How well do you understand the financial side of your small business? While many us small business owners are true experts in the field in which we operate, the financial side remains a mystery to many of us. If this is true for you, this can considerably hamper your ability to make the right financial decision and may imperil your business.

Fortunately, there are plenty of free resources available to help you fill this knowledge gap and the latest one is a free e-book from my colleague and good friend Susan C. Hammond of scHammond Advisors. The book is called 30 tips for Improving Your Financial Literacy. Susan, who has years of experience as a CFO, put it together with a couple of her colleagues who are equally knowledgeable in the financial realm. Even if you think you’re pretty savvy when it comes to your business’ finances, I am confident you’ll learn something new by downloading and reading this e-book.

I particularly liked the advice in Tip 5: Are You Paying Too Quickly. That’s something I never considered before; I tend to pay my bills within a day or two of when they arrive, but, really, why shouldn’t we all take advantage of the time we’re actually given to pay our bills and thereby manage our cash flow a little more in our favor instead of in our vendors’ favor?

Share this e-book with others in your organization so you can all become more financially literate. It will lead to better decision making all around for your small business. And some of the tips are applicable to your personal finances as well so you may see some improvement there by putting this sage advice to work.