With the end of the financial year just weeks away, most business owners are heads-down managing day-to-day operations. But this is precisely the time to pause and take stock of how your business is actually performing — not just how it feels. A structured review of your key financial metrics now gives you the chance to fix problems, capture opportunities, and walk into the new financial year with a clear picture.
Gross profit margin
Start with your gross profit margin — the percentage of revenue left after you subtract the direct cost of delivering your product or service. If your margin is tracking below budget or below where it was at this point last year, something has changed. Either your prices haven’t kept up with rising input costs, your cost of goods has crept up without you noticing, or your sales mix has shifted toward lower-margin work. Any of these is worth investigating before they become a bigger problem in the new financial year.
Debtor days and cash flow
How long are your customers actually taking to pay you? Debtor days — the average number of days between issuing an invoice and receiving payment — is one of the clearest signals of cash flow health. If your debtor days have stretched out compared to the same period last year, you may have a growing pile of unpaid invoices quietly eroding your working capital. Now is a good time to identify your slow payers, review your payment terms, and consider whether your invoicing and follow-up process needs tightening. On the other side, check your creditor days too — are you paying your suppliers on time, or are there outstanding bills building up?
Revenue vs forecast and cash in the bank
Pull your year-to-date revenue and compare it directly against what you planned at the start of the year. If you’re tracking behind, ask why — is it a market issue, a pricing issue, or a specific client or product line underperforming? If you’re tracking ahead, consider whether your cost base has scaled appropriately, or whether there’s an opportunity to invest before 30 June. Then look at your bank balance right now compared to this time last year. Cash is the ultimate reality check — it doesn’t lie the way profit figures sometimes can.
End-of-year tax planning and write-offs
Before 30 June, this is also the window to consider whether there are any write-offs you should be taking — bad debts you’ve been holding onto, obsolete stock, or assets that are no longer in use. It’s also worth reviewing whether there are any asset purchases or prepayments that make sense to bring forward into this financial year. These decisions are worth running past your accountant rather than making on the fly — the tax implications vary depending on your business structure and current-year income.
The difference between planning and reacting
Businesses that review their numbers regularly — not just at tax time — consistently make better decisions. The metrics above aren’t just housekeeping; they’re the early warning system that tells you whether your business is on track or quietly drifting off course. Taking an hour now to work through these figures is one of the most valuable things you can do before the new financial year begins.
