Finance: arithmetic or compass for tomorrow?
Why growth only really succeeds when you include finance
Business is booming. Sales are up, your team is growing, customers are happy. And yet something keeps gnawing at you. How much margin do we really have left on that project? Why are some invoices sent so late? And how come we are still surprised by unexpected figures at the end of the year?
Many entrepreneurs – especially in SMEs or family businesses – recognize this phase. The organization is growing, but finance is not growing with it. And that’s when things start to get complicated: plenty of data, but little overview. The feeling grows that there is more to be gained from the company, if only you really knew where you stand financially.
As a consultant, I speak to many entrepreneurs, and time and again I see the same bottlenecks recurring. Time to list them in an article.
Where is our money?
In many businesses, finance has long been a necessary byproduct of business. As long as invoices are going out, salaries are being paid and the bank balance is positive, things seem to be going well. But as soon as you grow – more projects or product sales, more people, more investments – that changes. You get other questions: where are we really making our money? Which customers are profitable? Where are we leaving margins?
In practice, I see many common pitfalls: late or insufficient invoicing, accounts receivable backlogs, forgotten hours, no post-calculation, as well as annual accounts that take months to complete because the administration is not in order. Not because people are not doing their jobs, but because processes are missing. Or because everything is still in separate Excel files.
As soon as those signals pile up, you feel it: we have data, but no grip. It’s not that finance is going badly – it’s just that it’s lagging behind. And that costs money, time and, ultimately, confidence in your own numbers.
From Excel to insight
Finance growth comes in stages, just like your business. In the beginning, you arrange a lot yourself. Then an external accountant comes in, then an internal employee. They execute, but often cannot analyze or advise. And that’s exactly where it starts to fray: you need insight, not just processing.
What entrepreneurs are missing then? A clear overview per month. Insight into cash flow, open items, project results, and deviations by customer or department. Finance no longer just has to be right – it has to tell you something. About where things are going well, where there is risk, and where you can make adjustments.
As soon as this need arises, it is time to broaden the role of finance. To someone who makes connections, calculates scenarios and helps you understand: what do the figures really say? And especially: what don’t they tell you?
Help, I steer by feeling
Many entrepreneurs steer by experience for years – and it usually goes well. Until it stops working. You think, “There’s money in the account, so we’re running well.” But without up-to-date information, you see too late that costs are rising, margins are evaporating or projects are going off the rails. Then feeling is no longer a reliable advisor.
One entrepreneur told me, “We made nice sales, but only afterwards did we see that we were structurally missing margin. If I had known that earlier, I would have made different choices.” That insight only came when they received monthly reports. Not just numbers, but interpretation. That’s the difference between administration and finance. Administration says: what have we done? Finance says: what are the consequences, and what can we do better? That is where grip begins. And grip frees up space to do business and to grow with confidence, not on hope.
– Peter van Geel
To pause for a moment: where are you now?
Growth requires reflection. How mature is your financial organization? Are there monthly closings? Is timekeeping done digitally? Are your figures available per department or project? Is there budgeting, or is everything done reactively?
If you find that you mostly look back – or have to search for basic information – then it’s time for the next phase. Then you no longer just want to know where your money went, but where opportunities lie. Then you want to be able to calculate scenarios, make forecasts, see financial impact. To be able to substantiate your choices. Not once a year, but continuously.
That need often arises gradually. Excel starts to crackle, projects grow, the organization becomes more complex. Finance then needs to come along. Not as a liability, but as a lever. So that your organization not only grows, but also steers smarter.
Grip on numbers = peace of mind
When your finance is in order, peace of mind is created. You know where you stand and you avoid surprises. This peace of mind applies not only to the entrepreneur, but also to team leaders or departments. With insight into their own budgets and performance, they can take their responsibility Thus finance becomes not only a task of “the department,” but part of how you manage the entire organization.
Many business owners report that monthly insights allow them to better anticipate. You don’t see problems only at the end of the year, but the moment they arise. As a result, you don’t have to keep putting out fires. You also discover where you are missing out on profits and where things are going well. As a result, you no longer steer by gut feeling or bank account, but by facts.
Grip gives peace of mind. And that peace is essential when you are in a phase where you have to make choices: invest or not? To grow or to consolidate? Continue with a customer or say goodbye? Without a grip, it’s gambling. With grip, it’s doing business.
Army finance people
Many companies think: if we want to take finance more seriously, we immediately need a controller, a financial manager ánd expensive software. But that is often not necessary. What you need is someone who can translate figures. Who understands where discrepancies come from. Who knows what you need as an entrepreneur to make good decisions.
With a good finance professional and some automation (think scan and recognize, dashboards, time tracking) you’ll come a long way. Especially if your processes are tight and your data is reliable. Then you don’t have to set up an entire department right away – it’s about smart organization, not scaling up.
What you do want to avoid in this process is that everything in finance depends on one person. That makes your organization vulnerable. If that person drops out or leaves, the overview disappears. So ensure that knowledge is secured, processes are transferable and there is always a form of internal control. Finance must be solid, even if someone is absent for a while.
Let finance accelerate your growth
Finance is often seen as something that has to be done. But it is actually a growth accelerator. It helps you look ahead: what are your opportunities, which investments are feasible, which customers are profitable? And above all: what needs to be done to realize your ambitions?
Therein lies the core. Finance becomes really valuable only when you have a clear direction. Do you want to double in revenue? Enter another market? Make an acquisition? Then you want to know: where do we stand, how are we going to finance it, is it a realistic scenario and what steps are needed?
The more concrete your vision of the future, the better finance can support you. Then it becomes not a rear-view mirror, but a strategic compass. And that changes everything: you no longer look at whether something has gone well, but whether it can go well – and what that requires of you.
Tips to get started today
Many business owners know there is “more to be gotten out of finance,” but not exactly where to start. These tips will help you get started:
- Ask yourself: do I know where I stand financially today?
- Look critically at your processes: where is manual work, where do delays occur?
- Automate the basics: invoices, hours, reports.
- Discuss internally who has what role in finance.
- Establishes month end and forecast structures.
- Link your numbers to your ambition: where do you want to go?
First your foundation, then your next step
Growth doesn’t start with more. It starts with better. With insight, rhythm, and a team that understands where you want to go. Finance is not an administration department in this – it is the engine of responsible growth. Of knowing what is possible, and why.
One director told me:
“Since we have our finance in order, I sleep better. Not because everything is perfect, but because I know what’s going on.”
So finance is not just about numbers. It’s about staying the course. About making room to build. And about having the courage not to sail by gut feeling, but by direction.
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