Cash flow first: ways a consulting firm can bring money in sooner, a five-step forecast for a law firm, and an invented 13-week forecast for a dental office that shows where a gap opens.
How a Westchester County, NY consulting firm can improve cash flow
Cash flow at a consulting firm gets better in two ways: money comes in sooner, or money goes out on a schedule that matches it. Practical moves:
- Bill at milestones instead of at the end of an engagement, so a three-month project produces three invoices
- Ask for a retainer or a deposit before the work starts
- Put payment terms in the engagement letter and follow up on the day an invoice comes due
- Line up subcontractor payments with client receipts where the contracts allow it
- Keep a business line of credit for whatever gap remains, drawn only when receipts lag payroll
Illustration only: with biweekly payroll, an invoice paid on net-60 terms leaves 4 or 5 paydays to cover before the money arrives, depending on where the first payday falls.
How Westchester County, NY law firms prepare a cash flow forecast
- Start from the cash in the operating account today, leaving escrow and trust balances out.
- List expected receipts by week: hourly invoices by the payment lag the firm actually sees, retainers by their due dates, and contingency payouts only once a settlement date is set.
- List payments by week: payroll, rent, case costs advanced for clients, insurance and any loan payments.
- Subtract to get each week's closing balance, and mark any week that falls under the cushion the firm wants to keep.
- Replace estimates with actual figures every week and roll the forecast forward by one week.
The forecast shows the size and timing of a gap, and that is what a funding conversation needs: a working capital amount or a credit line limit can be sized to it, while the funding partner decides on any offer.
A 13-week cash flow forecast for White Plains, NY dental offices
Illustration only, invented figures: a White Plains, NY dental office opens a quarter with $38,000 in the bank, runs $26,000 of payroll every other week, pays $11,500 of rent in weeks 1, 5 and 10 (the first week of each invented month), and pays lab and supply bills every week.
| Week | Collections | Payroll | Rent | Lab and supply bills | Closing balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | $21,500 | - | $11,500 | $6,200 | $41,800 |
| Week 2 | $19,800 | $26,000 | - | $5,400 | $30,200 |
| Week 3 | $22,400 | - | - | $7,100 | $45,500 |
| Week 4 | $18,900 | $26,000 | - | $4,800 | $33,600 |
| Week 5 | $20,600 | - | $11,500 | $6,600 | $36,100 |
| Week 6 | $17,200 | $26,000 | - | $5,900 | $21,400 |
| Week 7 | $16,800 | - | - | $8,300 | $29,900 |
| Week 8 | $19,400 | $26,000 | - | $5,200 | $18,100 |
| Week 9 | $21,900 | - | - | $6,100 | $33,900 |
| Week 10 | $20,300 | $26,000 | $11,500 | $5,700 | $11,000 |
| Week 11 | $18,600 | - | - | $7,400 | $22,200 |
| Week 12 | $22,800 | $26,000 | - | $5,300 | $13,700 |
| Week 13 | $21,100 | - | - | $6,000 | $28,800 |
The balance never runs out, but it dips under a $20,000 cushion in weeks 8, 10 and 12, and the deepest point is $11,000 in week 10. A line of credit with room for at least $9,000 would cover that low point, drawn in week 10 and paid down from the collections that follow.
In the 2023 ZIP Code Business Patterns file, offices of dentists (NAICS 6212) at ZIP 10601 addresses numbered 31.
Articles for White Plains, NY fitness studios, landscape crews, nail bars, caterers and specialist offices
The articles on this blog take up six cases, each pairing a White Plains, NY business with the funding type that fits its purchase:
- Boutique fitness studios paying for reformers, bikes and other studio equipment
- Landscape crews financing stand-on mowers, trailers and leaf vacuums
- Specialist medical offices funding imaging units, furnishings and new staff, with walls and wiring left as property work outside this site
- Nail bars replacing manicure tables, nail dryers and lobby furniture
- Office caterers equipping an existing restaurant kitchen, with the vehicle and permanent building work outside this site
- Law and consulting firms using a business line of credit while waiting on retainer payments
By Cedarstone Business Funding · Updated