Financial Intelligence
Understand the numbers that drive your business.
58 articles
What Is Gross Margin?
Gross margin tells you how much money is left after paying for what you sold. It's one of the most important numbers in any business.
What Is Net Profit Margin?
Net profit margin is what's left after every cost has been paid. The ultimate measure of whether a business is actually making money.
What Is Cash Flow?
A profitable business can still run out of cash. Understanding cash flow is survival knowledge for every founder.
What Is Burn Rate?
Burn rate tells you how fast you're spending money. Critical for startups — and useful for any business watching its cash.
What Is Runway?
Runway is how many months your business can operate before running out of cash. Here's how to calculate and extend it.
What Is EBITDA?
EBITDA is one of the most widely used measures of business profitability. Here's what it means and when to use it.
What Is Contribution Margin?
Contribution margin tells you how much each product or order contributes to covering your fixed costs. Essential for pricing decisions.
What Is Working Capital?
Working capital is the money available to run your business day-to-day. Too little and you can't operate; too much and it's inefficient.
What Is Accounts Receivable?
Accounts receivable is money owed to you by customers. Slow-paying customers are a hidden cash drain.
What Is Accounts Payable?
Accounts payable is the money your business owes to suppliers. Learn how to manage it to protect cash flow.
What Is ARR (Annual Recurring Revenue)?
ARR is the annualised value of your subscription revenue. The most important metric for any SaaS or subscription business.
What Is Unit Economics?
Unit economics measures profitability at the individual customer or order level. The foundation of a scalable business model.
What Is a Balance Sheet?
A balance sheet shows what your business owns and owes at a point in time. Learn to read one and what it tells you.
What Is a Profit and Loss Account?
The P&L shows whether your business made money in a period. Learn to read it properly.
What Is a Cash Flow Forecast?
A cash flow forecast predicts when money will flow in and out of your business. The most important tool for avoiding insolvency.
What Is Operating Leverage?
Operating leverage measures how sensitive your profit is to changes in revenue. High leverage amplifies both gains and losses.
What Is Revenue Recognition?
Revenue recognition rules determine when you can record a sale in your accounts. Critical for SaaS and long-term contracts.
What Is Depreciation?
Depreciation spreads the cost of an asset over its useful life. Learn how it affects your profit and tax.
What Is Invoice Factoring?
Learn how invoice factoring converts unpaid invoices into immediate cash by selling receivables to a third-party factor at a discount.
What Is Supply Chain Financing?
Discover how supply chain financing optimises cash flow by letting suppliers receive early payment while buyers extend their payment terms.
What Is Accounts Receivable Financing?
Learn how businesses use their unpaid invoices as collateral to secure loans or lines of credit for immediate working capital.
What Is Purchase Order Financing?
Understand how purchase order financing helps businesses fund the production or procurement of goods for confirmed orders.
What Is Asset-Based Lending?
Learn how asset-based lending allows businesses to borrow against inventory, equipment, receivables, and other tangible assets.
What Is Revenue-Based Financing?
Discover how revenue-based financing provides capital in exchange for a percentage of future revenues, without equity dilution or fixed repayments.
What Is a Merchant Cash Advance?
Learn how merchant cash advances provide fast funding by purchasing a share of future credit card or digital payment sales.
What Is Trade Credit?
Understand how trade credit allows businesses to buy goods and pay later, functioning as an interest-free short-term financing tool.
What Is Bridging Finance?
Learn how bridging loans provide short-term capital to cover gaps between transactions, such as buying property before selling an existing one.
What Is Mezzanine Financing?
Discover how mezzanine financing blends debt and equity features to fund growth, acquisitions, and buyouts with flexible structures.
What Is Enterprise Value?
Learn how enterprise value measures a company's total worth by combining equity value with debt and subtracting cash, providing a clearer picture than market capitalisation alone.
What Is Discounted Cash Flow?
Understand how discounted cash flow analysis values a business by projecting future cash flows and discounting them back to their present value.
What Is a Comparable Company Analysis?
Learn how comparable company analysis values a business by comparing its financial metrics to similar publicly traded companies.
What Is a Precedent Transaction Analysis?
Discover how precedent transaction analysis values a company by examining the prices paid in similar past acquisitions and mergers.
What Is an Earnings Multiple?
Understand how earnings multiples provide a quick way to value businesses by expressing price as a ratio of profits, enabling easy peer comparison.
What Is Price-to-Earnings Ratio?
Learn how the price-to-earnings ratio measures the price investors pay for each unit of a company's earnings, serving as a key valuation benchmark.
What Is EV/EBITDA?
Discover how the EV/EBITDA ratio compares company valuations on a capital-structure-neutral basis, making it essential for M&A and cross-company analysis.
What Is a Waterfall Analysis?
Understand how waterfall analysis models the distribution of proceeds among different stakeholders in an investment, from senior debt to common equity.
What Is IRR (Internal Rate of Return)?
Learn how the internal rate of return measures an investment's annualised profitability, accounting for the timing and magnitude of all cash flows.
What Is a Hurdle Rate?
Discover how the hurdle rate sets the minimum acceptable return an investment must achieve before fund managers earn performance-based fees.
Margin vs Markup: What's the Difference?
Learn the key difference between margin and markup, how to calculate each, and why confusing them can cost your business money.
Revenue vs Income: What's the Difference?
Understand the difference between revenue and income, why they are not the same, and how each affects your business decisions.
Profit vs Cash Flow: What's the Difference?
Discover why profitable businesses can still run out of cash, and learn how profit and cash flow differ in practical terms.
Gross Profit vs Net Profit: What's the Difference?
Learn how gross profit and net profit differ, what each reveals about your business, and why both matter for financial planning.
Fixed Costs vs Variable Costs: What's the Difference?
Understand the difference between fixed and variable costs, and learn how classifying expenses correctly helps with pricing and planning.
CapEx vs OpEx: What's the Difference?
Learn the distinction between capital expenditure and operating expenditure, and how each impacts your financial statements and tax obligations.
EBITDA vs Net Income: What's the Difference?
Understand EBITDA and net income, why investors use both, and what each metric reveals about business performance.
Accounts Receivable vs Accounts Payable: What's the Difference?
Learn the difference between accounts receivable and accounts payable, and how managing both effectively keeps your business financially healthy.
Cash Accounting vs Accrual Accounting: What's the Difference?
Understand the two main accounting methods, how each records transactions differently, and which one suits your business.
Balance Sheet vs Income Statement: What's the Difference?
Learn how the balance sheet and income statement differ, what each tells you about your business, and why you need both for sound financial management.
Working Capital vs Cash Flow: What's the Difference?
Understand the difference between working capital and cash flow, and learn why both metrics are vital for keeping your business solvent.
Debt Financing vs Equity Financing: What's the Difference?
Learn the key differences between debt and equity financing, the trade-offs of each, and which approach suits your African business.
ROI vs ROAS: What's the Difference?
Understand how ROI and ROAS differ, how to calculate each, and when to use one over the other for measuring business performance.
Break-Even vs Payback Period: What's the Difference?
Learn how break-even analysis and payback period differ, and how each helps you evaluate business decisions and investments.
Invoice vs Receipt: What's the Difference?
Learn the difference between invoices and receipts, when to issue each, and why proper documentation matters for your business.
Bookkeeping vs Accounting: What's the Difference?
Understand how bookkeeping and accounting differ, why both are essential, and how to decide what your business needs.
Direct Costs vs Indirect Costs: What's the Difference?
Learn how to distinguish direct costs from indirect costs, and why correct classification matters for pricing, profitability, and reporting.
Depreciation vs Amortisation: What's the Difference?
Understand how depreciation and amortisation work, what types of assets each applies to, and how they affect your financial statements.
Operating Profit vs Net Profit: What's the Difference?
Discover how operating profit and net profit differ, what each reveals about your business, and why tracking both matters.
Assets vs Liabilities: What's the Difference?
Learn the fundamental difference between assets and liabilities, how they appear on the balance sheet, and what they mean for your business health.