So, you’ve gotten enough money to start your own business. Now what? Buckle down, small business owner, for that’s just the first step. Your financial concerns have only just begun.

According to the Small Business Administration, 30% of businesses declaring bankruptcy cite problems with their financial structure as the main cause of failure. Obviously, balancing those numbers and adequately managing cash flow plays an important role in how long your business stays afloat.

One thing that often leads to the dissolution is the fact that some business owners, especially new small business owners, don’t understand the value of having proper accounting procedures from the start, says Vic Alexander, chief manager of Kraft CPAs, a Nashville-based accounting firm with offices in Columbia and Lebanon.

"Some people perceive the accounting function as just a cost, as overhead, and don’t dedicate the resources to it that they should,” he says.

Patrick Geho, state executive director of the Tennessee Small Development Center, agrees.

“Not all business owners have the acumen to be doing their own bookkeeping—that’s what the accounting profession is for,” he says. “They think that they’ll save a couple of hundred bucks by doing their own bookkeeping, but for a small business, being diligent about your finances and keeping up with records is too crucial of a thing to try to skimp on.”

Experts recommend that at the very least, a small business owner should consult with a CPA in the beginning stages of a company’s development. CPAs can help business owners pick the right company structure (LLC, sole proprietorship, etc.) in order to avoid any tax consequences later on and assist in safeguarding assets. More importantly, they help business owners calculate how much capital will be needed to run a business.

“A big reason most businesses struggle or fail is because they undercapitalize,” Alexander says. “You need to have a firm grasp on how much money you’re going to realistically need.”

And for those business owners determined to handle the books on their own, a CPA can even direct them to the right computer software for their specific financial needs.

But ideally, it’s wise to just go ahead and outsource those accounting services. “Small business owners should be concentrating on producing sales and revenue and building the business,” Alexander says. Spending time on nuts-and-bolts things like payroll and accounts receivable can be counterproductive and in some cases, may take more time and energy than it’s worth.

Another reason why small business finances go astray is the mismanagement of cash flow.

“"Having a cash-flow problem is somewhat of a misnomer because it’s a symptom of other problems rather than a problem itself,” says Robert Justice, an East Tennessee director with TSBDC.

Usually such cash-flow issues stem from one of two problems: under-collection of accounts receivable or poor management of inventory.

“Business owners may be great at making widgets or developing a loyal customer base, but lousy at collecting what’s owed them,” Geho agrees. It’s important to avoid letting accounts go for too long without being paid. Tying up working capital for any single customer is a no-no, he says. “It starts a chronic cycle where you’ll always end up behind the eight ball, struggling to catch up.” Such problems are common in industries such as health care and manufacturing.

But Geho recommends being firm about resolving open accounts, even if—in severe cases—it means severing a business relationship. “You should never depend too much on one vendor or customer, anyway. But especially when that one business is causing your own to be in a bad place financially.”

That’s why it’s important to establish regulations about how to collect debt.

"Often small businesses don’t have written credit collection policies and procedures, which means they just have to wing it when they bump against a customer that won’t pay,” Justice says.

It’s an often overlooked practice that could save tons of time and hassle. “It all comes back to that financial planning,” Justice says.

Poor financial planning is also why management of inventory is sometimes askew. Misjudging the market and ordering too much of one product means that all that working capital is sitting there, unused on the proverbial shelf.

Either way, it’s all bad. Cash is king, Alexander says. And if there’s no money to pay the electricity bill—or employee salaries—then it matters little that the balance sheet “technically” indicates an overall profit.

There are several options available to small businesses who find themselves in a crunch, such as getting a guaranteed loan from the bank or establishing other lines of credit with various vendors.

In no case, however, should a small business resort to credit cards if a cash flow problem should arise, Geho warns. Though credit cards may seems like an immediate option for small businesses especially, they’re only a short-term fix and will be more harmful than good in the long run. Other short-term debt vehicles—pulling your debt into an operating line of credit for example—offer substantially lower interest rates.

An ongoing relationship with a CPA can help a small business avoid such issues, but in the case that they do occur, it can help business owners remedy the situation rather than end up in bankruptcy.