Before you do anything, figure out why cash is low. A business that’s losing money needs a different response than a business that’s profitable on paper but has $80,000 stuck in unpaid invoices. Cutting costs when the real problem is slow collections won’t fix anything. Chasing revenue when the real problem is overspending won’t either.

Pull up your bank balance, your outstanding receivables, your upcoming payables, and your recent profit and loss statement. Look at what changed. Did a big client pay late? Did you take on a project that required heavy upfront spending? Did revenue drop? Did expenses creep up? The answer tells you where to focus.

If clients owe you money, that’s your first move. Call them. Send reminders. Offer a small discount for immediate payment if you need to. Going forward, tighten your payment terms. Net 30 should mean net 30, not net 60 because nobody followed up. Consider requiring deposits or progress payments on larger projects. Cash sitting in someone else’s bank account doesn’t help you.

If expenses grew faster than revenue, look at what’s non-essential. Subscriptions you forgot about, services you’re paying for but not using, spending that made sense when revenue was higher. Don’t slash things that directly generate revenue like marketing or key staff. Cut the fat, not the muscle.

Talk to your vendors. Many will work with you on extended payment terms if you communicate before you’re late, not after. A vendor who hears “I need an extra 15 days this month” is far more cooperative than one chasing a past-due invoice.

If the problem is pricing, that’s harder to fix quickly but critical to address. Run the numbers on your actual margins. Many business owners in the Nashville area discover they’ve been underpricing for months or even years and the low cash situation is just the symptom of thin margins finally catching up.

Build a 13-week cash flow forecast. This is a simple spreadsheet showing expected cash in and cash out for the next three months, week by week. It shows you exactly when shortfalls will hit so you can plan instead of react. Budgeting and cash flow forecasting done properly turns cash management from a constant source of stress into something you can actually see and control.

If you need cash to bridge a gap, consider a business line of credit. Apply before you’re desperate because lenders give better terms when your financials still look reasonable. An SBA line of credit or a relationship with a local bank can provide a safety net for timing issues without the predatory rates you’ll find from online lenders.

The bigger issue is that most businesses don’t monitor cash flow until something goes wrong. Revenue comes in, expenses go out, and nobody is watching the gap between them closely enough. By the time the bank balance looks scary, the problem has been building for weeks or months.

Once you stabilize, put systems in place so this doesn’t repeat. Separate your operating account from a reserve account and build up at least one to two months of fixed expenses as a buffer. Review cash position weekly, not just when you feel worried. Get financial reporting that shows you where money is going before it becomes a crisis.

Running low on cash doesn’t mean the business is failing. It means the financial side needs attention. Many healthy businesses hit cash crunches because of growth, seasonality, or one-time expenses. The difference between businesses that survive these moments and ones that don’t is how quickly they respond and whether they build systems to prevent it from happening again. Working with CFO services for small businesses can give you the visibility and planning to stay ahead of cash issues instead of reacting to them.