Every business has a corporate treasury. Maybe you just call it your checking account, but you've got one just the same. And just like your checkbook register, your corporate treasury needs balancing. Treasury management services, also called cash management services, can help.

Poor cash management is among the leading causes of small business start-up failures. After all, money is always on the move, and it requires lots of time and tremendous effort to keep the cash that's going out balanced with the cash that's coming in. Luckily, business treasury services can do the balancing for you. Much more than accounting, treasury management services can help you get money sooner, keep it longer and make it work harder for you. Consider, for instance, a few of the most popular corporate treasury services available to you:

1. Account analysis, which offers a bird's eye view of your entire corporate treasury.
2. Operations review, which includes basic cash management services to help you understand and improve day-to-day cash flow.
3. Back-office reviews, which are designed to strengthen your corporate treasury by improving workflows and financial procedures.
4. Banking reviews, the purpose of which is to help you evaluate the cost and effectiveness of your current banking services and determine their impact on your corporate treasury.
5. International business treasury services, which enable you to engage the global economy via investment banking, foreign exchange and international trade.
6. Lockbox services, which streamline your accounts receivable to the benefit of your corporate treasury.
7. Automated clearinghouse services, with which you can quickly send and receive electronic payments in order to accelerate the growth of your corporate treasury.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Take advantage of your bank's treasury management services

Most banks offer their small business customers access to a wealth of corporate treasury services, including everything from controlled disbursement and account reconciliation to account analysis and automatic investment services.

I recommend: Check out Bank of America (choose your state to be forwarded to the treasury management services page), Wells Fargo, Wachovia and U.S. Bank, all of which offer full suites of business treasury services.

Hire a corporate treasury consultant

A corporate treasury consultant can join forces with your accountant in order to do a comprehensive review of your financial operations, after which he or she will make recommendations concerning the treasury management services that will most benefit your business.

I recommend: TreaSolution, Elire, and Greenwich Treasury Advisors are examples of corporate treasury consultants that offer complete treasury management services.

Plug into web-based cash management services

Increasingly, banks, vendors and consultants are offering online access to treasury management services and tools.

I recommend: While your bank's online banking services are a good place to tap into web-based cash management services, other web-based tools include Strategic Treasury Advisors' Online Treasury Advisor and Chesapeake System Solutions' SmartTreasury. For more cash management services, see Business.com.

Outsource corporate treasury tasks to a CFO service

While most small businesses are too small to employ a chief financial officer, that doesn't mean they can't benefit from one's services. A third-party CFO service can supply you with a part-time CFO to manage your corporate treasury when needed.

I recommend: CFO firms offering business treasury services include both CFO-centric companies, like B2B CFO and CFO-Services, and large accounting firms, such as Grant Thornton and Deloitte.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  If you're hiring a corporate treasury consultant, ask for guarantees on the work performed. If the promised savings and improvements are not realized, the business treasury services should be free.
• •  Choose only the corporate treasury services that your business needs; the most fundamental cash management services are those that help you more effectively send and receive payments.
• •  Treasury management services are not identical to accounting services. Your CPA, for instance, must remain independent from your business and tends to focus more often on tax preparation and planning. A corporate treasury consultant, meanwhile, tends to focus on complete operational issues and solutions.