Money Talk: Profit vs. Revenue and Why Cash Flow is King

Look, most people confuse the terms. They hear “revenue,” think it’s profit. They hear “profit,” think it’s cash. And then they wonder why their business feels broke even when the numbers on paper look good.

Let’s fix that.

Revenue: The Money In

Revenue is your top line. It’s the total money your business collects before paying anyone or anything. If you sell 100 T-shirts for ₹500 each, your revenue is ₹50,000. Simple. But that doesn’t mean you keep ₹50K. Far from it.

Expenses: The Money Out

Expenses are everything it costs you to run the machine—rent, salaries, marketing, production, software. Basically, money flowing out. If your shirts cost ₹250 each to make, that’s ₹25,000 gone immediately.

Profit: What’s Left Over

Profit is revenue minus expenses. Using the example: ₹50,000 revenue - ₹25,000 expenses = ₹25,000 profit. Feels good, right? But here’s the catch…

Why Cash Flow Beats Profit

Profit is math. Cash flow is reality.
Profit sits on a spreadsheet. Cash flow is whether there’s actually money in your bank account today.

You can be “profitable” on paper and still go bankrupt because your customers pay 90 days later while your suppliers demand payment in 30 days. The lag kills businesses.

Profit = what you should make.
Cash flow = what you actually have.

And if you’ve ever had employees expecting their salaries tomorrow, you know cash flow isn’t optional—it’s king.

The Real Game

Business success doesn’t come from bragging about revenue (“we did 10 crores last year”) or even profit. It comes from managing your cash like oxygen.

• Protect inflows: collect payments faster.

• Control outflows: don’t buy dumb stuff.

• Always know your runway: how long before the cash runs out.

Cash flow is the scoreboard. Profit and revenue are just stats on the sheet.