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If you also look at the bank balance and ask yourself “Have I got money?”, you are not alone in that.

Where you are now

Could the number you are looking at include money that isn't yours? “An overdraft facility is not your money. It is permission to owe.” A post-dated cheque isn't cash. And the sales tax you charged sits in your account, looks like money, and is a liability.

And it costs you. You can have no money while the account looks healthy, and you can look at a long loan and say “I have an enormous debt”, when what decides is only what leaves this month.

And while decisions are made by the balance, you find out at the end of the quarter that you were short, not this coming Thursday. “A large balance with a falling trend is a countdown.”

Axel Jedlitschka

Who's talking to you: Axel Jedlitschka

It all started with an income and expense table I wanted to build for myself in Excel. I built a few versions of it, and moved from there to Google Sheets.

What I learned along the way is that the way is not physical work, but thinking and managing resources, and that this can be mine. That is why I am against the glance at the bank balance: it is a real number, and it is very nearly meaningless.

Axel Jedlitschka

What to demand

  • The number, not the balance

    Work out for yourself the number that replaces the bank balance.

  • Earned vs. received

    Tell money you have earned from money you have received, and see why confusing the two is expensive.

  • One number a week

    Hold a single number that tells you, every week, whether you are above the line or below it.

  • A question before spending

    Know the one question to ask before any expense, and how to spot the kind of spending that quietly kills small businesses.

  • What is really yours

    Have a way to separate the money that looks like yours from the money that actually is.

There is a way

The bank balance is one number, and it doesn't subtract what you owe. What decides is two numbers: how much real cash you have, and how much you owe right now. You can work out both yourself, in ten minutes, with no accountant and no software.

  1. The two numbers.Real cash, with no overdraft facility and no post-dated cheques, minus what you owe this month. Not the loan balances.
  2. The weekly cost.Everything is weekly, even what you pay once a year. And the reserve is on the list, not after it.
  3. The second pot.The sales tax moves to a separate account on every invoice, the same day. Not to save, but so that the number in the first pot tells the truth.
  4. The weekly ritual.A fixed day and hour, and three numbers: real cash, what is owed this month, and what came in this week.

“Finance is best understood as a commodity in terms of beans. So many beans issued to an activity and so many more beans back.” If you don't know how many beans come back, it isn't an expense. It's a hope.

The way, in one booklet

Your Bank Balance Is Not Your Money · a booklet by Axel Jedlitschka

Two numbers and a short weekly routine. That is enough to stop you guessing whether it was a good month.

  • Every quote in the booklet is anchored to a line in the source: 81 anchors, no failures, checked in the original Hebrew edition
  • The terms were checked against the Hebrew volumes of the source, in the original Hebrew edition
  • What doesn't fit a small business was left out, and in its place came a reserve for sales tax and estimated tax payments
  • 10 chapters, from the only rule to four conditions of exchange
  • A list of nine items for the weekly cost
  • A four-step order of operations, for when what goes out has passed what comes in
  • The second pot, for money that isn't yours
  • Practice and application, with five exercises
  • A self-check at the end of every chapter
  • A glossary and a summary in ten lines
The cover of the booklet: Your Bank Balance Is Not Your Money. The numbers that decide whether a small business is solvent, and how to work them out yourself

The comparison

Free

Your Bank Balance Is Not Your Money

What you count
Cash you could spend today, minus what you owe this month
Debt
Only the payment that falls due now
When you know
Every week, on a fixed day and hour

A glance at the balance

What you count
A number that includes an overdraft facility, post-dated cheques and sales tax
Debt
The loan total, and “I have an enormous debt”
When you know
At the end of the quarter, when you were already short

The offer

49 pages, 10 chapters, an order of operations for when there is not enough, and five exercises

Price: FreeNo credit card, and no chapter is held back for payment

Get the booklet

The booklet is free and you get it right away. You only get marketing messages if you tick the box, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

As soon as you leave your details, a thank-you page opens with a button to download the booklet.

By Axel Jedlitschka

What you get

Promised

  • The full booklet, free, as soon as you leave your details.
  • No chapter is held back for payment.
  • Your details are not sold, and are not passed to anyone except the infrastructure providers that run the site.
  • A question about the booklet? Send a message on Instagram to @theonlyaxelj.

Not promised

  • A result. The booklet teaches you to diagnose and fix, and the result depends on how you apply it and on your business.
  • Financial advice. The booklet is general knowledge, not advice for your business. It promises no amount, no return and no income.

There is no purchase and no payment here, so there is nothing to cancel. You can withdraw your consent to marketing messages at any time.

Questions?

How do I get the booklet?

You leave your details, and a thank-you page opens right away with a button to download the booklet as a PDF.

Is it really free?

Yes. No credit card, and no chapter is held back for payment.

I don't have time to read 49 pages.

If you take one thing away from the booklet, take Chapter 5. That is where a single number is worked out that changes every other one. You can start there.

Will I get spam or phone calls?

Your details are used to send you the booklet and to follow up on it. Marketing messages are sent only if you ticked the consent box, and you can unsubscribe at any time. You can also ask to see, correct or delete your details.

A free booklet, so it must be an ad?

The booklet is complete, and no chapter in it is held back for payment. Every quote in it is anchored to a line in the source: 81 anchors, checked in the original Hebrew edition.

I don't have an accountant.

You don't need one. You work these numbers out yourself, in ten minutes, with no accountant and no software. The booklet doesn't teach bookkeeping. It teaches what to decide, and in what order.

Is this financial advice?

No. The booklet is general knowledge, not financial advice for your business. It promises no amount, no return and no income.

Where can I get help?

A question about the booklet: send a message on Instagram to @theonlyaxelj.

What now

You can keep glancing at the bank balance, or you can fix a day and an hour and write down three numbers. Five minutes a week.

A 49-page PDF booklet: 10 chapters, an order of operations for when there is not enough, and five exercises, free.

Price: FreeNo credit card

Get the booklet

The booklet is free and you get it right away. You only get marketing messages if you tick the box, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

The booklet is ready to download as soon as you leave your details

The booklet is free and you get it right away. You only get marketing messages if you tick the box, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Your details are used to get back to you. What is collected, why, and who receives it: see the Privacy Policy (opens in a new tab).