A mid-sized retail business was profitable on paper — yet constantly short on cash. We traced every dollar. What we found changed how they run entirely.
Retail & Distribution
28 Employees · $2.4M Revenue
Q1 2026 · 6-Week Engagement
Rp 847M Cash Recovered
01 · Problem Statement
Profitable on paper. Bleeding in practice.
The owner's dashboard showed healthy revenue and decent margins. But every month ended with the same panic: not enough cash to cover payroll and supplier invoices simultaneously. Three accountants had reviewed the books. None caught what was actually happening.
−38%
Cash flow vs. net profit divergence rate
↓ Critical gap
67
Avg. days receivable outstanding (DSO)
↑ Industry avg: 32 days
Rp 312M
Untracked micro-expenses per quarter
↑ 22% YoY growth
4.3×
ROI of this analytical engagement
↑ Recovered in 60 days
02 · Data Discovery
Where the money was actually going
We ingested 18 months of transaction data across 4 bank accounts, 2 payment gateways, and handwritten supplier ledgers. After cleaning and classifying 2,847 transactions, the picture became undeniable.
Expense Composition — Q1 2026
Where every operational rupiah goes (% of total OPEX)
Logistics & Delivery34%
Staff & Overtime28%
Marketing Spend19%
Raw Supplies12%
Unclassified ⚠️7%
Revenue vs. Actual Cash Available
The widening gap that wasn't visible on the P&L
Receivables Delay Heatmap — by Client & Month
Which clients are consistently late, and by how much (days overdue, color-coded)
CLIENT
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
JAN
AVG DELAY
PT Maju Bersama
+47d
+52d
+31d
+58d
+44d
+61d
+49d avg
CV Sejahtera Abadi
+5d
+3d
+7d
+4d
+2d
+6d
+4d avg
Toko Indah Lestari
+28d
+33d
+41d
+29d
+35d
+48d
+36d avg
UD Karya Mandiri
+9d
+22d
+14d
+26d
+11d
+19d
+17d avg
Hidden Expense Categories — Ranked by Bleed Rate
Expenses that were either unmonitored, duplicated, or miscategorized — sorted by total quarterly impact
Logistics surplus
Rp 127M
Overtime (unlogged)
Rp 94M
Duplicate vendor pay
Rp 71M
Subscription bloat
Rp 48M
Petty cash (unreceipted)
Rp 34M
Early pay discounts (missed)
Rp 21M
03 · Key Insights
Three root causes. One unified fix.
The analysis revealed that this wasn't one problem — it was three compounding issues operating simultaneously, none of which were visible in standard accounting software.
🩸
Receivables Hemorrhage
Top client (32% of revenue) was paying an average 49 days late. The business was essentially providing an interest-free credit line of Rp 180M+ at all times — without knowing it.
Rp 180M locked
👻
Ghost Expenses
Rp 312M per quarter in expenses had no owner, no approval trail, and no category. Logistics alone had 23 duplicate payments across 6 months — all from different accounts, none flagged.
312M untracked
📊
No Forecasting Layer
Decisions were made from last month's P&L — never from projected cash position. When 3 large invoices came due simultaneously, there was no system to anticipate the collision.
Now: 8-week forecast
04 · Recommendations & Impact
Precise cuts. Measurable results.
Every recommendation was tied to a specific, quantified outcome. No generic advice — only interventions we could trace back to the data.
Action
Priority
Est. Impact
Effort
Timeline
Renegotiate payment terms with PT Maju Bersama Net-30 enforced with 1.5%/month late fee clause
High
Rp 180M unlocked
Low
Week 1–2
Consolidate all vendor payments to single gateway Eliminate duplicate payments via single approval workflow
High
Rp 71M saved/qtr
Medium
Week 2–3
Implement 8-week rolling cash forecast Weekly update ritual, linked to receivables & payables schedule
High
Avoid future crises
Medium
Week 3–4
Audit & cancel redundant SaaS subscriptions 14 active tools found; 6 with zero logins in 90 days
Mid
Rp 48M saved/yr
Low
Week 4
Mandate receipts & approval for all petty cash Digital log with photo receipts, daily reconciliation
Low
Rp 34M saved/qtr
Low
Week 5–6
05 · Results — 60 Days Later
The numbers don't lie.
Sixty days after implementation. Same business, same team, same revenue. Completely different cash reality.