If you feel like your business is really starting to hit its stride financially but you still seem to not have any money in your bank account, this article is for you.

No matter how successful your business is, if you don’t have a way to proactively assign jobs to your money as it comes in, you will have a really hard time accumulating cash in your accounts. Instead of worrying about how successful your next launch will be, or if your next client will be paying in full or with that dreaded payment plan, imagine what it would be like to go into strategy calls with zero expectation. Imagine knowing that you have enough cash to cover your business expenses for the next 3-6 months. Imagine paying yourself a profit distribution every quarter and taking yourself to the spa (without putting it on your nearly maxed credit card). Imagine being debt free.

I’m here to tell you that this is all possible. And I am also going to warn you that my clients often share with me that they wish they had implemented Profit First paired with YNAB sooner.

Here are some warning signs that you are headed towards maxed out credit and dwindling business account balances, all while making consistent 4-5 figure months.

You aren’t paying yourself a regular salary.

This is a big one. It is completely normal to not pay yourself a salary because let’s face it, it seems less scary to take out a few hundred dollars at a time. The fact is, without paying yourself a regular salary, you end up taking out a lot of money when cash flow is good and then when you have a slow period, there is not enough for you to pay your bills.

You often feel like you don’t have a “normal month” financially.

Annual expenses are tricky because many times we sign up for them when cash flow is good or because we feel that we “need” it for our business to survive. 12 months quickly pass by and then we are hit with that sneaky automatic renewal. Imagine having that renewal hit and instead of scrambling for cash to cover it (or add to your credit card balance), you just smile and say to yourself, “Hell yeah, charge away – I planned for this, baby.”

You feel like you are one big launch away from solving your money frustrations.

Imagine going into a launch without that nagging worry in the back of your head that you need to make a certain amount so that you can pay next month’s rent. Instead, you have a system in place that allows you to live on income that you made 3 months ago.

You keep telling yourself that you will look into your money system next month.

Keeping your head in the sand is the biggest warning sign that your business is headed in the wrong direction financially. I always commend my clients as I believe one of the bravest things an entrepreneur can do is take the big leap and look under the hood. Taking that first step is the hardest but it also allows you to catch it now instead of 3 or 4 or 5 months later when it is that much worse. I like to say it is like losing weight. Why wait until you are 100 pounds overweight to do anything? It is SO much easier to lose 40 and it is the same process. AND it involves that same first step.

I am writing this not to scare you (well, maybe just a little) but because too often I hear, “I wish I had started this process 6 months ago.” Here’s the good news – it is never too late. Running an online business that is profitable, pays you quarterly dividends, and gives you a monthly salary is totally possible.

Profit First, baby. It’s a complete game-changer.