I did my numbers for the first time in months (big mistake!)—and found that while I was owed $7,000 by clients, much of which was overdue, I didn’t actually have enough in my bank account to pay my health insurance premiums or my son’s school fees.

I had done incredibly well in terms of bringing in clients and negotiating high pay rates, but my cash flow sucked.

Despite being owed thousands of dollars, I was struggling to pay my bills. This put me in a desperate situation, where I had to take on lower-paying work just to keep my head above water.

Worse, it was utterly avoidable. Had I kept an eye on my cash flow, that is, knowing exactly what was coming in and when, I wouldn't be in this position.

I vowed to do exactly that.

How I did it is the system I still, ten years later, use to track the cash flow in my business.

I use a simple, but powerful, spreadsheet, which tells me—at a glance—how much is expected to arrive in my bank account in the coming weeks and months.