You had $90K in checking. The new F-350 was $68K. Paying cash felt like the grown-up move. No payment. No interest. Done.

Then two customers paid late, a compressor job needed parts up front, and suddenly you are floating the business on a credit card.

Big cash purchases are not wrong. But the bank balance before the buy was not all free cash. Some of it was the cushion that gets you through a slow February or a customer who pays in 60 days instead of 30.

Simple owner habit: before any big buy, ask how many weeks of normal bills you will have left in checking afterward. If the answer is scary, finance part of it or wait a month.

Books that are current make that question a 30-second answer instead of a guess. Let’s talk if yours are not there yet.

— Jake / Wenonah Bookkeeping