Sales are up. The pipeline looks healthy. Your team’s busy. Yet cash feels tight, paying VAT feels like a scramble, and every hiring decision feels risky.
That’s the frustrating bit about growth. It often breaks the old way you ran the business. What used to work when you were smaller (gut feel, a basic spreadsheet, “we’ll sort the books later”) starts to leak money and time. Small finance mistakes compound, then they stall hiring, marketing, stock buys, product work, and investment plans.
This post covers the most common patterns that slow SMEs and start-ups, what they look like day to day, and the real fixes a Fractional CFO at Consult EFC can put in place in weeks, not months. The goal is simple: a clear cash view, calmer decisions, stronger margins, and reporting that stands up to funders.
Money mistakes that quietly choke growth (and what they look like day to day)
Most business owners don’t “mess up” finance. They get busy, and money management becomes reactive. That’s normal, but it has a price. A widely quoted figure is that cash flow problems sit behind the majority of business failures, even when demand exists. In 2026, with funding taking longer and costs still high, the margin for error is thin.
Here’s what these mistakes often look like in real life.
Profit looks fine, but cash keeps running out
You can be profitable on paper and still miss payroll. That’s not a contradiction, it’s timing.
A common example is a service business invoicing monthly in arrears. Work happens in January, invoices go out in early February, customers pay on 30-day terms, cash lands in March. Meanwhile, wages, software, rent, and VAT are due now. If you also carry stock or pay suppliers upfront, the gap gets bigger.
The growth cost shows up fast:
- A strong candidate says yes, but you delay the hire because you can’t see if cash will hold.
- You avoid a marketing push because last month’s bank balance scared you.
- You miss early payment discounts, or you pay suppliers late and lose goodwill.
- VAT becomes a surprise rather than a planned payment.
This pattern is usually driven by weak working capital habits. Terms aren’t managed, collections are inconsistent, and there’s no buffer. Many founders also confuse revenue with cash. It’s why “we had a great month” can still end with a maxed-out overdraft.
Cash issues also hide in plain sight. If a few large customers pay late, you can become dependent on them without noticing. Customer concentration risk doesn’t feel like risk until one invoice slips.
No clear budget, messy books, and decisions based on gut feel
When the numbers arrive late (or don’t tie out), decision-making becomes guesswork. You might “feel” spend is under control, then get hit with a tax bill, a VAT catch-up, or a sudden dip in margin you can’t explain.
Messy books are rarely about effort. They’re about structure and cadence. Common causes include inconsistent bookkeeping, a chart of accounts that doesn’t match how the business runs, and not reviewing results monthly. The cost of this isn’t just admin time. It’s missed decisions.
Typical growth blockers include:
- Overspend on tools, contractors, or ads because no one is checking monthly run-rate.
- Pricing that hasn’t been updated for higher wage costs or supplier price rises.
- “Profit” that is inflated because costs are coded wrongly or posted late.
- Funding delays because investors and lenders want clean reporting and a clear story.
In the start-up world, this is even sharper. If you can’t show unit economics, burn rate, and a sensible runway, it’s hard to build trust. Recent market commentary also points to funding rounds taking longer than before, so planning for a longer runway matters more than it did a few years ago.
Quick fixes a Fractional CFO at Consult EFC can put in place in the first 30 days
The quickest wins come from clarity and routine, not complex models. At Consult EFC, Fractional CFO work is built around your goal (growth, investment, or exit) and your team’s capacity. The point isn’t to turn you into a finance department. It’s to give you control.
In the first month, the focus is usually on three deliverables: cash visibility, a simple budget, and margin discipline.
A 13-week cash flow forecast that shows problems before they hit
A 13-week cash flow forecast is a practical tool because it matches how businesses actually run. It’s short enough to stay accurate, and long enough to spot trouble early.
It tracks cash in and cash out by week, using what you know today: invoiced sales, expected payment dates, payroll, VAT, rent, supplier payments, debt repayments, and planned spend. It also adds a basic best case and worst case view, so you’re not caught out when a customer pays late.
A Fractional CFO can set up a weekly update rhythm that doesn’t take hours. The forecast becomes the place where you make decisions with your eyes open.
Common levers that can improve cash quickly include:
- Faster invoicing: invoice on delivery, not “when we get to it”.
- Tighter credit control: clear payment terms, early reminders, a firm escalation path.
- Deposits and staged billing: share the cash burden with the customer, not just your bank.
- Supplier term changes: align payment dates with your receipts where possible.
- A buffer plan: build towards 3 to 6 months of fixed costs over time, starting with small, consistent set-asides.
Cash flow discipline reduces stress fast. It also stops growth decisions being made in a panic.
A simple budget that links spend to targets, not hope
Budgets fail when they become fiction. A working budget is lean, clear, and checked often.
A Fractional CFO will usually split costs into fixed and variable, then link variable spend to drivers you can control (sales activity, delivery capacity, stock turns, customer support load). The budget doesn’t need 200 lines. It needs the lines that matter.
The other half is governance. Who can approve spend, at what level, and how quickly? Without basic rules, the budget is just a document.
This approach removes common traps:
- Marketing spend rises because the team is chasing growth, but no one checks whether margin can carry it.
- Software subscriptions stack up. Each one feels small, together they bite.
- Tax becomes a shock because there’s no monthly set-aside plan.
A practical fix is a monthly review where you compare actuals to budget, then decide what changes next month. The aim is control without slowdown. You still move quickly, you just stop spending on autopilot.
Pricing and margin clean-up so revenue turns into real profit
Some businesses don’t have a sales problem, they have a margin problem. Revenue comes in, but it doesn’t stick.
This often happens when pricing hasn’t moved with costs, discounts are inconsistent, or delivery takes longer than assumed. It also shows up when “busy” work fills the diary but contributes little profit.
A Fractional CFO can help you see margin by product, service line, and customer type, including cost-to-serve. That means factoring in delivery time, rework, support time, and payment behaviour, not just direct costs.
Quick wins often include:
- Setting a minimum margin rule so teams don’t price below a safe level.
- Reducing uncontrolled discounting, with clear reasons when discounts are used.
- Putting through sensible price rises, paired with a clear message about value and outcomes.
- Stopping loss-making work, or renegotiating scope and terms.
This is where confidence returns. When you trust your margins, you can invest in people and marketing without the fear that growth will make you poorer.
Make the business investment-ready, without turning it into a finance project
Investment-ready doesn’t mean perfect. It means consistent, clear, and believable.
Funders want to see that you understand your numbers, you close the month properly, and you can explain what drives performance. Many deals slow down because reporting is messy, not because the business is bad.
Consult EFC keeps this practical. The goal is the minimum set of reports and routines that improve decisions now and stand up to scrutiny later.
Monthly reporting that owners will actually read and use
If your month-end pack is 40 pages, it won’t get read. If it’s two pages with no detail, it won’t help. The sweet spot is a short pack that answers the questions a good owner asks.
A solid core pack looks like this:
| Report | What it tells you | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Profit and Loss | Profitability for the month and year to date | Shows if margin is improving or slipping |
| Balance Sheet | What you own, what you owe, and working capital | Highlights cash pressure before it hits |
| Cash summary | Cash movement and short-term position | Stops surprises and panic decisions |
| Aged receivables | Who owes you money, and how late it is | Focuses collections where it counts |
| Aged payables | What you owe, and when it’s due | Supports supplier planning and trust |
| KPI page | A few drivers (margin, run-rate, debtor days) | Keeps attention on what moves results |
A good month-end close is fast, accurate, and repeatable. When the close is consistent, you stop arguing about the numbers and start using them. That builds trust with lenders and investors, and it builds trust inside your team too.
Fewer surprises with tighter payment and tax routines
“Surprises” are usually the result of missing routines. When cash is tight, even small surprises feel huge.
Getting paid faster starts with clear terms and consistent follow-up. It also means not letting one large customer become your de facto lender. If a single client makes up too much of revenue, a late payment can stall the whole business.
Tax needs the same discipline. VAT and corporation tax shouldn’t be a shock. A Fractional CFO can set a simple provisioning routine so each month you set aside what you’re likely to owe, based on real performance.
Basic controls also protect cash without slowing the business:
- Keep business and personal spending separate, every time.
- Set clear approval limits for purchases and contractors.
- Keep documentation tidy for key spend, grants, and any R&D claims you may be eligible for.
These steps reduce stress and reduce risk. They also make due diligence far smoother if you’re raising investment or preparing for an exit.
Conclusion
Most growth stalls don’t come from lack of effort. They come from three issues: cash timing, lack of clarity, and margins that don’t hold up under pressure. Fix those, and the business starts to feel calmer, even while it grows.
A Fractional CFO at Consult EFC can put quick wins in place fast, a 13-week cash flow forecast, a simple budget with real controls, reporting that supports decisions, and pricing discipline so revenue becomes profit. The longer-term payoff is confidence, funding readiness, and smoother scaling.
If you want a clear set of priorities, speak with Consult EFC and map out a focused 30-day action plan that fits how your business actually runs.
SaaS Fractional CFO Support for Scaling Your SaaS Company (How Consult EFC Helps)
