The importance of cash flow in the clinic and how to do it

When starting any business, it is important to keep in mind that prior planning and business management are key to ensuring success. It is no different with clinics and offices, so today we will talk about the importance of realizing cash flow.

When we talk about business management, there are several activities that we must include in the routine so that the company can keep up with the market. Among them is the act of strictly monitoring income and expenses, something that directly affects the financial health of your business. One of the most effective ways to carry out this monitoring is through cash flow.

Just a pause before we continue, did you know that the Ninsaúde Apolo clinic and office management system is perfect for health clinics? We always work with new improvements, and discover exclusive advantages here.

Cash flow is a management tool that represents the movement of cash inflows and outflows in a given period in the company.

When analyzing the cash flow, if the balance is negative, it means that the company has extra expenses, in which case the manager must review the expenses to increase the profit. On the other hand, a positive balance indicates that the company is managing to keep its financial obligations up to date.

The cash flow can be done through a notebook, spreadsheet in Excel, or in an even more practical way that we will address next, along with other tips on how to do it in the best way. Check it out below.

Use a management system for clinics

As mentioned above, cash flow can be done manually through a notebook or spreadsheet, but without a doubt, using software is the best alternative. The advantage of using software is that there is no need to perform calculations manually because when entering your income and expenses in the system, it assembles the entire flow and performs the calculations automatically.

Also, when using the software, you will have access to other data that can assist in the decision-making of the clinic. Examples of this are graphs and reports, which are also automatically generated by the system. If you don't use the software yet, get to know Ninsaúde Apolo, a management system for clinics. Contact us for more information.

Classify your income and expenses by financial categories

Financial categories are the basis for organizing income and expenses. In Ninsaúde Apolo, for example, whenever the user posts a payment or receipt in the system, it is necessary to inform the category to which this title belongs.

Within the categories, there is the possibility of including subcategories, with the purpose of further refining the source of your expenses and earnings. Note the following example:

This is the area where we register the categories and subcategories in Ninsaúde Apolo. In this example, the category "Consults" was added as part of the receipts. In this category, subcategories were added, the description of which refers to each of the insurances attended at the clinic.

Another example would be to create a category entitled Salaries and add subcategories to it, such as Reception, Administrative, and General Services, among others, according to the staff of the clinic. This is a practical way of knowing which sector is being invested the most, in relation to wages.

Record all financial transactions (incomes and outcomes)

Although it seems obvious, many managers end up not recording their income and outcomes, or in some cases, they only post receipts, which means that the cash flow does not provide information about the real situation of the clinic.

Within Ninsaúde Apolo, on the agenda, there is the "Reception" functionality, which is used by the secretary when the patient arrives at the clinic for an appointment. When accessing this option, several tabs will be available, among them the Receiving tab. This way it is much more practical to post the amounts paid by a patient in an appointment.

As previously mentioned, there is no point in recording receipts and not including payments. In the area of Finance, in Titles, the user of Ninsaúde Apolo can enter all his expenses and specify the supplier, due date and payment, interest and fine, if any, among other information necessary to detail the cash flow.

Remember: personal expenses should not be mixed with professional expenses

Home remodeling, birthday gifts, and family lunch are just a few examples of expenses that should never be added to the company's cash flow. Remember that when mixing these types of expenses, the results shown in the cash flow will not bring information that matches the reality of the clinic. Also, this action may confuse your goals, as in certain periods it may show a negative balance due to expenses that are not part of the company's daily routine.

Follow the cash flow

Keeping an eye on the numbers becomes a much easier task with the help of cash flow. Your follow-up can be done as often as you think best, and with Ninsaúde Apolo, just apply the period filter to do this follow-up, or if you prefer, view the data for the last 12 months. See the example:

As shown in the example above, the user has information about the accumulated balance and balance for the period, in addition to being able to select specific receipts and payments where he will have the values of the selected balance. In addition to the information on values, Ninsaúde Apolo also offers a different visual experience, where the positive balance is identified by the green color, and the negative balance by the red color.

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