Conlabs Financial Health Diagnostic
Full CA-backed report
Executive verdict
You've built profitable growth on the back of a strong anchor client, but you're running the business on their treasury department's schedule — and that mismatch is costing you optionality. With less than three months' runway and 60–90 day payment terms on most of your billings, a single late payment or scope change from that client puts payroll at risk. The biggest opportunity here isn't just winning more clients; it's converting your profitability into freedom by fixing the cash timing and owning more of your pipeline.
Biggest opportunity
Restructure the anchor relationship to get paid faster — either negotiate milestone billing (deposit + mid-project + completion) tied to deliverables, or offer a small early-payment incentive to shorten the cycle by several weeks. Even a modest shift from 75 days to 45 days would materially lengthen your runway and give you breathing room to invest in new business without gambling on whether next month's invoice clears on time. For an eight-person agency billing over S$1 million, that timing delta is the difference between reactive scrambling and controlled growth.
Score breakdown
Your profitability and growth scores are strong — you're winning work and keeping margin, which is the hard part. Liquidity and concentration are both critically low because one client dictates your cash calendar and you don't have enough buffer to absorb their payment lag. Runway at 20 reflects the compounding effect: profitable on paper, fragile in practice, because you can't wait out a hiccup.
Top 3 risks
- The anchor client's payment terms leave you with under three months' runway; a single delayed invoice, scope dispute, or budget cut forces you to choose between payroll, suppliers, or stopping new business development.
- Over-reliance on one corporate client means you have no pricing power and limited ability to say no — if they squeeze scope, delay sign-off, or pivot strategy, your billings and your team's utilisation collapse together.
- Sixty-day-plus debtor days on most of your revenue starves growth investment; you cannot confidently hire, upgrade tools, or chase new pitches when you don't know which week the bulk of your cash will actually arrive.
Growth plan
- In the next 30 days, renegotiate payment terms with the anchor client — propose milestone billing or a small early-payment arrangement, framed as a mutual benefit (you deliver faster, they get priority resourcing). This is the single highest-leverage fix because it extends runway and frees cash to fund everything else.
- Launch a structured pipeline to win two or three mid-sized clients within the next quarter — target retainer or project structures with shorter payment cycles (net-30 or milestone-based) to diversify revenue and reduce the anchor client's weight below half your billings.
- Tighten invoicing and follow-up discipline: invoice on delivery, not month-end; chase at day 30, escalate at day 45, and know your fallback (invoice financing or a standby credit line) before you need it — agencies live or die on collections, and you're carrying too much float for the runway you have.
- Check current eligibility and terms for the Enterprise Financing Scheme, which may help bridge working capital while you rebuild the client mix; pair that with a target to cross into regular monthly surplus so you're not dependent on external liquidity as a permanent crutch.
Singapore context
As a services firm billing over S$1 million, GST registration is likely already mandatory — if so, treat input tax recovery (on software, contractors, training) as a margin lever, not just compliance. InvoiceNow adoption with the anchor client and any government-linked customers can shorten payment cycles materially; corporate clients on Peppol often process faster because the integration automates approvals. If you're investing in capability (CRM, automation, creative tools, specialist hires), the Enterprise Development Grant and Productivity Solutions Grant are worth checking current eligibility for — co-funding the buildout protects cash while you're still working capital-constrained. Growth and capability funding exist precisely for situations like this: profitable trajectory, but timing and concentration holding you back.
Prepared using Conlabs’ CA-designed diagnostic methodology, drafted with AI assistance. Indicative only — not a substitute for engagement-letter advice.