Why Growing Revenue Can Still Leave You Short on Cash

One of the most frustrating moments for founders is realizing their business is clearly growing—sales are up, the team is busy, activity is high—and yet cash in the bank always seems tighter than it should.

At first, it’s easy to brush it off. Just a timing issue. A big invoice outstanding. A seasonal dip. But when that tightness becomes the norm, month after month, it starts to weigh on everything.

Growth Doesn’t Always Mean More Cash

The truth is, revenue growth and cash flow don’t always move in sync. In fact, they often pull in different directions—especially when a business is scaling.

As the company expands, new pressures quietly build. More customers stretch payment terms. Higher sales volume demands upfront investment in inventory, marketing, or headcount. Even profitable growth can tie up cash faster than revenue brings it in—particularly when the cash conversion cycle (CCC), how long it takes spending to turn back into cash, is hiding in plain sight.

We’ve seen businesses surprised to discover that their biggest, most “valuable” customers were also creating the heaviest cash strain. On the P&L, those accounts looked great. In reality, the business was effectively financing their growth—and absorbing the stress.

Clarity Is the Turning Point

This is often the moment founders realize they need a much clearer picture of how cash actually flows through the company—not just how much revenue gets recorded.

Once that visibility is in place, everything shifts. 

Growth starts to feel sustainable instead of stressful. Decisions become deliberate rather than reactive. And that constant, low-level anxiety around cash finally begins to fade.