For instance, Catapult Systems LLC, an Austin-based, Microsoft-focused IT consulting company, used to bill clients on a 30-day cycle. Meanwhile, employees were paid twice a month, leading to what founder and Chairman Sam Goodner calls “a terrible cash-flow story.” He simply started billing his clients twice per month, after finding more than 90% were agreeable to the change. This nearly doubled cash flow immediately. To tackle the cash conversion cycle, start by reading “How Fast Can Your Company Afford to Grow?” a Harvard Business Review article by Neil C. Churchill and John W. Mullins. It
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