The LivePlan Blog

When you’re building your financial forecast for your business plan, there’s nothing more important than your cash flow forecast. Here’s what to watch out for when you’re forecasting your cash flow.

Cash flow is critical to running a business. Without money in your bank account, you can’t pay your bills. Find out how to calculate and improve operating cash flow.

Profit margin (also called operating margin) shows how much profit your business makes on every dollar of sales, before paying interest payments or taxes. It is usually expressed as a percentage. Here’s why it matters, and how to calculate the profit margin for your business.

A good business dashboard (also called a “financial dashboard”) is important for growing businesses. A simple dashboard that you feel comfortable reading will help you keep an eye on several key metrics at once, so you can focus on steering your company effectively.

We’ve just released some exciting updates to LivePlan that make it easier to create new financial forecasts. We’ve also given you a new option to forecast cost of goods sold and improved how we provide help.

Writing a business plan can seem like a daunting task and an easy one to avoid. But, it doesn’t have to be. An easy way to start is with a one-page business plan or Lean Plan. Here’s how to do it.

Your profit and loss statement is the first financial information that investors and bankers will look at in your plan. Here’s a rundown of what the numbers mean.

Setting goals is a fundamental part of improving. Here’s how to set goals within your business and track your progress—which better improves your chances for achieving your goals.

Accounts receivable is money that is owed to you by your customers for products or services that you have sold. Find out why AR is important, and how to track it.

Whatever type of business plan you’re writing, there are a few key financial items that you should definitely include. Here’s what they are, why they’re important, and how you should create them.