Second half financial planning: complete checklist for SMEs

Many SMEs do financial planning only at the beginning of the year and then run on autopilot. The problem is that the first half always brings surprises: different sales than expected, costs that rose, customers who delayed payments.

Second half planning is the opportunity to correct course. With 6 months of real data, you can adjust goals, reorganize cash flow, and prepare the company to close the year in the black.

Before planning the future, you need to understand what happened in the first 6 months. Compare planned versus actual in three main areas: revenue, costs, and cash flow.

If revenue was 20% below target, identify the causes. Were there fewer sales or lower average ticket? If costs rose 15%, which categories had the most impact? This analysis will guide second half adjustments.

With first half data in hand, review second half goals realistically. If you planned to earn £10,000 per month and are making £7,500, there's no point maintaining the £10,000 target without a concrete plan.

Adjust goals considering seasonality, planned marketing actions, and real operational capacity. It's better to have an £8,500 target you can meet than maintain £10,000 and get frustrated again.

Second half cash flow needs to consider specific seasonalities of your business. Many sectors have year-end sales peaks, but also have extra costs like bonuses, holidays, and suppliers that raise prices.

Build the flow month by month, considering projected inflows, fixed and variable outflows. Identify which months might be tight and plan ahead. If December is always difficult, start reserving money in July.

List all fixed second half commitments: suppliers, loans, taxes, payroll. Then add seasonal ones: bonuses, holidays, suppliers that only invoice at year-end.

Organize by due date and identify periods of highest payment concentration. If November and December are very loaded, negotiate with some suppliers to advance or postpone due dates.

Second half accounts receivable include already completed sales that will come in over the coming months, plus future sales you plan to make. Be conservative in projections, especially if the first half had high default rates.

For recurring clients, use payment history. For new sales, consider the average collection period for your segment. If you sell to other businesses, December and January usually have delays due to holidays.

The second half is the time to strengthen the company's emergency reserve. If you don't have a reserve, start saving at least 5% of monthly revenue. If you already have one, assess whether the current amount would cover 3 months of operation.

For investments in equipment, marketing, or expansion, prioritize those that bring returns still in the second half. Leave long-term investments for next year's planning.

A plan only works if monitored monthly. Define simple indicators to track: actual versus target revenue, default rates, average collection period, main cost categories.

Do a quick review every month to identify deviations early. If August was 10% below sales target, you still have 4 months to recover. If you only find out in December, it will be too late.

dadoAH centralizes all the information you need to plan the second half. With automatic reports on revenue, costs, and cash flow, you can analyze the first half in minutes, not hours.

The system also automatically projects accounts payable and receivable for the coming months, considering recurring contracts and installments. This way you can quickly see which months will be tight and plan ahead.