WHERE HAS ALL THE MONEY GONE?

Are you tracking your monthly cash flows? This probably sounds like a silly question, but there are some producers who, believe it or not, still don’t do this on a regular basis. The rationale behind this is questionable, but, for whatever reason, they just simply pay bills as best they can and move forward or, sometimes, backward. Some possible reasons I believe people fail to do this include the following:

  1. They may not feel that they have the time. For some, this can be a daunting task. It can also be overwhelming if you get done and realize that you’re going to run out of money before you run out of month. Of course, this has been happening to a lot of dairymen lately.
  2. They might not want to face reality, especially if it is indeed negative.
  3. They may not know where to start. That challenge I can deal with. Let’s talk about it and review the benefits of monitoring your cash flow regularly.

Matt and Diane had operated their 600 cow dairy for over 20 years and had been quite successful, both in terms of production where their herd averaged close to 80 pounds per cow per day and, as a result, in selling purebred Holstein bulls and heifers. Yet, they had an issue to confront. They never really felt comfortable with the cash flow of their business. It often seemed like “feast or famine.” When milk prices were good, they had a lot of cash, and the IRS was always standing by waiting for their share. Additionally, it seemed that these good times also boosted their purebred sales and gave them even more cash to account for. However, when milk prices started to skid, Diane, who did most of the financial tasks at their dairy, was struggling just to keep their suppliers current. She was simply writing checks and hoping that this process would all work out for the best. What could she do? I’ll explain in a moment… Reasons to consider this: Most everyone has been watching and/or complaining about their monthly expenses, but are they really watching each and every expense item? Milk prices have been dropping like a rock since December 2014. While we have seen relief on feed prices, they were a nightmare as well until this year. The justifications for tracking your cash flows are numerous. Currently, however, the biggest justification for this process is survival. The dairy industry is under pressure from vendors, banks and regulators. Our entire economy is in an upside down state. Knowing where you stand in your cash flows can provide you with additional comfort because even if you are struggling, you will be more aware of your upcoming needs for cash and other financing, and also be able to answer questions that arise from your suppliers or banker. Where do you begin? How do you go about completing this process? My favorite starting point is to develop a budget for what you feel will occur during the next 12 months, preferably January to December. This can represent a different set of dates if you wish or if your operation is a corporation with a fiscal year end that is different. For a simple example, check out our “Home Page” or our “Success Tools” on our website at www.success-strategies.com. There you will be able to acquire what you need. Here is what we did with Matt and Diane’s dairy operation. We reviewed each and every expense item to see if the amounts they were paying made good financial sense. Often, particularly during periods of high milk prices, producers will add labor or other items that can be detrimental when prices go back down. Not surprisingly, we found several expense areas that had just simply gotten out of control and got them back in line with industry standards. We also set Diane up with QuickBooks Pro and allocated their various costs within categories that matched their Accountant’s Chart of Accounts. This will save them money down the road when their CPA is completing their annual tax return and developing CPA prepared financial statements, which will, in turn, help them to better manage their business going forward. After you have your budget format down, project what levels of production and corresponding expenses you will encounter during the upcoming 12-month time period. When you have finished this task, you are ready to complete a comparison each month throughout the year. Your Cash Flow Comparison will equip you to examine how you are doing in comparison to your month-by-month plan, just as Matt and Diane were able to do. In terms of tracking your actual results, why not do what most of my clients have been doing successfully for many years?

  1. QuickBooks Pro (QBP) is a good place to start. It allows you to input and print your checks as you pay you bills, categorize expenses into their correct categories and provides you with a Year-to-Date Profit and Loss Statement. You can print this out at the end of each month (e.g. 1/1 to 3/31) and use it for the comparisons process that we discussed above.
  2. As an alternative, you can also track items directly in Excel, but why not use QBP, especially when you have the capability to convert your QBP file into an Excel file if you want to.
  3. Others have their CPA track these items for them, although this can get expensive. Besides, he or she will probably also be using QBP.
  4. Financial Advisors, like myself, often include a comparison of what is being spent each month vs. what you budgeted. This allows us to really evaluate where you are financially each month. If you are already doing this, great. If not, start it immediately. Feel free to check out our Finance Matters™ software this fall at www.success-strategies.com or www.financematters.solutions. A comparison to your cash flow projection is so crucial to understand your financial progress.

Matt and Diane’s banker was thrilled with the progress that they made. Making your lender’s daily overdraft list is not something you want to strive for. Staying off of this daily list is far better for three reasons:

  1. It keeps you “out of the doghouse” with your loan officer.
  2. It saves her from having to advance funds unexpectedly to cover your excess checks written.
  3. It saves you money because whenever the bank covers an overdraft, they will charge you interest. Additionally, this “loan” is not usually priced the same as your other loans. Its pricing is normally at the prime rate plus 5% (or 8.25% today)!

Their banker was also pleased to see that they were executing business decisions with more confidence, simply because they were more aware of their current position, the potential issues they were facing (such as any future cash flow shortfalls), and what their potential options might be. As a result of these changes, she was able to lower the interest rate on their line of credit by ¼%, saving them several thousand dollars per year. Eventually, we were able to refinance their real estate loan with an insurance company, which provided them with further improvement in their long term cash flows, a lower fixed rate of interest, and an opportunity to fund an expansion when their son returned from college. This then became part of their long-term succession plan. What to do if you find negative variances?

  1. If you have expenses that are considerably over your projected levels, you have to take action. What are some possibilities?
  2. Are you using too much, e.g. supplies?
  3. Are any items disappearing? Do you track inventory closely?
  4. Are there products that have become too high priced to justify any longer? ________________________________________________________________
  1. Are there less expensive alternatives available?
  2. Finally, do you even need the item? I know this sounds silly, but I have seen occasions where a producer has been using a product because his Dad had used it. However, he continued to use it even after he had also adapted a superior alternative product. Sounds like what we used to call the “belt & suspenders routine” in banking. We’ll save that concept for another time.
  3. Who is controlling the acquisition and delivery schedule of this item, if in fact, it is a product. Is the delivery schedule matching the rate of usage? Is it in line with what we would expect? Accountability and a degree of control over the process are imperative in this area.

Action Steps:

  1. Where do you begin? Develop a Cash Flow Projection to provide you with a solid idea of what your cash flows are expected to look like during the next twelve months. This will allow you to plan for those months, if and when your bottom line may be negative. If you know those months are coming, you can plan for them by holding back some extra cash or plan to borrow more on your lines of credit.

What should you do next? Decide how you will track your cash flows. As I explained above, I suggest that you use QuickBooks Pro to pay your expenses, track your revenue and costs, and complete your taxes with your accountant. Its Year-to-Date Profit and Loss Statements can be used to complete your comparisons process. Knowing what your strengths and weaknesses are compared with your monthly budget will help to keep you on track and avoid the age old problem of getting to a point beyond repair on particular expenses, whether it is on feed, labor, repairs & maintenance, or some other item. Knowing where we stand on each expense area compared to our budget and to industry standards will keep your operation moving forward in a positive manner. The key is to know what is really occurring in your business.