Why Profitable Businesses Run Out of Cash: A Practical Cash Flow Breakdown
It’s a common and frustrating situation for business owners.
Your accountant tells you, “You had a good year. The business is profitable.”
You look at your bank account and think, “If that’s true, where did the money go?”
On paper, the business looks healthy. In reality, you’re watching every payroll, delaying your own pay, or leaning on a line of credit more than you’d like.
You’re not imagining it - and you’re not alone.
This is one of the most common “profitable but no cash” scenarios small businesses face. The reason is simple but uncomfortable: profit and cash are not the same thing. A business can show a profit and still run out of cash in day-to-day operations.
Let’s look at why that happens and what you should be paying attention to.
Profit vs Cash: Two Different Lenses
Profit is an accounting measure. It tells you whether revenue exceeded expenses over a period of time.
Cash is what’s actually in the bank today.
You can be profitable and still have a cash flow problem because:
You haven’t collected the cash you’ve “earned”
You’ve spent cash on things that don’t hit the Profit and Loss all at once
Cash is tied up in growth, inventory, or timing gaps
The financial statements aren’t wrong - they’re just answering a different question.
Four Reasons Profitable Businesses Run Out of Cash
1. You’re Funding Your Customers’ Timing
If you do the work now and get paid later, you’re effectively financing your customers.
Common patterns:
Invoices on 30–60 day terms while payroll runs every two weeks
Large projects with small deposits and long final payments
Slow collections - work is done, invoices sent, but cash still not in
The revenue appears on the Profit and Loss.
The cash does not.
What to watch:
Average collection time after work is completed
Total accounts receivable compared to monthly expenses
If receivables are climbing faster than cash, your profit is sitting in someone else’s bank account.
2. Growth Is Eating Your Cash
Growth looks great on charts. Behind the scenes, it can be extremely cash-hungry.
You might:
Hire ahead of revenue
Invest in systems, tools, or equipment
Take on bigger projects that require upfront spending
The Profit and Loss may show improved profitability as revenue grows, while cash goes the other direction because:
Payroll arrives before new work is billed and collected
Inventory or materials must be purchased earlier
Payment schedules don’t match cash needs
You can grow yourself into a cash crunch if cash planning doesn’t match your sales ambition.
3. Debt, Big Payments, and One-Offs Don’t Show Up Clearly on the P&L
Some of the biggest cash drains don’t stand out when you only look at profit:
Loan principal repayments
Tax instalments and year-end payments
Large annual bills (insurance, software, bonuses, equipment)
The timing of when the cash leaves the bank - not how it appears on statements - is what creates the squeeze.
4. Owner Behaviour Is Invisible Until It Isn’t
There’s also the human side. Owners often:
Increase their own drawings as revenue grows
Take extra distributions during “good months”
Treat the business account as a flexible buffer
None of this is automatically wrong. But if drawings aren’t planned as part of the overall cash picture, they can quietly drain cash faster than profit arrives.
A Simple Way to Sanity-Check Your Cash
You don’t need a complex model to start understanding what’s happening. Begin with three areas:
Receivables
How much are customers owing you right now?
Is that number increasing or decreasing each month?
Upcoming obligations (next 8–12 weeks)
Payroll, rent, loans, taxes, annual bills
Do you have a clear list of what’s coming?
Runway
If nothing changed, how many months of expenses would the current cash cover?
If you can’t answer these questions - or the answers feel uncomfortable - it’s not failure. It’s clarity. It tells you exactly where to focus.
Profit Is Good. Cash Is Survival.
Profit matters - it shows whether your business is viable over time.
Cash is what keeps the business stable day-to-day.
Banks don’t accept, “We’re profitable on paper,” as payment.
The goal is to:
Understand how profit, growth, debt, and owner drawings affect cash
Spot patterns early instead of reacting once the account is already tight
Make hiring and growth decisions with a clear picture of cash flow
You don’t need to love this work - you just need someone who does.
You Don’t Have to Figure This Out Alone
At TwentySix Consulting, we work with owners who are in exactly this position:
The business is profitable, but cash flow feels unstable
They’re tired of surprises
They want a calm, structured way to plan ahead
Together, we:
Map where cash is actually going
Redesign billing, payment terms, and spending so that growth is sustainable
Build simple cash views so you always know what’s coming
If your business is profitable on paper but your bank account tells a different story, we should talk.