Money! That's what business is supposed to be all about. Then how come so many people in business don't pay much attention to it?

        Oh, we may spend a lot of time and effort thinking about ways to make money, but most of us give little thought to how we manage our money.

        Of course, those of us who run our own companies know why money management is often given short shrift.

        I have to spend all my time dealing with customers and employees, making my products and delivering my services, and handling the e-mail, phone and paperwork of day-to-day business life.

        As long as I can pay my bills and have money in the bank, money seems to be one thing I don't have to worry about.

        Except that if I don't take time to think about my money, there's going to be less of it. Perhaps a lot less.

        Managing your money doesn't have to take a great deal of time, especially if you get in the habit of taking care of a few money matters on a regular basis, such as:

        • Send out your bills. I'm continually amazed by the number of businesspeople, especially professional service providers, who wait months before billing clients or customers. The best practice is to get in the habit of billing immediately when you've delivered a product or service, even if the bill isn't due for 30 days.

        • Review your books regularly. You can't manage your money without having the facts. Fortunately, bookkeeping/accounting software programs, such as QuickBooks, make getting reports fast and easy. At least once a month, but preferably once a week or quickly every day, look at your overall figures such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, income statement, checkbook balance, cash flow, etc.

        • Watch where you put your money. Big companies have employees who spend all their time moving money from one account to another to increase the amount they earn on interest or investments. Those of us in smaller companies usually just have one checking account, leaving all our money there, no matter the balance.

        Sit down with your banker or an investment company to see about other types of accounts that can generate income on money that doesn't need to be immediately available.

        • Get a backup source of capital. To prepare for those cash-flow crunches, line up credit when you don't need it. A good source is a credit line from a bank. Another, more expensive alternative, are credit cards with high credit limits you can use for cash advances when you need but otherwise let sit, unused, in a drawer.

        • Get a retirement account. One of the few tax shelters truly favoring self-employed, sole proprietors are self-employed retirement accounts. The amount of income you can invest in Keogh, Simple and 401(k) plans has recently been increased, allowing you to defer taxes on more of your income.

        • Save.

        Rhonda Abrams is the author of The Successful Business Organizer. For free business tips, write her at 555 Bryant St, No. 180, Palo Alto, CA 94301.

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