Seven small operating changes, run through your own numbers, compound into one large cash flow shift. Enter your current position below — book a free strategy call to unlock exactly which lever moves the needle most.
Direct cost of delivering your product or service. Use $0 if you're a pure advisory/service model with no COGS.
Salaries, rent, and every other operating expense below the COGS line.
Actual cash generated last year — includes taxes, debt service, and timing, so it won't always match EBIT.
What those seven small changes are worth, run through your own numbers.
| Your Power of One | Change Made | Cash Flow Impact | EBIT Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price Increase | 1% | $0 | $0 |
| Volume Increase | 1% | $0 | $0 |
| COGS Reduction | 1% | $0 | $0 |
| Overhead Reduction | 1% | $0 | $0 |
| Faster Collections | 1 day(s) | $0 | — |
| Leaner Inventory | 1 day(s) | $0 | — |
| Slower Payments | 1 day(s) | $0 | — |
| Total Power of One Impact | $0 | $0 |
Seven small operating changes, run through your own numbers, compound into one large cash flow shift. The figure you are looking at is the combined effect of moves so small that each one on its own would be easy to dismiss. That is the whole idea - and it is also why this exercise gets ignored until cash gets tight.
Seven levers at once is a project nobody finishes. Look at which two moved your number most and pick the one you could start this month without anyone's permission. Price is usually available immediately. Collections usually are too. Volume and cost of goods tend to require other people and more time. Sequence matters here, because the levers with the largest theoretical effect are frequently the ones that take three quarters to actually move.
A small price change usually produces a larger cash effect than an equivalent change anywhere else, because it drops straight through with no additional cost attached. It is also the lever owners avoid hardest, and the reason is rarely the market - it is the conversation. Before dismissing it, check what your own numbers say the move is worth, then test it on new business only. That gives you real information without touching a single existing relationship.
Accounts receivable, accounts payable and inventory do not change what you earn. They change when the cash is in your hands, which is the constraint that actually bites in a growth year. These moves are unglamorous - invoicing the day work is delivered instead of at month end, asking for terms you never asked for, holding less of what turns slowly. None of them require a price conversation or a new client, and the effect shows up in weeks rather than quarters. Start with whichever one your own numbers say is worst.
It is a cash flow exercise that models the effect of small changes across seven operating levers: price, volume, cost of goods sold, overhead, accounts receivable, accounts payable and inventory. Each lever is moved by a modest amount and the combined cash impact is calculated from your own figures. The purpose is to show that meaningful cash improvement usually comes from several small operating changes rather than one dramatic move.
Work the timing levers. Invoice the moment work is delivered rather than on a monthly cycle, shorten your payment terms, follow up on overdue invoices on a schedule instead of when you notice, negotiate longer terms with your own suppliers, and reduce anything you hold that turns over slowly. None of these change what you charge or what you sell. They change how long your cash sits somewhere other than your account.
It depends on your cost structure, and this is exactly what the calculator settles for your business rather than in the abstract. A price move drops through with nothing attached to it, which is why it often outperforms an equivalent cost move. But cost changes are sometimes easier to execute and carry no client conversation. Run both through your own numbers, compare the results, then choose based on which one you can actually implement this quarter.
