Understanding your numbers
Budget vs actual: what changed and why?
A budget is your plan. Actual results show what happened. The difference helps you learn which assumptions to change.
2 min read
Explore by topic
Understanding your numbers
Profit, cash, statements and useful ratios. Choose a guide for context, then use a worksheet or calculator when it helps with a specific decision.
Guides and lessons
Understanding your numbers
Cash flow explained: timing, forecasting and gaps
Cash flow is the money moving in and out of your business. Tracking it, and forecasting it a few months ahead, shows you when cash will be tight so you can act before bills fall due.
6 min read
Understanding your numbers
Debtors and creditors: what your receivables and payables tell you
Debtors are customers who owe you money. Creditors are suppliers you owe. How quickly money moves through both decides how much of your profit is sitting in the bank and how much is tied up waiting.
6 min read
Running a business
How do I know if a job is profitable?
A job can bring in cash and still earn too little after materials, labour, rework and the business costs shared across jobs.
2 min read
Cash flow
How to build a cash-flow forecast
A useful forecast follows payment dates, not sales dates. Start with cash in the bank, then map receipts and payments for each coming period.
2 min read
Understanding your numbers
How to read a balance sheet
A balance sheet is a snapshot of what your business owns, what it owes and what is left for the owners on one date. It shows your financial position, where the profit and loss statement shows performance.
6 min read
Understanding your numbers
How to read a profit and loss statement
A profit and loss statement lists your sales and expenses over a period and shows whether the business made a profit. Reading it top to bottom tells you how much each sale earns and where the money goes.
6 min read
Starting a business
How to test whether a business idea is viable
A promising idea becomes a stronger plan when real customers show interest, the numbers work and you can deliver consistently.
2 min read
Understanding your numbers
Margins and break-even: how pricing and costs drive your profit
Your margins show how much of each sales dollar you keep. Your break-even point shows how much you need to sell before you make any profit. Together they explain how prices and costs drive profitability.
6 min read
Understanding your numbers
Profit vs cash flow: why profit isn't cash
Profit tells you whether your business earns more than it spends over a period. Cash is the money you can actually spend today. Timing differences mean the two can move in opposite directions.
6 min read
Running a business
Set prices that cover your costs
A price must make sense to your customer and cover more than the direct cost of a job. Start with your costs, then test the market and review the result.
2 min read
Starting a business
Starting a business: a practical checklist
Work through the decisions in a sensible order. Test the idea and cash needs before paying for premises, stock or an elaborate setup.
2 min read
Understanding your numbers
What lenders may look at in your numbers
When you apply for business finance, a lender may look at your revenue, cash flow, profit, bank statements, financial statements, BAS, existing debts, credit information and security. Each lender weighs these differently, so understanding your own numbers comes first.
6 min read
Starting a business
What to check before buying a business
The price is only one part of a business purchase. Check whether the earnings, assets and relationships can actually transfer to you.
2 min read
Understanding your numbers
Working capital: why growing businesses often feel short of cash
Working capital is current assets minus current liabilities. As sales grow, more cash gets tied up in stock and unpaid invoices before it comes back, so a growing business can feel poorer even as profit rises.
6 min read
Tools
Business health checkA private, educational check-in across cash, customers, records and planning. No score or lender assessment.Open tool Break-even calculatorEstimate how many units you need to sell to cover fixed costs at a given price and variable cost.Open tool Gross margin calculatorSee gross profit and the share of revenue left after direct costs.Open tool Markup vs margin calculatorCompare markup on cost with margin on selling price so pricing decisions use the right percentage.Open tool
Templates
Profit and loss templateSee whether sales covered the costs of running your business over a chosen period.Open template Balance sheet templateTake a dated snapshot of what the business owns and owes.Open template Business budget templatePlan sales and expenses, then compare actual results with your original assumptions.Open template