How To Avoid Food Truck Business Cash Flow Problems

Most food truck businesses encounter a cash flow problem at one time or another. Fortunately, most food truck business cash flow problems can be prevented with a bit of preparation and the right strategy. Positive or negative cash flow can be the difference between success and failure as a food truck owner.

After all, it doesn’t matter if you’re close to getting a big payday from an upcoming food truck event if you need the money now. But a little bit of planning can help you avoid these worrisome moments.

3 Steps To Avoid Food Truck Business Cash Flow Problems

Determine Your Food Truck Slow Season. First, recognize that certain times will be slower than others for your food truck business. Despite all of your marketing efforts, your cash flow will still be slower in some seasons. Learning your market and industry will help you maintain a healthy cash flow during the slow seasons.
Start Saving Cash. The next step is to start saving money. Set aside at least two to three months’ worth of operating expenses as soon as you can. Much like a family emergency fund, that money will help your food truck survive any unforeseen financial challenges.
Keep An Eye On Your Budget. Lastly, don’t ever “set and forget” your budget. Things change often, so it’s wise to regularly revisit your budget on a monthly basis.

The Bottom Line

New food trucks typically face one or more of the above cash flow problems when starting out. Paying close attention to these issues, and developing solutions to keep cash flowing into your food truck, will help make sure your mobile food business is one of the successes that makes it past its first year.

Food truck business cash flow problems can be serious and threaten your ability to keep your food service window open. If you don’t have direct financial experience, please consider working with a CPA or accounting expert to help you determine which problems you have; and how to solve them.

If there are additional food truck business cash flow problems you’re facing please feel free to share them in the comment section below or on social media. Facebook | Twitter

By Richard Myrick|2017-11-01T09:05:43-04:00Nov 1, 2016|Accounting|

About the Author: Richard Myrick

Richard Myrick is an architect by degree (Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, Michigan) who began his career in real estate development and architectural planning. In September of 2010 he created Mobile Cuisine Magazine to fill an information void he found when he began researching how to start a mobile hotdog cart in Chicago. Richard found that there was no central repository of mobile street food information anywhere on the internet, and with that, the idea for MCM was born. Richard also wrote the "Running a Food Truck for Dummies" available in bookstores everywhere and Amazon. You can reach out to Richard by email at: [email protected].