In personal finance and business alike, cash flow processes are important to success. Cash flow processes can be presented in financial records. They are an accurate description of something that has happened in the past, such as the sale of a particular item or a payment of a certain salary, and they can also forecast into the future, detailing what a person or business or a person intends to take in as income and to spend as expense. Cash flow is crucial to the success and survival of both individual budgets and entire businesses.. Having cash on hand when you need it ensures that creditors, employees and others will be paid on time. If a person or a business does not have enough cash to support its operations, it is called insolvent, and likely becomes a candidate for bankruptcy if the insolvency continues.

If the goal of your personal finances and/or your business is to use best cash flow processes then it is your goal to have every dollar working for you, either by paying employees and expenses, or by earning money for you by investment in home mortgages, office space or good and services that can be sold at a later time.

A cash flow analysis can show you that one aspect of your finances that can be better utilized is the tax money that you pay in to both state and federal tax systems. Unfortunately, 80% of U.S. taxpayers get refunds. While many families overpay taxes throughout the year on purpose in an attempt to get a large tax refund at the end of the year. Those same families are often the exact families living paycheck to paycheck. As a result, not only are they giving away tax money for somebody else to use most of the year, they often find themselves anxiously awaiting the tax refund check just to make that month’s payment. Any business that operated like this, would risk its solvency on a month-to-month basis.

While 54% of Americans expect to get a refund at tax time, another 24% say they owe money. Even these individuals individuals businesses who know they will need to pay taxes find themselves unprepared. In fact, 40% of those who are certain they will owe taxes say they are not prepared to pay by deadline.

One of the best ways to make best use of cash flow processes and be prepared for things like tax deadlines may be to consult an accountant or tax preparer. Tax preparation is a process that should come as no surprise and consultations throughout the year may lead to better practices. Average tax preparation accountant fee is $273 for a standard federal tax return. The 21% of Americans who use tax software and prepare individual taxes themselves may be better served by consulting a tax professional.