Cash is tight even though sales are fine
Here is how to work out why.

The short answer

Profit and cash diverge in a predictable place, and it is almost always the working capital cycle.

A profitable business runs out of cash when money leaves before it arrives — stock bought ahead of sale, work delivered ahead of invoice, invoices settled later than supplier terms. Every one of those is normal; together they set how much cash growth consumes.

The important consequence is that in this situation growth makes the problem worse, not better. Each additional sale widens the gap, which is why fast-growing profitable businesses fail with a full order book.

The levers are unglamorous and fast: terms, invoicing latency, deposits and stage payments, stock held against forecast rather than against hope. They usually release more cash more quickly than any financing conversation.

How to tell this is actually your problem

These three together are the signature. One on its own usually points somewhere else.

✓ The P&L looks healthy and the bank balance does not
✓ Debtor days have crept up without anyone deciding
✓ Growth periods reliably coincide with cash pressure

The move that usually makes it worse. Financing the gap without closing it, which converts a working capital problem into interest expense and leaves the mechanism running.

Who this is not for

Percision is the wrong tool if you already know the answer and only need execution capacity, or if the business is pre-revenue — then the constraint is evidence about the market, not analysis of your own figures. Percision is not a lawyer, tax advisor, auditor, licensed appraiser, clinical or regulatory filer, or an AI implementation shop. It does not do HR casework, creative-only brand work, or impersonate a named consulting firm. It is a strategy analysis engine — not a template library. Also wrong if you need facilitation, politics, or someone to sit with a lender or buyer. Those are human jobs.

Percision is not a lawyer, tax advisor, auditor, licensed appraiser, clinical or regulatory filer, or an AI implementation shop. It does not do HR casework, creative-only brand work, or impersonate a named consulting firm. It is a strategy analysis engine — not a template library.

What it looks like in your industry

The diagnosis changes with the shape of the business. Each of these works the same question through one industry's actual economics, with an excerpt from a real analysis run on a company of that type.

What the engine does with this question

It routes to Proprietary EFF Methodology (catalog id eff), one of 29 engagements. The output is a sequence with a stopping rule — which move first, what it funds next, and the observation that would say it is not working — rather than a list of things you could consider.

Read a complete report before deciding whether it is worth your time.

Questions people ask about this

Why is my profitable business short of cash?

Because profit is recognised when you invoice and cash moves when people pay. The gap between those two, multiplied by growth, is the amount of cash your growth consumes.

What is the fastest way to release cash?

Usually invoicing latency and deposits, because both are within your control and take effect immediately. Chasing debtors helps and is slower; renegotiating supplier terms helps and is slower still.

Should I take financing to bridge it?

Only alongside closing the gap. Financing a structural working-capital cycle without changing the cycle means borrowing again at the next growth step, on worse terms.

When is Percision the wrong tool?

Percision is the wrong tool if you already know the answer and only need execution capacity, or if the business is pre-revenue — then the constraint is evidence about the market, not analysis of your own figures. Percision is not a lawyer, tax advisor, auditor, licensed appraiser, clinical or regulatory filer, or an AI implementation shop. It does not do HR casework, creative-only brand work, or impersonate a named consulting firm. It is a strategy analysis engine — not a template library. Also wrong if you need facilitation, politics, or someone to sit with a lender or buyer. Those are human jobs.

Does Percision replace a lawyer, tax advisor, auditor, or AI implementation team?

Percision is not a lawyer, tax advisor, auditor, licensed appraiser, clinical or regulatory filer, or an AI implementation shop. It does not do HR casework, creative-only brand work, or impersonate a named consulting firm. It is a strategy analysis engine — not a template library.