QUESTIONS FOUNDERS ASK
How do I pay staff when clients take 90 days to pay?
By Ivanka Menken, Strategic Mentor·Updated
Ivanka Menken starts by making the gap visible: list when each invoice will really be paid, not when it is due, beside every pay run for the next 13 weeks. The shaded weeks between the two are the problem to solve. Then work on terms, deposits and price, one decision at a time.
Why can a profitable business be short of cash?
Because profit is counted when the work is invoiced and cash arrives when the client pays. If wages go out every fortnight and invoices are paid in 60 to 120 days, the business pays for months of work before it is paid for any of it. Growth widens that gap, because there is more unpaid work in flight.
What does the gap look like on one page?
Two lines across 13 weeks. One shows cash coming in, dated by when each client actually pays, using their real history rather than the invoice terms. The other shows payroll and the other fixed costs going out. The weeks where the second line runs ahead of the first are the weeks to plan for now.
What can a founder change?
- Terms on new work, agreed before the work starts rather than chased after.
- A deposit or staged billing on larger jobs.
- Which clients get long terms, decided by margin, not by habit.
- The price, so the work that waits longest to be paid also earns enough to carry the wait.
Should you chase every late invoice harder?
Chasing helps, but it treats each invoice on its own. The bigger lever is usually the agreement made before the work started. A founder who sets terms, deposits and price up front spends far less of the month chasing.
Where does the decision come in?
Once the gap is on one page, the questions get specific: which client, which term, which price. Ivanka's work is to help the founder settle one of those, write it down and keep to it, rather than carrying the whole gap as a general worry.
How does Ivanka work on this?
The 13-week view is part of Ivanka's Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, and a single decision about terms or price fits one 90-minute intensive.
What else do founders ask about this?
Should I use a personal credit card to cover payroll?
Ivanka Menken treats a founder covering payroll personally as a sign the gap needs a decision, not more endurance. She would first put the 13-week view on the table to see how big and how regular the gap is. How to fund it is a question for your accountant or bank; what to change so it stops recurring is the mentoring question.
How do I ask a long-standing client for shorter terms?
Ivanka Menken suggests starting with new work, where terms are agreed before anything is delivered, rather than reopening an old arrangement. For long-standing clients, decide what you need before the conversation, explain it plainly, and be ready to hear that some clients are not worth the wait at the current price.
Is this financial advice?
No. Ivanka Menken is a strategic mentor, not an accountant or financial adviser. She reads the numbers with you, asks the questions and holds you to the decision you make. Your accountant does the accounts and advises on tax and financial matters.
Is debtor finance or invoice factoring the answer?
That is a financing question for your accountant or bank, and Ivanka Menken does not give financing advice. In mentoring she looks at what is creating the gap in the first place: terms, deposits, which clients carry long waits, and whether the price covers the cost of waiting.