How to maintain a healthy cash flow

One major concern in the modern business world, that is found throughout all sectors, is being able to maintain a healthy cash flow.

This is by no means an easy thing to achieve, but it doesn’t have to be as difficult as you may first think. Your business’ ability to manage cash flow successfully is essential, particularly when the going gets tough.

Cash flow is at the heart of every business and thus will be at yours, too.

In order to maintain a healthy and stable cash flow you’ll have to be constantly juggling a large number of different things, including payroll, accounts, inventory and credit.

Ways to Maintain Healthy Cash Flow Position

There are a number of positive ways a business owner can do to ensure that they have a healthy and positive cash flow position in their company. Read on to discover more about how to keep your cash flow at a strong level over a long period of time.

Maintaining a healthy cash flow is essential for any business, but it can be particularly challenging for small businesses. Here are four key strategies for keeping cash flowing:

1. Maintain a strong relationship with your bank. This will give you the flexibility to borrow money when needed and negotiate favorable terms on loans.

2. Keep a close eye on your receivables. Make sure you invoices are sent out promptly and follow up with customers who are late in paying.

3. Manage your inventory carefully. Keep only enough stock on hand to meet immediate needs, and take advantage of discounts for bulk purchases.

4. Control your expenses. Avoid unnecessary spending and only invest in capital expenditures that will generate a positive return.

By following these simple tips, you can keep your business afloat during lean times and position it for future growth.

Prompt Invoicing

This may seem rather obvious to you, but if you fail to invoice your customers, you simply will not be able to maintain a healthy cash flow. It can be quite easy to fall behind when chasing up late payments, working on other projects and invoicing multiple customers a day, but the last thing you need is something else to cause further delayed payments.

You can combat this by ensuring that a single individual oversees invoicing, rather than multiple employees. This does not have to be someone’s entire job, but it should be listed as one of their main workplace priorities. They should set aside some time each week to prepare invoices and send them off.

You can also organise your files efficiently so that everything is easy for you to find when you need it. Try using cloud accounting to further streamline this whole process. Many cloud accounting systems have built in invoice technology that allows you to create them, as well as logging and chasing them, directly from the software.

Lastly, be sure you don’t make any mistakes. Even the most simple and small errors can cause huge delays, so look out for anything that is incorrect and put it right as soon as humanly possible.

Take as much time as you can to pay suppliers

By taking the maximum amount of time to pay suppliers on time , you’ll be creating yourself a free line of credit in a way. So, if you can let time be your aid here, you’ll have more cash for longer periods, and you’ll be able to give yourself longer to make money that will essentially repay with goes out when you fund your suppliers.

By doing this, you’ll have more time to use your working capital, meaning it is a win-win for any small business owner.

Verify whether your suppliers offer any incentives

A few businesses offer a discount for paying early. Regardless of whether your business routinely buys a considerable amount from another organisation or not, you’re in a decent position to arrange more favourable payment terms.

In addition to these terms, request other special services that cater to your cashflow needs and requirements. For instance, haggle to make instalments after your busy season is over.

Numerous providers will offer motivating forces, to accelerate their own receivables and develop long term relationships with regular customers and clients.

Offer customer discounts to early payers

Customers are always looking for ways to save money, and businesses must do their part to offer incentives that encourage customers to return. One way to achieve this is by offering discounts to early payers. This type of discount can take many forms, such as a percentage off the total purchase price, a fixed price, or even free shipping.

Regardless of the form it takes, an early payment discount sends a clear message to customers that businesses value their patronage and are willing to reward them for paying promptly. Additionally, this type of discount can help businesses to improve their cash flow and reduce accounting costs. As a result, offering discounts to early payers is a win-win proposition for both businesses and consumers.

Think about providing a very small discount, if bills are paid within a few days of delivery. It may cost you a little, but it can also encourage people that would otherwise be slow payers. This will in turn have a massively positive effect on your cash flow and enable it to stay in a great position.

Free funds by leasing as opposed to purchasing

Renting PC hardware, vehicles, offices, equipment, and other workplace items for the most part costs more than purchasing, yet you keep away from tying up cash. You can likewise restrict your openness with momentary leases.

Inspect costs

Many business owners and managers will not consider expanding costs in an intense economy since they’re apprehensive clients will make a beeline for the opposition. Notwithstanding, it could be important if your costs aren’t staying up with costs. If you do raise costs, disclose the motivations to your clients and, if conceivable, give them notice. Stress the worth of your items or administrations.

These thoughts are only a portion of the manners in which your company can further develop income. Talk with your bookkeeper who can help you survey income explanations, discover shortcomings, and think of answers for keep a good arrangement between the cash streaming all through your association.

Inspect payment terms and your billing schedule

If conceivable, send a receipt with your shipments — not independently a short time later. Delaying until the month’s end can add upwards of 30 additional days to your income change period. If your business offers an assistance, and it is suitable, ask clients for a store before work starts.

Help clients to remember your credit terms. Check your solicitations or articulations to guarantee there is an obvious sign of when payment is expected. Urge clients to pay with reserve moves or Internet instalments.

Intently track and gather overdue accounts

Have your bookkeeping division get ready quick, precise reports on past due instalments. Observing records can uncover early admonition signs. Act quickly on past-due records and use an assortment business, if important. Phone late clients and acquire a payment confirmation by a particular date. Consider giving staff individuals monetary prizes when they gather long-past due bills.

Try not to continue conveying administrations or transportation merchandise when payments are a long way behind. Put issue clients on a different framework or stop shipments to them out and out.

Keep your stock levels lean

As a general guideline, the cost of keeping up with stock in stock midpoints around two percent of the expense of those products for every month not sold. On the off chance that your business conveys a thing for a year, you’re down 24%. It’s difficult to beat this sort of cost handicap — particularly in tough situations.

Try not to fall into the snare of clinging to sluggish stock to try not to concede you committed an error. Get over whatever might already be lost on old and obsolete stock things or give them and guarantee a magnanimous duty derivation.

Search for opportunities you may have previously neglected

The complex Internal Revenue Code is loaded up with breaks for different ventures and citizens in specific circumstances. Talk with your tax advisor to check whether there are likely freedoms or steps you should take before the year’s over to diminish your expense bill.

Trim costs and cut superfluous spending

Search for approaches to lessen squander in office supplies, business vehicles, PDAs and land lines, utilities, business travel, additional time pay, protection and the sky is the limit from there. Ask your representatives for cost-cutting ideas. They are probably going to concoct thoughts the board hasn’t considered.

Discard unused vehicles, empty land, and hardware you needn’t bother with. You could be paying protection, upkeep, and capacity costs on them. Selling inactive resources can bring about an income support, while giving to a certified foundation can be a duty shrewd move.

Consider an interest penalty for late payments

When a bill turns out to be long late, you may need to depend on punishments. While you can, and ought to, identify with frustrated clients for a sensible measure of time, don’t allow their issues to drag your income down.

Try not to expand credit without avoiding potential risk

Require all new clients to round out credit applications. Solicitation and check credit references. A composed understanding at the beginning of a business relationship can assist with staying away from misconceptions later. Explain the conditions of the course of action on your credit application.

You should go above and beyond and have clients sign a different articulation or agreement distinguishing when payments are expected and that the other party is responsible for any lawful or discretion costs if a bill isn’t paid.

In the event that your business is stretching out credit to a monetarily disturbed business, demand getting individual certifications from the proprietors, just as their mates.

Does your cashflow need a boost? 

Invoice Factoring is a type of business finance which releases cash currently tied up in outstanding customer invoices. This business solution is ideal for helping fund expansion plans, improving your cashflow and collect payment from your customers.

As one of the UK’s leading Asset Based Lending Providers, we compare a range of Invoice Factoring, Invoice Discounting and Selective Invoice Finance.

Thousands of businesses across the UK use invoice finance to leverage their unpaid invoices to provide an instant cash injection into the business. Contact us to Solve Your cashflow problems today.