Pay Yourself Without Hurting Your Cash Flow

When you're running a small business, deciding how much money to pay yourself can be confusing. If you're a sole proprietor or run an LLC (alone or with partners), figuring out the right amount to pay yourself without accidentally putting your business cashflow at risk can be tough! We get it, and we're here to help. 

Over the years working with many new small business owners in Kansas, we’ve identified five common problems they run into when it comes to paying themselves. 

Common Problems Small Business Owners Face When Paying Themselves 

1. Not Sure How Much Money to Safely Take Out - Many business owners don't know how much they can safely withdraw without hurting their business or its future. 

   
   

2. No Real Plan for Paying Themselves - Without a clear method or system in place, business owners often guess how much to take, causing confusion and inconsistency. 

   
   

3. Not Saving Enough for Taxes - If you're not setting aside money regularly for taxes, you might end up with a big bill at tax time.   

   
   

4. Stress From Unpredictable Cash Flow - When your income changes from month to month, it can be hard to pay yourself consistently without causing cash flow problems. 

   
   

5. Difficulty Keeping a Healthy Balance - Without clear guidelines, it's tough to know if you're paying yourself too much or too when compared to the cash your business actually needs to keep. 

   
   

So how do you solve these issues? 

You need to have a system in place; a tool you can depend on to provide the necessary guardrails to prevent making what could be major cashflow mistakes for your business and personal life.  First, it’s important to understand what we mean by a system. In our blog post, “Setting Your Business Draw”, we outline an effective method for paying yourself. This is a great first step in understanding how a planned Owner’s Draw schedule could work for you.  

Second, we created the Owner's Cashflow Tool with you in mind.  Our Owner’s Cashflow Tool is an easy-to-use spreadsheet specifically designed to help small business owners like you navigate the challenges of paying yourself. It provides a clear, practical system for managing your business and personal cashflow. It’s not overly-complicated and WILL help you make smart financial decisions and virtually eliminate the guesswork from how to pay yourself.   

Grab our Free Owner's Cashflow Tool Here!

How Our Owner's Cashflow Tool Helps Solve The Following Problems

 

PROBLEM	HOW THIS TOOL HELPS
Not Sure How Much to Safely Take Out	Clearly summarizes net income and cash available month-by-month.  Offers a visual snapshot of actual and projected cash flow, enabling informed decisions on withdrawals.  Prevents accidental overspending by highlighting cash availability after setting aside estimated taxes, retirement, loans and other cash requirements.
No Real Plan for Paying Yourself	Integrates percentages based on monthly profit.  Clear indicators when draw exceeds thresholds.
Not Saving Enough for Taxes	Automatically calculates estimated taxes using a configurable percentage.  Sets aside “tax reserve” line items, tracking tax amounts, when payments are due and applying payments against it.
Stress From Unpredictable Cash Flow	Clearly shows monthly cash available and suggests keeping extra money in reserve to cover slow months.  Clear indicators of personal and business cash buffers in place, providing additional flexibility.
Difficulty Keeping a Healthy Balance	Makes it easy to see if your pay stays within recommended ranges and keeps your business healthy.

Managing how and when to pay yourself doesn’t have to be stressful or confusing. Using our Owner’s Cashflow Tool makes the process easier by giving you a simple system to follow for important money decisions. You’ll know exactly how much you can safely pay yourself, stay prepared for taxes, and get a clear view of your business’s overall financial health.

Grab our free Owner’s Cashflow Tool and get started today!

And if you are looking for more personalized support, we are here for you. Our UCentric Solutions team, loves helping Kansas small and mid-sized businesses clean up, organize, and confidently manage their finances. Whether you need full bookkeeping support, payroll help, or even Virtual CFO-level insight, we would love the opportunity to be your trusted financial partner.

We use QuickBooks Online and modern tools to make everything simple, secure, and accessible.

CONTACT us today to visit about how we can help support your business goals!