There is a phrase in the financial world that has been repeated so often it almost sounds cliché — yet it remains one of the most useful truths for any business owner:
“Sales are vanity, margins are health, and cash is reality.”
It sounds great, but what does it really mean for someone running an SME, handling everything at once, and rarely having time to review financial statements carefully? Let’s explain it through a story.
Andrés and His Bakery
Andrés owns a bakery in Medellín. Three years ago, he opened his first location, and today he already has four. Whenever you see him at a gathering with friends, he proudly says the same thing:
“This month we billed COP 180 million. Last year around this time, we were at 110.”
And he has every reason to feel proud. Growing that fast in such a competitive business is not easy. But there is one problem: Andrés cannot cover payroll at mid-month without requesting a bank overdraft.
How is that possible? If sales are higher than ever, why is he running short of cash?
That is where the phrase starts to make sense.
Sales Are Vanity
Strong sales feel good. They are easy to mention in conversation, look great on social media, and can impress others. But selling more is not the same as earning more.
Andrés opened three new locations in two years. To make it happen, he had to lower prices to compete with neighborhood bakeries, hire more staff, buy additional equipment, and rent more premises. Yes, he sold more. But every loaf of bread he sells today leaves him with less profit than it did three years ago.
Sales tell you how big your business is. They do not tell you how profitable it is.
Margins Are Health
Margin is what remains from each sale after paying the cost of producing and selling that product. It is one of the most important vital signs of a business — like blood pressure.
When we sat down with Andrés to review the numbers, we found this:
- Three years ago, for every COP 100 in sales, COP 32 remained as profit.
- Today, for every COP 100 in sales, only COP 14 remains.
In other words, he is selling 64% more, but earning less in real terms. His business grew in size, but became less healthy in profitability. Margins do not lie. They tell you whether what you are doing has a future or not.
Cash Is Reality
And here comes the hardest part. A business can have growing sales and decent margins — and still fail. Why? Because one thing is what you invoice, and something very different is the cash you actually have in the bank.
Andrés sells to three supermarket chains that pay him in 60 to 90 days. But he must pay, Employees every two weeks, His flour supplier every eight days, Rent on the first day of each month. So even if his income statement shows profit, in practice there is not enough money to cover day-to-day obligations.
That is called a cash flow problem. And it is one of the main reasons many businesses that look profitable on paper eventually close.
Cash does not ask how much you billed. Cash asks how much you have today to pay what you owe today.
What Did We Do with Andrés?
When Andrés came to Level Up, he did not need an accountant sending him a monthly report. He needed to understand what was happening inside the business.
We did three things:
- We showed him the real margin of each location. One of the four stores was losing money every month, but because total sales looked strong, no one had noticed.
- We built a 90-day cash flow forecast so he could identify liquidity problems three months in advance and negotiate ahead of time.
- We helped him renegotiate payment terms with two major clients and his main supplier, removing the financial bottleneck.
Six months later, Andrés is still growing. But now he grows knowing how much he earns — and how much cash he has. He no longer depends on overdraft financing.
The Lesson
If you own an SME and only look at one figure at the end of the month, do not let it be sales. Look at three numbers:
- How much you sold — to understand your size
- How much margin remained — to understand your health
- How much cash you have — to know whether you can sleep peacefully
Each tells a different story. Together, they tell the truth about your business.
At Level Up, we help Colombian SMEs and companies in the U.S. market understand their numbers and make decisions with clear financial information. If your business is growing but something does not add up, let’s talk.
