Cash Flow Conversations with Fexingo: Working Capital, Receivables, and Small Business Finance

Lucas and Luna explore how a cash flow waterfall model helps small business owners visualize the timing and sequence of cash inflows and outflows. Using the real-world example of a boutique furniture maker with seasonal sales cycles, they show how mapping cash movements by priority—operating expenses first, then debt service, then owner distributions—uncovers bottlenecks and opportunities to free...

Lucas and Luna dive into the rolling 13-week cash flow forecast — a tool used by smart small businesses to anticipate cash shortages before they hit. They walk through a concrete example: a $2 million revenue boutique manufacturer that avoided a $150,000 working capital gap by forecasting weekly receivables and payables. Lucas explains how the forecast works, why a 13-week horizon beats monthly or...

Small business owners often think of unpaid invoices as a liability. But in this episode, Lucas and Luna explore a powerful alternative: using your receivables as collateral to secure a revolving credit line that grows as your sales grow. They break down how a receivables-backed line of credit works, the difference from factoring, the typical costs (LIBOR plus 2 to 5 percent, now keyed to SOFR plu...

Lucas and Luna dive into receivables discounting — a tool that lets small businesses offer customers a discount for early payment, improving cash flow without borrowing. They use the example of a Midwest electrical supply company that cut its average receivables from 45 to 22 days by offering a 1.5 percent discount for payment within 10 days. The hosts explain the math behind break-even discount r...

Episode 28 of Cash Flow Conversations tackles a topic every small business owner encounters but few fully understand: how lenders set the rates on receivables-based financing. Lucas and Luna walk through the real mechanics behind a typical offer — starting with a concrete example of a $100,000 invoice financed at 1.5 percent for 30 days, then unpacking how that seemingly simple number translates i...

Episode 27 of Cash Flow Conversations breaks down the real costs of receivables factoring versus traditional bank loans. Lucas and Luna walk through a concrete example: a $100,000 invoice factored at a 2.5% fee, versus a six-month bank loan at 8% APR with a 30-day underwriting delay. They discuss when factoring makes sense—like for seasonal spikes or rapid growth—and when the math doesn't add up,...

Episode 26 of Cash Flow Conversations with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna explore dynamic discounting—a flexible alternative to static 2/10 net 30 terms. They walk through how a mid-sized manufacturer offered suppliers a sliding discount scale based on payment timing, using a real example from a 2025 pilot with 12 suppliers. The episode covers how dynamic discounting can improve supplier cash flow by up...

Episode 25 of Cash Flow Conversations examines how credit card processing fees — typically 1.5 to 3.5 percent per transaction — silently drain working capital for small businesses. Lucas and Luna unpack the mechanics behind interchange fees, the rise of surcharging since the 2013 Visa/Mastercard settlement, and why a coffee shop earning $500,000 in card sales might lose $15,000 a year to fees alon...

Lucas and Luna dive into a hidden cash-flow killer: disputed invoices. Drawing on a real 2025 case from a mid-sized construction supplier, they unpack how unresolved disputes—often just 2–3 percent of receivables—can freeze 10 to 15 percent of working capital. Lucas explains the 'dispute cascade': how a single billing error snowballs into delayed payments, strained relationships, and hidden financ...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna walk through a practical cash conversion cycle audit using a real small manufacturer example: a specialty coffee roaster that cut its cash-to-cash cycle from 72 days to 34 days without a loan. They explain how to calculate each component — days inventory outstanding, days sales outstanding, and days payable outstanding — and show the exact levers the roaster pulled...

Lucas and Luna break down how asset-based lending tied to accounts receivable works for small businesses, using the example of a $2 million manufacturer that turned $400,000 in stuck invoices into a revolving credit line. They explain the advance rate calculation, the role of the borrowing base certificate, and why lenders charge SOFR plus three to five percent. Luna challenges whether this is jus...

Lucas and Luna unpack the rolling reserve—a cash management tool that helps small businesses smooth out lumpy receivables without factoring. They walk through how a wholesale distributor used a 10 percent rolling reserve to turn a $200,000 monthly revenue swing into predictable weekly deposits, cutting their cash-flow anxiety in half. The episode covers how reserves differ from factoring, the typi...

In this episode of Cash Flow Conversations with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna explore how overdue receivables don't just starve your cash flow—they can quietly raise your borrowing costs by 50 to 150 basis points. They break down a 2025 Fed study showing that small businesses with 30 percent-plus of receivables past due pay an average of 2.3 percentage points more on credit lines. The hosts walk through...

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore how small businesses can leverage a trade credit score—a Dun & Bradstreet PAYDEX score of 75 or higher—to unlock better payment terms from suppliers without lengthy negotiations. Using the concrete example of a $50,000 inventory purchase from a regional distributor, they walk through how a strong trade credit profile can secure net-60 terms instead of net-30...

Lucas and Luna explore the power of the rolling average cash conversion cycle as a stability metric for small businesses. Using the example of a regional hardware chain that survived supply shocks by tracking a 6-month rolling average of its cash gap, they explain how this method prevents overreaction to seasonal swings and late payments. Lucas breaks down the math — how to calculate a rolling CCC...

Episode 17 of Cash Flow Conversations tackles a hidden cash flow lever: supplier portals. Lucas and Luna explore how small businesses can use these platforms — often dismissed as just another login — to negotiate better terms, access early payment discounts, and even unlock supply chain financing. They walk through a concrete example: a $500,000 invoice paid 15 days early saves $2,500 at a 2 perce...

Episode 16 of Cash Flow Conversations: Lucas and Luna break down how electronic invoicing is transforming small business cash flow in 2026. They walk through a real example: a 12-employee landscaping firm in Ohio that cut its average payment time from 38 days to 19 days by switching from paper invoices to an e-invoicing platform with automated payment reminders and partial-payment options. They di...

In episode 15 of Cash Flow Conversations, Lucas and Luna dive into one of the most underused tools in small business finance: the receivables aging report. They explain how a simple 'days past due' breakdown can predict cash crunches weeks in advance, using a real example of a mid-size manufacturer that avoided a liquidity crisis by spotting a growing 60-day bucket. Lucas walks through how to set...

Most small business owners treat cash flow forecasting like a rearview mirror exercise—looking at what already happened instead of what's coming. In this episode of Cash Flow Conversations with Fexingo, Lucas and Luna walk through how to build a forward-looking cash flow forecast using nothing more than your sales pipeline and accounts receivable aging report. They break down the 'weighted pipelin...

Episode 13 of Cash Flow Conversations explores the specific mechanics of prompt payment discounts—why offering a 2 percent discount for early invoice payment can dramatically improve small business cash flow. Lucas and Luna break down the math behind terms like 2/10 net 30, showing how a 2 percent discount translates to a 36.5 percent annualized cost of capital if not taken. They walk through a re...

Episode 12 of Cash Flow Conversations with Fexingo. Lucas and Luna explore the receivable-backed credit line—a cheaper alternative to factoring that lets small businesses borrow against unpaid invoices without selling them. They walk through how it works, the typical cost structure (prime plus 2-3 points vs. factoring's 3-5% per month), and a real example from a Seattle HVAC contractor who swapped...

Episode 11 of Cash Flow Conversations with Fexingo dives into partial payments — an emerging strategy that lets small businesses collect a percentage of an invoice upfront while offering customers flexibility. Lucas and Luna explore how this approach differs from traditional net terms, dynamic discounting, and factoring. Using the example of a boutique graphic design agency in Austin that shifted...

In Episode 10 of Cash Flow Conversations, Lucas and Luna explore supply chain financing as a strategic tool for small businesses. They break down how it works, who it benefits, and the hidden costs that can strain supplier trust. Using the example of a mid-sized manufacturer that cut its cash conversion cycle from 72 to 38 days, they explain the difference between buyer-led and supplier-led progra...

Most small-business owners treat supplier invoices as a deadline to dread. But the smartest operators see them as a source of zero-interest financing. In this episode, Lucas and Luna break down how trade credit actually works—from net-30 terms to early-payment discounts—and why the business that negotiates its payables strategically can fund its own growth without a bank loan. Using the example of...

Lucas and Luna explore how small businesses can use payment data patterns to predict which customers will pay late before the invoice due date arrives. The episode focuses on a specific case: a wholesale distributor in Atlanta that reduced its average receivables aging from 52 days to 31 days by analyzing invoice-level payment histories and applying a simple scoring model. Lucas explains the conce...