The Cash-Flow Flywheel
A practical playbook for making your business self-funding by shrinking the Cash Conversion Cycle—so growth is powered by cash timing, not higher prices.
By TheMurrow Editorial
February 11, 2026
Key Points
- 1Measure your funding gap with the Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) to see where inventory, invoices, and payables trap cash.
- 2Reduce DSO by invoicing immediately, preventing disputes, and segmenting terms—so you get paid faster without raising prices.
- 3Build a cash-flow flywheel: cut DIO, negotiate DPO transparently, then redeploy freed cash into the next growth constraint.
Success can arrive on the wrong schedule
The quickest way to “run out of money” isn’t always overspending. Often, it’s success arriving on the wrong schedule.
A shop can be profitable on paper and still feel strangled—because cash is trapped in inventory sitting on shelves, or in invoices sitting in someone else’s accounts payable queue. Meanwhile, payroll hits every two weeks, suppliers want their money, and taxes don’t wait politely. Growth, in other words, can be a liquidity problem disguised as a sales problem.
That tension has turned self-funding into a quiet obsession among founders and finance leads: not the romantic version of bootstrapping, but the practical version—finding a way to finance operations and meaningful growth from internally generated cash, without repeatedly going back to lenders or investors, and without simply raising prices.
A shop can be profitable on paper and still feel strangled—because cash is trapped in inventory sitting on shelves, or in invoices sitting in someone else’s accounts payable queue. Meanwhile, payroll hits every two weeks, suppliers want their money, and taxes don’t wait politely. Growth, in other words, can be a liquidity problem disguised as a sales problem.
That tension has turned self-funding into a quiet obsession among founders and finance leads: not the romantic version of bootstrapping, but the practical version—finding a way to finance operations and meaningful growth from internally generated cash, without repeatedly going back to lenders or investors, and without simply raising prices.
75%
The Federal Reserve Banks’ 2025 Report on Employer Firms found 75% of employer firms cited rising costs as a financial challenge.
56%
56% of employer firms reported paying operating expenses as a challenge, underscoring how cash strain persists even when sales exist.
51%
51% cited uneven cash flows—a timing problem that turns growth into a funding gap when customers and suppliers operate on different clocks.
When pricing power is limited, cash discipline becomes leadership
The pressure is measurable. The Federal Reserve Banks’ 2025 Report on Employer Firms (based on the 2024 Small Business Credit Survey) found that 75% of employer firms cited rising costs as a financial challenge. 56% reported paying operating expenses as a challenge, and 51% cited uneven cash flows. For the first time since 2021, more firms reported revenue decreases than increases over the prior 12 months. When pricing power is limited and revenue is choppy, cash discipline stops being a “finance” topic and becomes a leadership topic.
“Most small businesses don’t fail because they lack profit. They fail because they run out of time—time between paying bills and getting paid.”
— — TheMurrow Editorial
Self-funding: a definition that’s useful in real life
A business is self-funding when it can cover day-to-day operations and fund a meaningful share of growth—inventory, payroll, marketing, equipment, hires—primarily from internally generated cash rather than repeated infusions of debt or equity. The crucial qualifier: self-funding works without relying on price increases to create breathing room.
That doesn’t mean avoiding all outside capital forever. A seasonal business might use a line of credit, a manufacturer might finance equipment, and a young firm might choose equity to move faster. Self-funding is better understood as a default posture: the company’s operating model produces enough cash, consistently enough, that external funding becomes optional rather than existential.
That doesn’t mean avoiding all outside capital forever. A seasonal business might use a line of credit, a manufacturer might finance equipment, and a young firm might choose equity to move faster. Self-funding is better understood as a default posture: the company’s operating model produces enough cash, consistently enough, that external funding becomes optional rather than existential.
Profit is not the same as cash timing
The most common misunderstanding is treating “self-funding” as synonymous with “profitable.” Profit matters. But cash timing governs survival. Working capital—the money tied up in inventory and accounts receivable, minus the cushion created by accounts payable—can quietly absorb cash even while the income statement looks healthy. Working-capital management exists because the timing mismatch is routine: suppliers and employees get paid on one schedule; customers pay on another. That gap is the funding problem.
Ethical and strategic limits: don’t just shift the pain
There are also ethical and strategic limits. Some tactics for “improving cash” merely shift pain onto someone else: delaying suppliers beyond agreed terms, squeezing customers with surprise fees, or underinvesting in service. Durable self-funding comes from building a system where cash moves with fewer bottlenecks.
“Self-funding isn’t austerity. It’s designing a business that can breathe without borrowing.”
— — TheMurrow Editorial
The metric that reveals your funding gap: the Cash Conversion Cycle
Self-funding becomes easier when leaders measure the business’s cash trap with a single, legible metric: the Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC). Working Capital Hub describes CCC as the time cash is tied up from paying suppliers to collecting from customers—effectively the firm’s funding gap.
JPMorgan offers the standard framing: CCC tracks how long it takes to turn cash outflows (to suppliers) into cash inflows (from customers). A shorter CCC usually means the same sales volume requires less outside financing—because each dollar of revenue demands less cash to support it.
JPMorgan offers the standard framing: CCC tracks how long it takes to turn cash outflows (to suppliers) into cash inflows (from customers). A shorter CCC usually means the same sales volume requires less outside financing—because each dollar of revenue demands less cash to support it.
The formula—and what the components actually mean
The standard equation, widely used in finance, is:
CCC = Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO) + Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) − Days Payables Outstanding (DPO)
Each term captures a different friction point:
- DIO (Days Inventory Outstanding): how many days, on average, inventory sits before it sells. (JPMorgan)
- DSO (Days Sales Outstanding): how many days, on average, it takes to collect after a credit sale. (QuickBooks)
- DPO (Days Payables Outstanding): how many days, on average, the business takes to pay suppliers. (QuickBooks)
The power of the CCC is not math for math’s sake. CCC turns fuzzy complaints—“we’re always tight,” “customers pay late,” “inventory is piling up”—into a system you can diagnose.
CCC = Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO) + Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) − Days Payables Outstanding (DPO)
Each term captures a different friction point:
- DIO (Days Inventory Outstanding): how many days, on average, inventory sits before it sells. (JPMorgan)
- DSO (Days Sales Outstanding): how many days, on average, it takes to collect after a credit sale. (QuickBooks)
- DPO (Days Payables Outstanding): how many days, on average, the business takes to pay suppliers. (QuickBooks)
The power of the CCC is not math for math’s sake. CCC turns fuzzy complaints—“we’re always tight,” “customers pay late,” “inventory is piling up”—into a system you can diagnose.
A system, not a single lever
QuickBooks and JPMorgan both emphasize the practical reality: CCC can be improved by lowering DIO, lowering DSO, or raising DPO, and the best results usually come from coordinated change. A company that speeds collections but overbuys inventory may see no relief. A company that stretches payables but ignores billing errors may anger suppliers and still stay cash-poor.
CCC is also where “don’t raise prices” becomes concrete. If you can shorten the cash gap, you can fund more of your growth internally—even if your pricing is flat.
CCC is also where “don’t raise prices” becomes concrete. If you can shorten the cash gap, you can fund more of your growth internally—even if your pricing is flat.
Key Takeaway
The Cash Conversion Cycle turns cash stress into an operational system: improve DIO, DSO, and DPO together to shrink the funding gap without raising prices.
Why self-funding is resonating now: costs up, cash uneven, pricing constrained
The current small-business environment is not defined by a single shock; it’s defined by persistent strain. The Federal Reserve Banks’ 2025 report puts hard numbers on what owners describe anecdotally:
- 75% cited rising costs as a challenge.
- 56% cited paying operating expenses as a challenge.
- 51% cited uneven cash flows as a challenge.
- And a notable directional shift: more firms reported revenue decreases than increases over the prior year—the first time that’s happened since 2021.
Those statistics matter because they describe a world where the obvious escape hatches are narrower. If costs rise faster than you can raise prices, margins compress. If demand softens, growth capital becomes scarcer. If cash flows are uneven, short-term borrowing becomes a habit—and an expensive one.
- 75% cited rising costs as a challenge.
- 56% cited paying operating expenses as a challenge.
- 51% cited uneven cash flows as a challenge.
- And a notable directional shift: more firms reported revenue decreases than increases over the prior year—the first time that’s happened since 2021.
Those statistics matter because they describe a world where the obvious escape hatches are narrower. If costs rise faster than you can raise prices, margins compress. If demand softens, growth capital becomes scarcer. If cash flows are uneven, short-term borrowing becomes a habit—and an expensive one.
Self-funding reduces dependency—without becoming timid
Self-funding appeals in this context for a simple reason: it reduces dependency. A firm with a shorter CCC can withstand slower weeks, invest selectively, and avoid making strategic decisions in a panic.
Still, there’s a counterpoint worth respecting. Some founders hear “self-funding” as a euphemism for going timid—cutting marketing, delaying hires, saying no to opportunity. That fear is legitimate. A business can “protect cash” so aggressively that it starves itself. The smarter goal is not to hoard cash, but to free cash that’s already yours—stuck in preventable delays and avoidable build-ups.
Still, there’s a counterpoint worth respecting. Some founders hear “self-funding” as a euphemism for going timid—cutting marketing, delaying hires, saying no to opportunity. That fear is legitimate. A business can “protect cash” so aggressively that it starves itself. The smarter goal is not to hoard cash, but to free cash that’s already yours—stuck in preventable delays and avoidable build-ups.
Key Insight
The goal isn’t to hoard cash—it’s to free cash that’s already yours, trapped in inventory build-ups, billing lag, disputes, and mismatched payment schedules.
The cash-flow flywheel: how working-capital wins compound over time
The “flywheel” metaphor gets abused in business writing, but the mechanism behind a cash-flow flywheel is straightforward: reduce the cash required to generate each new dollar of sales, then reinvest the difference into the next constraint.
A workable sequence looks like this:
1. Measure the cash gap using CCC, supported by a weekly cash forecast.
2. Free trapped cash by shaving days off DIO and DSO and avoiding unnecessary outflows.
3. Redeploy freed cash into the highest-return constraint—fulfillment capacity, marketing with clear payback, a key hire, or inventory that turns quickly.
4. Repeat, so the company increasingly funds incremental growth internally.
The compounding effect comes from a simple principle: when less cash is tied up per dollar of revenue, growth requires less incremental funding. Your business becomes less like a bucket with a hole and more like a system that reuses its own momentum.
A workable sequence looks like this:
1. Measure the cash gap using CCC, supported by a weekly cash forecast.
2. Free trapped cash by shaving days off DIO and DSO and avoiding unnecessary outflows.
3. Redeploy freed cash into the highest-return constraint—fulfillment capacity, marketing with clear payback, a key hire, or inventory that turns quickly.
4. Repeat, so the company increasingly funds incremental growth internally.
The compounding effect comes from a simple principle: when less cash is tied up per dollar of revenue, growth requires less incremental funding. Your business becomes less like a bucket with a hole and more like a system that reuses its own momentum.
“The flywheel isn’t about doing more with less. It’s about doing more with the cash you already earned—just not collected yet.”
— — TheMurrow Editorial
A grounded example: the invoice lag that quietly drains a company
Consider a service firm that completes work on the 30th, but invoices on the 10th of the next month, because “that’s when we do billing.” Nothing about pricing changed. Nothing about demand changed. Yet the company just donated ten days of float to every client, every month.
Multiply that by dozens of projects, and the firm effectively funds its customers. Shortening the invoice lag—by invoicing immediately upon delivery, with fewer errors—can reduce DSO without pressuring customers or raising prices. It’s not glamorous. It’s cash.
Multiply that by dozens of projects, and the firm effectively funds its customers. Shortening the invoice lag—by invoicing immediately upon delivery, with fewer errors—can reduce DSO without pressuring customers or raising prices. It’s not glamorous. It’s cash.
Lever #1 — Reduce DSO: get paid faster without raising prices
For many businesses, DSO is the most improvable part of CCC, because it’s shaped by habit: billing cadence, terms discipline, and follow-up. QuickBooks’ explainer on CCC highlights DSO as the collection side of the equation, and it’s often where “paper profits” go to hide.
Reducing DSO doesn’t have to mean threatening customers or squeezing relationships. It means designing payment like a process, not a wish.
Reducing DSO doesn’t have to mean threatening customers or squeezing relationships. It means designing payment like a process, not a wish.
Invoice speed and accuracy: the unsexy driver of cash
The first lever is brutally simple: reduce the time between delivering value and sending an invoice—and reduce errors that create disputes. A disputed invoice isn’t just “late”; it effectively stops the clock until someone responds.
Practical moves include:
- Invoice immediately upon delivery or milestone completion, not on a monthly batch schedule.
- Use consistent line-item descriptions so customers can approve quickly.
- Ensure purchase order numbers, contacts, and remittance details are correct the first time.
A finance team doesn’t need sophisticated software to do this well. It needs ownership and a clear standard: “delivery triggers invoicing.”
Practical moves include:
- Invoice immediately upon delivery or milestone completion, not on a monthly batch schedule.
- Use consistent line-item descriptions so customers can approve quickly.
- Ensure purchase order numbers, contacts, and remittance details are correct the first time.
A finance team doesn’t need sophisticated software to do this well. It needs ownership and a clear standard: “delivery triggers invoicing.”
Terms design: match payment risk to the deal
When founders say they “can’t” change terms, they often mean they can’t change terms for everyone. That’s true. But many firms can segment terms:
- Shorter terms for smaller or higher-risk customers.
- Deposits for custom work or materials-heavy projects.
- Milestone billing for longer engagements.
The goal is not to punish good customers; it’s to reduce the amount of cash you front before getting paid.
- Shorter terms for smaller or higher-risk customers.
- Deposits for custom work or materials-heavy projects.
- Milestone billing for longer engagements.
The goal is not to punish good customers; it’s to reduce the amount of cash you front before getting paid.
Collections that protect relationships
Collections fails most often because it’s vague. A durable process includes:
- Friendly reminders before due dates (“no surprises”).
- Clear internal escalation for invoices that pass agreed milestones.
- Leadership involvement for chronic late payers, where the commercial relationship is at stake.
There’s a real tradeoff: tougher terms can reduce win rates, especially in competitive markets. That’s why the best operators treat DSO improvement as a set of pilots—tested on customer segments—rather than a blanket policy that shocks the sales pipeline.
- Friendly reminders before due dates (“no surprises”).
- Clear internal escalation for invoices that pass agreed milestones.
- Leadership involvement for chronic late payers, where the commercial relationship is at stake.
There’s a real tradeoff: tougher terms can reduce win rates, especially in competitive markets. That’s why the best operators treat DSO improvement as a set of pilots—tested on customer segments—rather than a blanket policy that shocks the sales pipeline.
DSO improvement checklist (without raising prices)
- ✓Invoice immediately upon delivery or milestone completion
- ✓Reduce invoice errors that create disputes and pause the clock
- ✓Segment payment terms by customer risk and deal structure
- ✓Use friendly pre-due reminders and a clear escalation path
- ✓Involve leadership with chronic late payers to reset expectations
Lever #2 — Reduce DIO: stop letting inventory impersonate security
Inventory is seductive. It feels like preparedness. It can also be frozen cash.
JPMorgan’s breakdown of CCC defines DIO as the days inventory is held before it sells. When DIO rises, a business requires more cash to support the same sales—because money is sitting on shelves instead of in the bank.
Reducing DIO is not synonymous with “never stock out.” It’s the discipline of buying what will turn, not what merely might.
JPMorgan’s breakdown of CCC defines DIO as the days inventory is held before it sells. When DIO rises, a business requires more cash to support the same sales—because money is sitting on shelves instead of in the bank.
Reducing DIO is not synonymous with “never stock out.” It’s the discipline of buying what will turn, not what merely might.
The operational reality: cash gets trapped in “just in case”
Many small firms overbuy for understandable reasons: supplier minimums, fear of delays, optimism about demand. The result is often lumpy cash needs and surprise shortages elsewhere: marketing gets cut because inventory ate the budget; hiring gets delayed because cash is locked in slow-moving items.
A practical approach:
- Identify which products or materials turn quickly versus slowly.
- Prioritize availability for fast-turn items and tighten purchasing for slow-turn items.
- Use smaller, more frequent reorders where feasible, even if unit costs are slightly higher—because liquidity has value.
A practical approach:
- Identify which products or materials turn quickly versus slowly.
- Prioritize availability for fast-turn items and tighten purchasing for slow-turn items.
- Use smaller, more frequent reorders where feasible, even if unit costs are slightly higher—because liquidity has value.
A simple example: the slow-moving SKU problem
A retailer might have a set of products that sell weekly and another set that sells quarterly. Treating both with the same reorder logic inflates DIO. Better segmentation can free meaningful cash without changing prices: fewer dollars spent on slow movers, more dollars available for fast movers or for operating stability.
The tradeoff is real: overly aggressive inventory cuts can damage service levels and revenue. The discipline lies in distinguishing “lean” from “fragile.”
The tradeoff is real: overly aggressive inventory cuts can damage service levels and revenue. The discipline lies in distinguishing “lean” from “fragile.”
Reducing inventory: lean vs. fragile
Pros
- +Frees cash tied up on shelves
- +reduces carrying costs
- +improves flexibility to invest elsewhere
Cons
- -Cuts too deep can cause stockouts
- -hurt service levels
- -and reduce revenue if demand hits unexpectedly
Lever #3 — Increase DPO carefully: negotiate terms without burning trust
The third lever in CCC is DPO, the days you take to pay suppliers. QuickBooks notes DPO as part of the standard CCC equation, and it’s often the most politically delicate lever: you can improve your cash position by paying later, but you can also damage supply reliability and reputation.
The ethical frame matters here. “Stretching payables” by quietly paying late is different from negotiating terms and paying exactly as agreed.
The ethical frame matters here. “Stretching payables” by quietly paying late is different from negotiating terms and paying exactly as agreed.
A better standard: predictable payments, negotiated terms
If a business wants a higher DPO, the professional route is:
- Ask for net terms that match your cash reality.
- Offer predictability—suppliers value reliable payers.
- Use scheduling: pay on the agreed date, not randomly.
For some suppliers, early payment discounts may also be worth evaluating. The right answer depends on your cash position and the return you can earn elsewhere. The point is to treat payables as a strategic relationship, not a pressure valve.
- Ask for net terms that match your cash reality.
- Offer predictability—suppliers value reliable payers.
- Use scheduling: pay on the agreed date, not randomly.
For some suppliers, early payment discounts may also be worth evaluating. The right answer depends on your cash position and the return you can earn elsewhere. The point is to treat payables as a strategic relationship, not a pressure valve.
Multiple perspectives: why suppliers push back—and why that’s fair
Suppliers are running their own CCC. When buyers demand longer terms, suppliers may raise prices, tighten service, or prioritize other customers. So the “self-funding” play can backfire if it’s pursued without regard for the other side’s economics.
A balanced approach protects both parties: negotiate transparently, honor agreements, and choose a small number of key suppliers where terms changes truly matter.
A balanced approach protects both parties: negotiate transparently, honor agreements, and choose a small number of key suppliers where terms changes truly matter.
Editor's Note
Raising DPO responsibly means negotiating terms and paying exactly as agreed—not quietly paying late and calling it “cash management.”
Putting it together: a practical 30–60 day self-funding plan
Most businesses don’t need a year-long transformation to see cash relief. They need focused execution on a few high-leverage behaviors, measured weekly.
Step 1: Establish visibility (week 1–2)
Start with a baseline:
- Calculate CCC from DIO, DSO, and DPO.
- Build a weekly cash forecast (even a simple one) to anticipate shortfalls before they hit.
Working Capital Hub’s framing is useful here: CCC represents the funding gap; a forecast shows when the gap becomes dangerous.
- Calculate CCC from DIO, DSO, and DPO.
- Build a weekly cash forecast (even a simple one) to anticipate shortfalls before they hit.
Working Capital Hub’s framing is useful here: CCC represents the funding gap; a forecast shows when the gap becomes dangerous.
Step 2: Run three targeted pilots (week 3–6)
Pick one lever per area:
- DSO pilot: invoice immediately upon delivery for a subset of customers; reduce common invoice errors; implement a reminder cadence.
- DIO pilot: freeze reorders on a set of slow-moving items and reallocate purchasing to faster turns.
- DPO pilot: negotiate terms with one or two suppliers, then pay predictably on the agreed schedule.
- DSO pilot: invoice immediately upon delivery for a subset of customers; reduce common invoice errors; implement a reminder cadence.
- DIO pilot: freeze reorders on a set of slow-moving items and reallocate purchasing to faster turns.
- DPO pilot: negotiate terms with one or two suppliers, then pay predictably on the agreed schedule.
Step 3: Redeploy freed cash intentionally (week 6–8)
Self-funding only matters if you do something with the capacity you create. Redeploy cash toward measurable constraints: fulfillment throughput, marketing that produces trackable payback, or inventory that turns quickly.
The discipline is circular: measure CCC, free cash, reinvest, and repeat. That’s the flywheel in operational terms.
The discipline is circular: measure CCC, free cash, reinvest, and repeat. That’s the flywheel in operational terms.
30–60 day plan (weekly execution)
- 1.Calculate CCC and set a baseline using DIO, DSO, and DPO
- 2.Build a simple weekly cash forecast to spot shortfalls early
- 3.Pilot faster invoicing and fewer disputes for a subset of customers
- 4.Freeze reorders on slow movers and shift buys toward fast-turn items
- 5.Negotiate terms with 1–2 suppliers and pay predictably on schedule
- 6.Redeploy freed cash into a measurable constraint, then repeat the cycle
Conclusion: the quiet advantage is control
Self-funding is not a moral stance against capital. It’s a practical stance against fragility.
The Federal Reserve’s 2025 data shows why the idea has gained traction: costs are up (75% say so), operating expenses are harder to cover (56%), and cash flows are uneven (51%). In that environment, “we’ll grow and it’ll work out” becomes a risky plan, especially when raising prices is constrained and revenues can fall.
The Cash Conversion Cycle offers a disciplined alternative: treat cash timing as a system. Reduce DSO with faster invoicing and clear terms. Reduce DIO by refusing to let slow inventory eat your oxygen. Increase DPO carefully through negotiated, predictable supplier agreements.
A business that shortens its funding gap doesn’t just improve its bank balance. It buys a rare privilege: the ability to make decisions without desperation.
The Federal Reserve’s 2025 data shows why the idea has gained traction: costs are up (75% say so), operating expenses are harder to cover (56%), and cash flows are uneven (51%). In that environment, “we’ll grow and it’ll work out” becomes a risky plan, especially when raising prices is constrained and revenues can fall.
The Cash Conversion Cycle offers a disciplined alternative: treat cash timing as a system. Reduce DSO with faster invoicing and clear terms. Reduce DIO by refusing to let slow inventory eat your oxygen. Increase DPO carefully through negotiated, predictable supplier agreements.
A business that shortens its funding gap doesn’t just improve its bank balance. It buys a rare privilege: the ability to make decisions without desperation.
T
About the Author
TheMurrow Editorial is a writer for TheMurrow covering business & money.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean for a business to be self-funding?
A business is self-funding when it can finance day-to-day operations and a meaningful share of growth primarily from internally generated cash, rather than repeated infusions of debt or equity—without relying on price increases. Profit helps, but the defining factor is cash availability and timing, especially how much cash is trapped in working capital.
What is the Cash Conversion Cycle (CCC) in plain English?
CCC measures how long cash is tied up between paying suppliers and collecting from customers. Working Capital Hub describes it as a firm’s funding gap. A shorter CCC generally means the business needs less outside financing to support the same level of sales, because cash returns to the company faster.
How do you calculate CCC?
The standard formula is: CCC = DIO + DSO − DPO. JPMorgan and QuickBooks define the components as Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO), Days Sales Outstanding (DSO), and Days Payables Outstanding (DPO). Each piece reflects a different part of working capital: inventory, receivables, and supplier payments.
How can I reduce DSO without upsetting customers?
Focus on process before pressure: invoice immediately upon delivery, reduce billing errors that trigger disputes, and communicate payment expectations early. Consider segmented terms (different terms for different customer profiles) and use friendly reminders before due dates. The goal is predictable payment, not confrontation.
Is increasing DPO just another way of paying suppliers late?
It shouldn’t be. Increasing DPO responsibly means negotiating terms and paying exactly as agreed—predictably. Quietly paying late can damage supplier relationships and supply reliability. A sustainable CCC improvement respects that suppliers have their own cash constraints and may respond with worse service or higher prices.
Why is this issue getting worse for small businesses right now?
The Federal Reserve Banks’ 2025 Report on Employer Firms found widespread strain: 75% of employer firms cited rising costs, 56% cited difficulty paying operating expenses, and 51% cited uneven cash flows. The report also noted that for the first time since 2021, more firms reported revenue decreases than increases over the prior year.
