Many of you may run small businesses, like ours. I wanted to share some of the things we do and see what tips you may have.
Cash flow is key. We have a lot of accounts receivable, “money on the street,” but cash in the bank is what pays the bills. More and more clients pay by wire and ACH, which is great, but a majority still pay by check through the mail.
Since our mail delivery is generally late in the day (it can be as late as 7 or 8 pm!), I like to use a tool from the US Postal Service to see what mail is coming that day. It is called Informed Delivery, it is free, you can go to the USPS website and sign up. They send me an email each morning between 7:30 and 8:30 AM, and it shows pictures of each piece of mail that is being delivered that day. They scan the mail anyway, so someone had the bright idea of sharing this info! It doesn’t always include every letter, but it has most of them, and it lets me know what checks to expect later in the day!
Since I never know when the mail may come, and our delivery is to a mailbox out by the street, I installed a simple device called Myspool. So, when the mail is delivered, I get a text message. So, I can hustle out and get the mail and take the checks to the bank! You can find this at: myspool.com
When I was a kid, one of my favorite things was to order items, like from the back of the cereal box, and then wait impatiently for them to come in the mail (the worst words in the world were, “allow 6-8 weeks for delivery”). Some things never change. Now, many years later, I’m waiting each day for what the mailman (or woman) may bring!
