#working-capital
Manage working capital for business operations
A practical guide for small business owners on building a three-statement financial model that links income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow into a single forecast — covering the eight-step build, runway calculation, and scenario testing.
How bid, performance, and payment bonds work in 2026 for small construction contractors — the Miller Act's $35K and $150K federal thresholds, the SBA's 80–90% guarantee covering contracts up to $14 million, and the working-capital and WIP discipline that decides which builders get bonded for the largest jobs.
Public construction contracts above the FAR $150,000 threshold require performance and payment bonds under the Miller Act, with state Little Miller Acts setting thresholds from $25,000 to $500,000. The SBA Surety Bond Guarantee Program—which guaranteed $10.6 billion in bonds for 2,200+ small businesses in FY2025—lets approved sureties write bonds for small contractors by absorbing 80–90% of loss risk.
A practical 2026 playbook for small businesses using a Treasury-bill ladder to earn ~3.66% on idle operating cash, capture the state and local tax exemption on Treasury interest, and keep the bookkeeping clean.
AIA G702 and G703 pay applications, schedules of values, retainage, WIP schedules, and over/underbilling reconciliations are what tie construction billing to GAAP revenue recognition under ASC 606. Here is how each piece works, why a $312 line error can delay a $1.4M wire by 41 days, and the patterns that rattle sureties.
Section 531 imposes a 20% accumulated earnings tax on C-corps that retain profits beyond a $250,000 credit ($150,000 for personal service firms) without specific, feasible plans. This guide explains the Bardahl working-capital formula, the Section 534 burden-of-proof statement, and the contemporaneous documentation that defends an accumulation in IRS audit.
A practical playbook for building a 13-week rolling cash flow forecast using the direct method—how to model receipts, disbursements, and weekly variance so small businesses spot liquidity gaps four to twelve weeks before they hit.
How to read accounts receivable aging reports, recover overdue invoices by bucket, and write off bad debt. The data shows 64% of small businesses carry invoices 90+ days past due, and recovery probability falls about 1 percentage point per additional week of inaction.
AR Days (DSO) measures how long it takes to collect on credit sales. A practical guide to the formula, industry benchmarks from 1–5 days for retail to 70–120 days for construction, common calculation errors, and seven tactics that reduce collection time.
Days Payable Outstanding measures the average number of days a company takes to pay suppliers. This guide covers the DPO formula (Average AP ÷ COGS × Days), industry benchmarks from 15 to 70 days, the 37% annualized return from 2/10 net 30 discounts, and seven strategies to optimize payment cycles without damaging vendor relationships.
Late payments impose a hidden tax on leadership, not just cash. With 70% of finance leaders reporting more late payments in 2026 and an average $39,406 annual cost, unpredictable receivables quietly reshape hiring, pricing, and tool decisions. This guide explains decision drag and the AR practices (Net 30 terms, weekly DSO review, automated reminders) that eliminate it.
A field-tested playbook for reducing Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), with industry benchmarks, the ten tactics that move the metric most, and a four-week sprint that typically shaves 5–15 days off collection cycles.
