When managing money on a monthly basis it is always best to write out a payment plan.
Be brutal with yourself and allow for the unexpected expenses.
Decide also what needs paying first or like me predict when payments are coming in and when they are going out.
If push came to shove would you put a website on top of the list if it meant that without a website your main source of income would fail?
If you a bricks and mortar business and have some business walk-ins then maybe you may not want to prioritise your website. But if your website generated your main source of income you would pay your electricity, your broadband, your telephone and your website hosting first. Obviously there are other factors, such as rent, rates and staff wages, but without your business engine running smoothly your are potentially sabotaging your whole business which then causes redundancies or worse your whole business closing down.
Today I talk about overdue payments. Everyone has bills but there is a way to manage them by writing out a payment plan. It does not have to be anything fancy and it can be done with word and a table of columns (date, description, dr, cr, balance).
When writing your business plan consider that you may need extra money for an added expense not forecasted within the month. If this unexpected bill does not materialise one month let that payment roll over to the next month and so one so that when it eventually rears its ugly head you are prepared for it. Be strict with yourself and never go over your budget. If you manage to save as some months and in my case I do not get domain renewals every month but I still set myself a budget and I roll over that expense to the next month and so on.
Also highlight the most important bills you have to pay and prioritise these payments over others. This payment plan can also be incorporated into your personal expenses. At a glance each month you will then see what needs paying without receiving embarrassing reminder txt messages or phone calls.
I have added a payment plan template for your convenience below:
PAYMENT-PLAN
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