Know what you can afford — without a finance team

You earn in more than one way

Subscriptions, a shop and a bit of project work each behave differently. One revenue cell can't describe three businesses.

A number in your head isn't a forecast

You know roughly what the year should do. What you can't do with that is answer when — and every decision you're weighing is a question about when.

Fixed costs are invisible in aggregate

Fourteen subscriptions, two retainers and three policies. Each is too small to think about; together they're the biggest lever you have.

VAT is money that was never yours

It sits in your account for a quarter and looks exactly like the rest of it. The balance says yes to a purchase the return will say no to.

You are a cost too

Your own draw usually gets planned last and cut first. A plan that leaves it out isn't a plan for a business that has to keep you alive.

There isn't much history to extrapolate

Eight months of actuals won't produce a trend line worth following. The forecast has to come from drivers and contracts instead.