Building a cashflow system that survives growth

Cash flow problems can sink healthy, growing companies as well as weaker ones.

In the first part of this series, we showed why profitable firms still go under, this follow-up gives you the roadmap to stop it happening to yours.

Cashflow is not an accounting exercise. It is a cultural discipline that affects recruitment, forecasting, product decisions, team behaviour and investor confidence. 

When a company builds strong cash habits early, growth becomes safer, faster and far less stressful.

In this guide you will learn:

• How to build a simple weekly visibility system that prevents hidden risks. 
• How to run practical scenario planning that actually influences decisions
• How to involve the whole team in cash-smart thinking

By the end, you’ll have a practical playbook to make cashflow one of your company’s strategic strengths.

1. Why cashflow systems matter

Fast-growing companies often assume revenue momentum will smooth over operational bumps. It rarely does. In fact, growth usually creates new cash demands long before the cash arrives.

The result is profitable bankruptcy,  a company that appears healthy on paper but cannot meet its obligations in reality.

The solution is not more forecasting. It is better systems.

Systems create visibility, behaviour, and discipline. And discipline keeps the business alive during volatility.

Cashflow strength is built through habits, not spreadsheets.

2. Start with visibility

The most common cause of cashflow trouble is simple. Leaders do not know the current cash position in enough detail or at a high enough frequency.

Quarterly P&L reviews are backward-looking, and weekly cashflow reviews are forward-looking.

A strong visibility system keeps things simple:

• A weekly meeting with the founder or leadership team
• A short, live dashboard with three key elements: cash in, cash out, and upcoming commitments. 
• A rolling 12-week view updated every Friday

A simple dashboard provides more clarity than a complex model that no one updates. 

This approach mirrors best practice from finance operators such as Float and Baremetrics, who emphasise frequent, lightweight forecasting for SMEs. 

3. Shorten the cash gap

Most cashflow pressure is caused by timing. You spend money today and wait 30, 60 or even 90 days to be paid.

Shortening this gap can transform your stability without touching your margins.

Practical ways to shrink the gap:

• Negotiate shorter payment terms when renewing contracts or onboarding new clients.
• Offer small incentives for early payment, such as a one or two per cent discount.
• Shift project-based work into retainers, subscriptions or monthly billing.
• For suppliers, negotiate terms that reflect your stage, seasonality or order volume.

Professional services firms and SaaS businesses use retainers for predictable inflows, while sectors like construction use staged payments to manage liquidity. These proven models can be adapted to most SME environments.

Predictable cash is more valuable than delayed cash.

4. Scenario planning that protects growth

Many founders only forecast when something goes wrong. By then, options are limited.

A better approach is monthly scenario planning that is simple but meaningful.

Two scenarios are enough:

1. What happens if revenue halves for three months?
2. What happens if revenue doubles faster than expected?

The first scenario protects downside risk.
The second prevents growth from overwhelming your working capital.

Even basic scenario planning is strongly recommended by finance advisers, who highlight that SMEs rarely model cashflow under stress until it is too late.

Create a short document showing the impact on runway, hiring, spending and sales cycles. Update it monthly.

Scenario planning prevents shocks from becoming crises.

5. Make cashflow a team effort

Healthy cashflow does not come from the finance team alone. It comes from the organisation understanding how its actions affect liquidity.

Share what cashflow actually means. Explain why payment terms matter. Show how discounts, overdue invoices or delayed projects ripple into hiring freezes and stalled initiatives.

Ways to involve the team:

• Hold monthly all-hands updates on cash health
• Add cash-impact guidance into procurement and spend requests
• Encourage teams to raise cash considerations during planning sessions

Companies that practise financial transparency, including Buffer, which publicly shares its finances, demonstrate how openness builds trust and better decision-making.

Cashflow becomes stronger when everyone understands the rhythm of money in and out.

6. Smart funding choices

Not all cashflow gaps can be fixed with better habits. Some are structural and predictable. 

When that is the case, you should plan funding intentionally rather than react when a shortfall appears.

Options to consider:

• Short-term financing (such as invoice financing).
• Delayed or phased capital expenditure.
• Early investor conversations or planned equity rounds.
• Deferring optional projects until runway improves.

The key is timing. Funding used proactively buys time and reduces stress. Funding used reactively often signals distress and reduces leverage.

Funding works best when it is planned, not when it is patched at the last minute.

7. Align incentives with healthy cash management

Companies often reward top-line growth without recognising the behaviours that protect cashflow. This creates a cultural imbalance where teams chase revenue even when it harms liquidity.

Rewarding the right behaviours reshapes how people think about spending, delivery, and customer management.

Examples of cash healthy incentives include:

• Recognising teams that deliver projects under budget.
• Rewarding improvements to billing cycles or payment collection.
• Celebrating predictable revenue wins such as renewals or multi-year deals.
• Linking part of equity awards to milestones that strengthen cashflow.

This is where share schemes become powerful. 

Equity, growth shares and conditional awards can be tied to cash-positive milestones, giving people a meaningful stake in sustainable performance. 

This aligns cultural, financial and strategic outcomes.

8. Summary 

Cashflow strength is not mysterious. It comes from simple, repeatable behaviours, including weekly visibility, shorter cash gaps, realistic scenarios, team involvement, intentional funding, and aligned incentives.

Founders who build these habits rarely face profitable bankruptcy. They stay liquid, stay in control, and scale with far less friction.

If you want to explore how performance-based equity can reinforce the right behaviours, book a call with Vestd.