The Profit First technique is a novel approach to cash flow management that assists businesses in ensuring that they generate a profit and get paid.
As counterintuitive as it may appear, entrepreneurs are notoriously bad at paying themselves properly or on time. This does not have to be the case.
This strategy, which was introduced in Mike Michalowicz’s book Profit First, is gaining acclaim from accountants, small company owners, and the financial independence movement for re-framing concepts about budgeting and cash flow.
Michalowicz has helped hundreds of thousands of people get control of their company and personal finances via compelling storytelling and practical guidance.
What exactly is the Profit First Strategy?
Profit First is a profit-sharing system in which company owners take a portion of each sale as profit. The classic profit formula subtracts expenditures from sales, leaving the difference as profit.
The Profit First formula changes the way company owners think about accounting and budgeting. Traditionally, company owners subtract expenditures from revenues and then calculate profit.
Profit formula from the past:
Profit = Sales – Expenses
The profit comes first in the Profit First Formula, which pushes you to remove profit from each sale and utilize the leftover money for costs.
The Profit First method:
Expenses = Sales – Profit
You account for your profit, taxes, and pay from the beginning. What’s leftover is the budget for your company’s expenses such as rent, wages, material charges, and utilities.
It might be unsettling to conduct your company in this manner. However, placing profit first makes you more aware of where and how you spend your money.
More significantly, it makes you aware of the need of investing in your peace of mind and quality of life. That attitude adjustment might be game-changing for folks who aren’t accustomed to paying themselves.
What are the main benefits of applying the Profit First Formula?
Profit First is a behavioral framework, which means you don’t need to modify your current practices. If you’re anything like me, you’re aware of the funds in your bank account. You spend the money you have available to you.
Profit First enables you to use your natural preferences for bank balance accounting in a more effective manner.
You will take money from your quick access as you make a profit. You won’t be able to access it since you won’t be able to see it.
Pro Tip: The reverse engineering component of collecting your profit first bakes this into your firm, ensuring you develop successfully and automatically discover the proper size of business.
This framework provides you with insight into your progress toward your objectives, resulting in a more productive business and cold hard cash in your bank account. This encourages you to continue working on it.
Furthermore, once built, it is a very easy system. It is not necessary to be a “numbers person or girl” to understand it.
How to Put Profit First into Action
1. Divide your budget into smaller spending categories.
The first step is to break down how you spend your money into smaller spending “buckets.” A bucket is a grouping of comparable assets.
In this scenario, your buckets are five bank accounts depending on your company’s primary functions:
- Account of Profits (Savings Account)
- Accounting for Taxes (Savings Account)
- Owner’s Repayment (Savings Account)
- Earnings (Transaction Account)
- Expenses for Operations (Transaction Account)
2. Calculate your Profit First percentages (CAPS and TAPS)
We require two sorts of percentages to establish your present financial situation and define your Profit First goals are: Current Allocation Percentages (CAPS) and Target Allocation Percentages (TAP) (TAPS).
These Profit First percentages will be used to decide how much money you distribute into your bank accounts
Your CAPS reveal where your Real Revenue is being spent right now—what your company is purchasing daily in its present configuration.
The TAPS outline where we want your Real Revenue to go after the firm is functioning efficiently and profitably; these are the ideal percentages you should strive for.
The objective is to progressively transition from CAPS to TAPS. You won’t reach these percentages immediately (or even this year in many circumstances), but you won’t be able to work towards them until you know what they are.
3. Transfer your money
You should initially deposit all of your earnings into your income account. Make a habit of sending monies from your income account to your other accounts regularly.
4. Make Your Payments
Utilize your Profit First, open an account to pay your expenses. The idea is to make certain that each account is only utilized for its intended purpose.
5. Review
Your Profit First system should be examined and updated after each quarter.
Profit First requires you to re-evaluate every aspect of your company concept, as well as your financial status. As your circumstances change, so will your need for cash, and your account transfers should reflect this.