Insights · Finance

Shorten your cash cycle by 20 days

A practical guide to debtor days, stock days and supplier terms, with a one-page worksheet.

Close-up of an alarm clock face

What the cash cycle measures

Your cash conversion cycle is debtor days plus stock days minus creditor days. It is the number of days your money is tied up between paying suppliers and being paid by customers.

Debtor days: invoice faster, chase earlier

Send invoices the day work is delivered, agree payment dates in writing and start polite reminders before the due date, not after.

Stock days: buy for demand, not discounts

Bulk discounts look good until stock sits for months. Review your slowest 20% of items every quarter.

Creditor days: negotiate, don't stretch

Paying late damages trust. Instead, agree longer terms in exchange for reliability or volume.

Put it together

Most of our clients release 15 to 25 days of cash within a quarter by working all three levers at once.