Day 0: Stop the Bleeding (Immediate actions)
Do these in the next 24–72 hours. They are fast, direct moves to preserve cash and buy time.
- Freeze nonessential spending. Stop marketing campaigns that aren’t producing immediate sales, pause planned hires, pause new subscriptions.
- Collect cash now. Call big overdue customers, offer 5–10% off for payment within 7 days. Turn quotes into deposits.
- Negotiate with creditors. Call your landlord, suppliers, and bank. Ask for a short-term hold, partial payments, or a 30-day extension.
- Identify critical operations. List products/services that actually make money (use recent 90-day sales data). Keep only those running.
Day 1–3: Get a Clear Picture
You need accurate numbers to make smart choices. This is not bookkeeping perfection—this is clarity.
- Cash snapshot. Count bank balances, available credit, and expected receipts for the next 30 days.
- Monthly cash burn. Total all monthly fixed costs (rent, loan payments, salaries) and variable costs. Calculate how many days of runway you have: Runway (days) = Cash on hand / (Monthly burn ÷ 30).
- Profit center list. Identify top 5 products or services by recent gross margin (revenue minus direct cost). Stop everything else.
- Payroll priority. Decide whether payroll must be met fully. If not possible, prepare to communicate changes clearly to staff.
Day 4–7: Fast Cost Cuts That Don’t Kill Revenue
Cut costs that hurt least and free up cash quickly.
- Cancel or pause subscriptions. Software, memberships, ad platforms you can restart later. Target 10–30% immediate savings.
- Reduce vendor costs. Ask suppliers for bulk discounts, extended terms, or temporary lower pricing.
- Trim schedules. Reduce hours or move to shift work rather than layoffs when possible.
- Delay capital expenses. Stop new equipment purchases unless they produce immediate cash return.
Day 8–14: Revenue Quick Wins
Focus on fast, low-cost ways to bring cash in.
- Flash offers to existing customers. 48–72 hour sale, bundled services, or paid upgrades. Example: a salon offering discounted gift cards for future use.
- Follow-up campaign. Call recent leads who didn’t buy. Offer a one-time discount or faster delivery.
- Target best customers. Personal outreach to top 20% of customers offering priority service or a loyalty bonus for immediate orders.
- Add deposit requirements. Require 25–50% upfront on new orders for custom work.
Day 15–20: Negotiate Major Obligations
Use your runway estimate and new cash inflow to make realistic deals.
- Bank/loan talks. Bring your 30-day cash plan when you call. Ask for interest-only payments, a short-term forbearance, or a 90-day extension.
- Landlord meeting. Propose a short-term reduced rent with a back-pay plan or extended lease if they want long-term stability.
- Key supplier terms. Offer partial payments now in exchange for extended net terms (30/60/90 days).
Day 21–25: Make Tough Staffing and Product Decisions
Decide what your core business will look like for the next 90 days.
- Use a simple decision rule: Keep roles or products that meet both: (1) contribute to positive gross margin and (2) are essential to existing customer relationships. Otherwise suspend.
- Consider temporary reductions first. Reduced hours, unpaid leave, or temporary hourly cuts with a clear return-to-work trigger.
- Document changes. Give employees a written notice with effective date, expected duration, and conditions for reversing changes.
Day 26–30: Build a 90-Day Recovery Plan
Use what you learned to create a short plan that guides actions and measurements.
- Set 3 clear goals. Example: reach $X cash balance, reduce monthly burn by Y%, or increase weekly sales by Z%.
- Weekly scorecard. Track: cash on hand, weekly sales, top 5 customer orders, and runway in days.
- Assign owners. Who calls major customer A? Who negotiates rent? Who runs the cash report each Monday?
- Decision checkpoints. If runway < 30 days after two weeks, trigger emergency options: outside investor contact, formal restructuring, or controlled wind down.
Simple Checklists
Emergency Cash Checklist (next 72 hours)
- Count cash + credit available
- Call top 5 overdue customers
- Pause nonessentials spending
- Call landlord and bank
Weekly Scorecard (one page)
- Cash on hand
- Receipts expected next 7 days
- Payroll due
- Fixed costs due
- Runway in days
Decision Rules to Use
- Keep only items that are both profitable and core to customers.
- If runway < 14 days, focus only on immediate cash (collect, sell, borrow) and prepare contingency for closure.
- Prioritize payments: payroll and critical suppliers first; unsecured creditors last—use negotiations to delay.
Short Examples
Example A — Café with 10 days runway:
- Freeze catering expansion, pause orders for new equipment, call landlord to defer rent 30 days, run a 3-day gift-card sale for immediate cash, ask suppliers for net-30 on new deliveries.
Example B — Small manufacturer with late orders:
- Require 40% deposits on custom orders, call major client to speed up payment, shift production to best-margin product line, negotiate temporary lower raw-material pre-payments.
What to Communicate—and How
- Be honest, brief, and action-focused with staff: explain the problem, steps you’re taking, and what you need from them.
- With customers: reassure service will continue for core offerings and offer short-term incentives for early payment.
- With creditors: present a short plan, show how you’ll pay something now, and request specific relief.
Last Notes
Act quickly, prioritize cash, and make decisions based on simple rules you can explain to others. A focused 30-day effort can stabilize your business and buy time to rebuild or choose the right next step.