% of my revenue, but don't tap into it except in emergencies

8. Gross Yourself Out: Getting a Handle on Gross Margin

How well do you understand the true cost of delivering your product (COGS) or service (COS): ^*

I don't have a good handle on my gross margin and am not sure what the industry benchmark is

I put expenses such as materials and software related to COGS or COS into a separate chart of accounts to track gross margin

I have separated service labor from marketing & sales labor from operational labor in my chart of accounts and track gross margin by product or service line, which I benchmark against my ind

9. Marketing ROI? More like Marketing RO-Why Haven't You Called Us Yet?

Rate your ability to understand marketing performance: ^*

Marketing is like throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what sticks

I can track which marketing tactics are driving engagement and web traffic

I understand which marketing tactics are driving pipeline and revenue and profit, not just eyeballs, and I regularly monitor my customer acquisition cost and customer lifetime value metrics

10. From Risk-Taker to Risk Manager

Rate your ability to manage risks and uncertainties stemming from the macroeconomic environment and industry changes: ^*

I feel like I'm on a rolling ship being slapped by wave after wave and can't catch a breath to make plans and take action

I have a decent understanding of the issues and know how I'll handle them as they arise

I use a robust forecasting model, track KPIs, and have great bank relationships and feel confident in anticipating and responding to upcoming turns and obstacles in the road

A little about you

First Name ^*

Last Name ^*

Company ^*

Email ^*

I agree to receive marketing emails from Red Bike Advisors. I understand that I can unsubscribe at any time.* ^* Agree

Breakaway from Business Finances Stress

10 questions. 5 minutes.