Whether you’re a startup captain or an established business owner, you know how necessary cash flow is in a business and undoubtedly keep a close eye on your income and expenses. For small businesses that operate on a shoestring budget, it is especially vital to carefully guard every dollar.

Even so, entrepreneurs can easily make significant mistakes where their business capital is concerned, whether in terms of overspending or making investments that don’t pay off. Below, 13 financial experts from Forbes Finance Council talk about the major money mistakes they’ve often seen entrepreneurs make and how to avoid them.

Members of Forbes Finance Council share major money mistakes entrepreneurs should be careful to avoid.

It is possible to grow too fast. Many young companies have died in the fires of bankruptcy after overextending. When driving new business, it’s necessary to temper expansion with strong cash forecasting and financial planning that ensures you are not outstripping your ability to generate sufficient cash to cover expenses. It is hard to get additional financing when you are in dire straits. - Katherine Jackson, Bayer Properties, LLC

Entrepreneurs can fall victim to their own success, wherein history translates into looking forward to growth. Lost in the ferocious look-forward cycle is the need to manage each dollar of EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) generated. A focus on projections or models on enterprise value may feed their passion; however, deals are often transacted based on historical EBITDA, so every dollar retained gets multiplied at the table. - Matthew Goldston, PKF of Texas

In many new, high-growth companies, there can be a significant delay between cash coming in and future expense obligations. If you sell a two-year contract that’s paid up front, you are flush with cash, but you have service obligations over the next two years. Don’t make the mistake of underfunding the business operations by using the cash elsewhere. - Chris Schwalbach, AVL Growth Partners

Do not make the mistake of being your own bookkeeper or accountant when starting your own business. With ever-changing tax laws, it is impossible to stay abreast of every section of the tax code. Outsource this responsibility to a good CPA and it will be the second-best investment you make in your business (second only to hiring a great attorney). - Sheryl J. Moore, Wink, Inc.

Entrepreneurs—especially startups—often commit too much to fixed costs without drawing up a proper recoupment plan on investments. The tendency to show big is killing at times, and such spends cannot be sustained, which leads to borrowing debt funds. This is a vicious cycle. You need to apply the brakes to align to business requirements so as to walk, grow and run faster. - Debasish Dutta, ORANGE CORP

Increasing spend ahead of revenues or investments is one of the major missteps I have noticed. Most startups die because they run out of cash. Entrepreneurs need to have the financial discipline to avoid that. - Baris Aksoy, AV8 Ventures

One mistake entrepreneurs make is not finding a balance between spending money and saving money. It is important to save money, but it’s also important to spend money wisely and conservatively to move the company forward. Investing in people or equipment will bode well for the company over time. - Charles Carey, CIG Capital

Hiring people ahead of revenue is often viewed as a smart investment, especially if you’ve raised money to do so. The issue arises when you hire too many people and sales either drop or don’t come in fast enough. A hire is a long-term expense commitment that requires supporting cash inflow. Staggering hires to sales milestones is a way to mitigate this risk. - Aaron Spool, Eventus Advisory Group, LLC

Business success is so closely tied to the quality and timing of hires that it’s crucial to get it right. However, assessing talent is hard, and admitting defeat when a hire just doesn’t work out is even harder. A possible solution would be to have a thorough interview process and clear success criteria. If the hire is not meeting the success criteria, cut your losses and move on. - Zack Cook, Keyfactor

Understand your value. You will be tempted to reinvest, reinvest, reinvest, but you also need to pay yourself. Not paying yourself gives a false perception of your company’s expenses—plus it stresses your personal finances. - Lori Moes, DJM Design CAD & Coordination Services Inc.

Immediate gratification is a big no-no! Entrepreneurs must be prepared to defer gratification and reinvest to solidify their base and ensure that what they have today is sustainable for tomorrow. - Oliver Sabga, Term Finance

A common mistake I’ve seen is entrepreneurs cutting their marketing budget when times get thin—instead, you need to double down on it. You cannot do so wastefully, but funds for the main catalyst of new revenue and growth are often a first-line item to be cut, and that’s usually a bad idea. - Matthew Cuplin, Midwest Financial Group

As your business grows, you’ll have incoming and outgoing money from different revenue streams, payroll, operating expenses and more. To prevent confusion and ensure you’re not overspending, it’s helpful to have multiple bank accounts and move these funds around as needed. - Joe Camberato, National Business Capital & Services