https://starcada.com/blog/ Practical writing on stock, cash and operations for Nigerian businesses. en-NG https://starcada.com/blog/what-you-should-see-before-10am/ https://starcada.com/blog/what-you-should-see-before-10am/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT Most business owners start the day by asking people questions. The answers arrive at noon, already stale. Here is the short list of numbers that should be waiting for you instead — and why it is short. https://starcada.com/blog/what-to-fix-before-you-buy-software/ https://starcada.com/blog/what-to-fix-before-you-buy-software/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT Software does not fix a process, it accelerates one. If your records are inconsistent today, a system will make them inconsistent faster and more expensively. Six things worth sorting first — most of them free. https://starcada.com/blog/what-a-retainer-should-actually-cover/ https://starcada.com/blog/what-a-retainer-should-actually-cover/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT Retainers turn lumpy project income into predictable monthly revenue, which is why everyone wants one. They also quietly become unlimited access for a fixed fee, which is how they stop being profitable. https://starcada.com/blog/the-weekly-stock-count-that-catches-theft/ https://starcada.com/blog/the-weekly-stock-count-that-catches-theft/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT A once-a-year stocktake tells you how much you lost and nothing about when, how or who. Counting a little every week costs less in total, interrupts nothing, and is the only version that catches anything. https://starcada.com/blog/the-hours-you-never-invoiced/ https://starcada.com/blog/the-hours-you-never-invoiced/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT In most Nigerian professional firms the largest single leak is not unpaid bills. It is work that was done, was billable, and was never put on an invoice — because nobody wrote it down the day it happened. https://starcada.com/blog/receivables-aging-for-nigerian-businesses/ https://starcada.com/blog/receivables-aging-for-nigerian-businesses/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT An aging report takes twenty minutes to build and tells you which money is still coming and which money is already gone. Most Nigerian businesses build it wrong, from the invoice date instead of the due date. https://starcada.com/blog/invoice-numbering-that-survives-an-audit/ https://starcada.com/blog/invoice-numbering-that-survives-an-audit/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT A dull subject that decides whether anyone can trust your books. If your invoice numbers have gaps, duplicates or restarts, you cannot prove what you billed — and neither can your accountant, your auditor or FIRS. https://starcada.com/blog/how-long-is-your-cash-actually-tied-up/ https://starcada.com/blog/how-long-is-your-cash-actually-tied-up/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT A profitable business can still run out of money, and growth makes it worse rather than better. One calculation tells you how many days your cash spends away from you — and how much you need to fund a good year. https://starcada.com/blog/did-you-make-money-last-month/ https://starcada.com/blog/did-you-make-money-last-month/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT Most owners answer this by looking at the bank balance, which is the one number that cannot tell them. Here is how to get a defensible answer in an afternoon, without waiting for an accountant. https://starcada.com/blog/a-delivery-note-that-survives-a-dispute/ https://starcada.com/blog/a-delivery-note-that-survives-a-dispute/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT The customer says 9,600 litres arrived. Your driver says 10,000. Six weeks later somebody has to be believed — and it will be whoever kept the better paperwork, not whoever is telling the truth. https://starcada.com/blog/which-of-your-customers-is-actually-profitable/ https://starcada.com/blog/which-of-your-customers-is-actually-profitable/ Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT Most owners can rank their customers by size in seconds and by profit not at all. The gap between those two lists is where the money is — and the biggest account is often the one funding everything else. https://starcada.com/blog/when-your-dip-does-not-match-your-books/ https://starcada.com/blog/when-your-dip-does-not-match-your-books/ Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT Your records say 12,400 litres. The tank says 12,050. Here is how to find out whether you have a measurement problem, a temperature problem, or a theft problem — and why most people never find out. https://starcada.com/blog/should-you-sell-diesel-on-credit/ https://starcada.com/blog/should-you-sell-diesel-on-credit/ Mon, 07 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT A good customer asks for 30 days. Before you answer, work out what those 30 days actually cost you — because on a thin margin, credit can quietly consume half of everything you make on that account. https://starcada.com/blog/what-a-litre-of-diesel-actually-costs-you/ https://starcada.com/blog/what-a-litre-of-diesel-actually-costs-you/ Sun, 06 Sep 2026 08:00:00 GMT One tank, three deliveries, three different landing costs. Here is how to work out what the litre you just sold really cost — and what it quietly does to your margin when you get it wrong.