Habits sound good on paper. The test is a Tuesday afternoon when someone asks "can we afford this?" and you need an answer before the end of the call.
In short: most business money decisions come down to one question: what does this do to the months our cash lasts? For each decision below there's one number to check first: runway for a hire, the yearly cost for a subscription, the cash gap for longer payment terms, the reserve for a big purchase, and your floor rate for a price change.
- Name the decision
- Find its one number
- Check it against your line
- Decide
- Write down why
This is general guidance, not financial, tax or legal advice.
A worked example: a new hire
Made-up but realistic: €90,000 of cash without the tax reserve, €15,000 of fixed costs a month. A new hire costs the business €3,500 a month in total.
| Fixed costs a month | Runway | |
|---|---|---|
| Today | €15,000 | 6 months |
| With the hire | €18,500 | about 4.9 months |
−1.1 months
If your line is 4 months, the hire fits, with little room for a slow quarter on top. If the hire should bring in new work, write down by when, and check runway again on that date (monthly review).
Five decisions, one number each
1. A hire: runway
Add the full monthly cost of the person to fixed costs and divide your cash again. If it drops below your line, wait, or plan where the extra income comes from.
2. Subscriptions: the yearly cost
Unused tools are the quietest cost a business has. €85 a month of software nobody opens is €1,020 a year. Once a quarter, list every subscription and cancel what hasn't been used in a month.
3. Longer payment terms: the cash gap
If a client moves from 30 to 60 days, you wait one extra month, once. That gap equals one month of their invoices. Check that your reserve covers it before you agree (seven habits).
4. A big purchase: the reserve
Paying for equipment from the reserve leaves you without a cushion for a late invoice. Pay from operating cash, or refill the reserve on a fixed plan.
5. A price change: your floor rate
A discount is only safe while the price stays above your floor. A price increase is often safer than it feels; try it on new proposals first (setting your rate).
The traps
- Deciding on the bank balance. It includes the tax reserve and money already promised.
- Counting only the salary. A hire also costs contributions, equipment and time to train.
- Forgetting the reason. Write down why you said yes, so you can check it in three months.
- Saying yes during the call. "Let me check the numbers and get back to you tomorrow" is a complete answer.
Try it on a decision you're facing
Pick the one decision on your desk, find its number above, and calculate it with your figures before you answer.
One thing to do today
List every subscription the business pays for, with its monthly price. Add them up and multiply by 12.
Where Volora fits
In Volora, the fixed costs of a Business project show what a new monthly cost would be added to, and wallets show cash without the tax reserve. Subscriptions recorded as recurring transactions stay visible every month, budgets with budget alerts show when a category creeps up, and Insights flags unusual spending. A goal linked to the reserve wallet shows how much cushion you'd have after a big purchase. The decision is yours; Volora puts the numbers in front of you.