The financial management of an industrial SME is not like that of a service SME. Production cycles, inventory, delivery times, and margins per project create invisible cash flow gaps in traditional accounting. A balance sheet at M+6 is no longer sufficient once you have multiple projects, several product lines, or several significant clients ongoing simultaneously.
In the industry, margin and cash flow issues systematically come from the same places: poorly managed inventory, unknown actual costs, uncontrolled production times, and structurally too long DSO. Correcting these points radically changes a manager's decision-making capacity.
Laurent Blanchet: "The three KPIs we prioritize in an industrial SME are the margin per product or project, the DIO (inventory turnover), and the industrial working capital week by week. These are the three levers that quickly free up cash — often several hundred thousand euros for SMEs with a turnover of 10 to 20 million euros."
The industrial paradox: profitable on paper, in constant tension
This is the scenario we encounter in the majority of industrial SMEs we support. The company shows a positive net result, a full order book, solid growth — and the manager receives reminder calls from suppliers because their bank account is empty.
The explanation is mechanical. An industrial SME incurs costs — raw materials, subcontracting, direct labor — weeks before delivery. When it delivers, it still waits 45 to 60 days to collect. This operating cycle creates a working capital requirement that can represent 60 to 90 days of revenue. When growth accelerates, the working capital requirement inflates faster than the cash flow can absorb — and the manager discovers the tension at the moment when he no longer has time to act.
Without a weekly cash flow forecast, this breaking point is discovered too late. With a structured forecast, the same situation is identified 6 to 8 weeks in advance.
Why job-based analytical accounting changes everything in industry
It is the most underutilized lever in the industrial SMEs we encounter. They know their overall annual margin. They do not know which product line, which project, which client is profitable — and which one is costing them money without them realizing it.
Without job-based analytical accounting, the industrial manager makes his business and operational decisions with overall data. He accepts or rejects orders without knowing if they will improve or degrade his actual profitability. He continues to produce loss-making references because they "are part of the catalog."
Advanced Conseil systematically observes in the industrial SMEs it supports that 20 to 30% of the businesses or product references are loss-making or marginally profitable — without the manager knowing it. Correcting this single point changes the entire commercial and pricing strategy.
On Odoo 16/17/18/19, analytical accounting by project allows for the automatic allocation of direct costs (materials, subcontracting, direct labor) to each project or production batch. The manager sees their margin by project every week — not 6 months later at the annual closing.
The 5 essential management tools in the industry
Tool 1 — The project margin dashboard
Invoiced revenue, actual cost price (materials, direct labor, subcontracting, travel expenses), gross margin and net margin — by project, by site, or by production batch. Available every week on Odoo, without Excel export. This tool allows for decision-making: what type of project to develop, what price threshold to no longer accept, which client to prioritize.
Tool 2 — Stock rotation tracking (DIO) by category
The DIO (Days Inventory Outstanding) by category identifies the references that tie up the most cash with the lowest turnover. On Odoo, Advanced Conseil configures automatic alerts as soon as a reference exceeds a defined DIO threshold. In practice, 15 to 20% of references account for 60 to 70% of the immobilized stock — with a turnover less than half the average.
Tool 3 — The 13-week cash flow forecast
Updated every week in 30 minutes. Expected customer receipts (billing date + observed actual payment delay), scheduled supplier payments, fixed costs, and loan repayments. This forecast identifies tensions 6 to 8 weeks in advance — allowing time to act.
Tool 4 — Tracking industrial working capital
DSO, DIO, DPO — the three components of industrial working capital monitored monthly. Advanced Conseil calculates them automatically from Odoo and identifies the priority optimization levers according to your sector and stage of development.
Tool 5 — The monthly executive reporting
A document of 2 to 3 pages, readable in 10 minutes: actual revenue vs budget, margin by activity or by project, working capital, cash flow at 30 days, and 3 actionable points of attention. Produced every month in 2 hours — not in 2 days.
Reference table: management indicators by size of industrial SME
| SME size | Priority KPIs | Monitoring frequency | Recommended tool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue < 3 M€ | Cash flow + DSO + overall margin | Monthly | Simple forecast + dashboard |
| Revenue 3–10 M€ | + DIO + margin by product line | Weekly | Odoo analytical accounting |
| Revenue 10–25 M€ | + margin by project + detailed working capital | Weekly | Odoo full + monthly bank reporting |
| Revenue > 25 M€ | + multi-site consolidation + monthly EBITDA | Weekly + monthly | Outsourced CFO part-time |
Client case: industrial SME 15 M€ revenue — several hundred thousand euros released
We supported an industrial SME generating about €15 million in revenue. The company was profitable — positive EBITDA, full order book. But the manager was only operating with his bank balance. He had no visibility on his margins by project, no data on the turnover of his stocks by category, and discovered his cash flow tensions at D+3 instead of anticipating them 6 to 8 weeks in advance.
Initial diagnosis :
- Actual DSO 68 days for a contractual DSO of 45 days — 23 days difference.
- DIO 72 days, with 18% of references generating 65% of the immobilized stock.
- No analytical accounting by project — overall margin known, margin by product unknown.
- No cash flow visibility beyond 10 days.
Actions deployed over 90 days: forecast operational in 15 days for 13 weeks, automation of customer reminders, configuration of analytical accounting by project on Odoo, DIO audit by category, negotiation of supplier deadlines.
Result after 6 months : Working capital reduced from 68 to 49 days of revenue — several hundred thousand euros released. First pricing decision based on actual margin data by reference. Cash flow tensions resolved despite an 18% growth in revenue during the period.
Frequently asked questions: financial management of industrial SMEs
Is analytical accounting by project complex to set up on Odoo?
On Odoo 16/17/18/19, the configuration takes 1 to 3 days depending on the complexity of your business. Direct costs are automatically allocated as soon as the analytical rules are well defined. The first margin data per project is available at the end of the first month of production.
Do you need to be on Odoo to manage your margin per project?
No. Advanced Conseil configures analytical accounting per project on Sage, Cegid, or your existing ERP. On Odoo 16/17/18/19, the setup is faster and the data is automatically retrieved from the production orders. On another ERP, we work with your exports and build the dashboards in the appropriate format.
How long does it take to see the first results on the industrial working capital?
The first actions on the DSO (customer reminders) produce visible effects in 30 to 60 days. Optimizing the DIO takes 60 to 90 days. A structural reduction of the working capital by 15 to 25 days of revenue is built over 3 to 6 months.
Can Advanced Conseil intervene in the industry without knowing my specific sector?
The DAF expertise is transversal: working capital, analytical margin, cash flow, banking relations. Advanced Conseil supports SMEs in metallurgy, agri-food, plastics, electronic subcontracting, and construction. The initial 48-hour diagnosis allows for a quick understanding of sector-specific characteristics.
Advanced Conseil supports industrial SMEs in managing their working capital, their margin per project, and their cash flow. Based in Levallois-Perret (Hauts-de-Seine), just a stone's throw from the Anatole France metro.
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