Revenue, margin and cash flow gaps identified within 48 hours of your evidence pack
How to fix cash flow when the P&L says you are profitable
Cash Flow Improvement
Fixer48 Advisory is a Melbourne-based commercial performance advisory practice for Australian B2B businesses turning over $5m to $100m. It is led by Ash Kent, who has spent more than 30 years as a GM, CEO and MD carrying the P&L. It works differently from conventional advisory: every recommendation is built from your own numbers, a named deliverable lands every week of the first four, and Fixer48 stays in the business through implementation until the result shows in the numbers.
Cash flow in a profitable B2B business is fixed by closing the gap between the profit the P&L reports and the cash that reaches the bank. That gap sits in work completed but not billed, invoices issued but not collected, stock on hand, and the payment terms agreed with customers and suppliers. The work is finding where your cash is held, then changing the terms, billing and collection disciplines that hold it there.
Why is cash tight when the business is profitable?
Because profit is recorded when work is invoiced, and cash arrives only when it is collected. In between, cash sits in debtors, in stock and in work done but not yet billed. The signals Fixer48 looks for are cash flow that is tighter than the P&L suggests it should be, creditor pressure that is building, and debtor days that are blowing out.
Where is the cash going?
Fixer48 starts with the evidence: the balance sheet for the current and prior year, aged receivables and payables, and a working capital interview with your finance lead or accountant. Fixer48 then works through debtor days, supplier terms, inventory holding and reorder discipline, so more of the profit the business earns arrives in the bank.
What happens in the first four weeks of the sprint?
Four gates, one decision at each. Week 1 delivers the Foundation Report, built from the financial evidence including the balance sheet and aged receivables and payables, with your Commercial Performance Index baseline. Week 2 delivers the Findings and Strategy Report, quantifying what is recoverable and sequencing the initiatives. Week 3 scopes the one or two priority initiatives that were not visible from the outside. Week 4 confirms the implementation schedule, locks the KPIs and gives every action an owner. Every deliverable is returned within 48 hours of the evidence being received. You can stop at week 4 with the signed-off plan and run it yourself.
What happens in weeks 5 to 13?
The plan goes to work, completing the 90-day commercial sprint. The agreed initiatives go in, in priority order, with Fixer48 working inside the business alongside your team. Activation of every initiative is tracked and reported every week, and business KPIs are measured monthly and reviewed with your leadership team. Commercial Calibration runs alongside, adjusting each initiative before a gap becomes a problem. In practice the cash initiatives have included payment in advance on project orders and a written payment collection policy. Day 90 is a formal review that confirms your 12-month commercial trajectory before the engagement proceeds.
What happens in the following three months?
Strategic implementation that builds on the framework set in the first four weeks. Reporting moves to a monthly KPI cycle, with a special sprint reactivated where the business needs extra resource. Commercial Forensics maps the business from customer order through to delivery, including supplier terms, inventory holding cost and reorder discipline. Every initiative still in train is embedded with a named owner and a live KPI, and the engagement closes at week 26 with a validated 12-month commercial plan your leadership team owns and runs.
What does cash flow improvement look like in practice?
For a critical power equipment and service business, reading every invoice line found almost 9% of a year's revenue in completed work that had never been billed or collected. Payment of 50% in advance became standard on project orders, adding 10% to FY27 cash received on the same orders. Read the Critical Power case study.
For a premium confectionery manufacturer, a written payment collection policy was among six commercial policies in force by day 19. Read the Confectionery case study.
Questions owners ask about cash flow
What do I need to have ready?
Your balance sheet for the current and prior year and your aged receivables and payables are the starting point for cash flow. The full list is in the evidence pack checklist.
Will you set a cash flow target?
Targets are confirmed in week 3, once the evidence is in, aligned to industry benchmarks and the current capabilities of the business.
Will you work with my accountant?
Yes. Your accountant keeps their role. Fixer48 coordinates findings with your accountant and other advisors so actions stay aligned.
Start with a conversation
Every engagement begins with a confidential conversation about where your cash is held and how quickly it could be released. Contact Fixer48 Advisory.
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