Making sense of them.
WHAT TO LOOK AT MONTHLY
Income Costs by category Profit Cash position Outstanding invoices
WHAT TO COMPARE
This month against last This month against the same month last year
WHY THE SECOND ONE
Many businesses are seasonal.
Comparing against last month misleads.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Costs rising faster than income A category growing unexpectedly Income falling in a category Invoices ageing
WHAT TO INVESTIGATE
Anything that changed substantially.
WHAT TO ASK
Why did that change? Is it temporary? What should I do about it?
WHAT TO RECORD
Your conclusions, briefly.
WHY
In a year, you will want to know what you thought at the time.
WHAT NOT TO DO
Look at the figures and change nothing Only look at them at filing time
WHAT MAKES THIS USEFUL
Doing it consistently, so patterns are visible.
