Why Cash Flow and Profit Are Not the Same Thing

Profitable businesses run out of cash every day.Not struggling businesses. Profitable ones — with real clients, real revenue, real margins — that find themselves staring at a bank balance that doesn't match the success they feel like they're having.In this solo episode of Books & Backbone, Donna Harris explains exactly why this happens. She starts with the story of a client who ran out of cash in January — not because anything went wrong, but because of the timing gap between when revenue was earned and when the cash arrived. Then she breaks down the three causes of that gap: slow receivables, expense timing, and growth that costs money before it makes money.She also walks through the 90-day cash flow forecast — what it is, how to build one, and why seeing a cash crunch coming two months out is almost always enough to prevent it from becoming a crisis.If you've ever had a month where everything seemed fine and the cash was still tight, this episode is the explanation.Donna Harris, MBA, MAccCEO, Bookkeeping Made Simple LLCmysimplebookkeeping.com | 801-692-0032