Cash Flow Issues? Here are our Tips on Improving Cash Flow Within a Small Business

Managing cash flow, especially within a small business can be challenging. Even one customer paying an invoice late can have detrimental consequences; not to mention the time wasted on chasing for payment that could have been spent on continuing to build your business.

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Unfortunately, you’re unlikely to be in a position where every invoice is paid on time so its important to manage your cashflow so that you don’t find yourself in a position where you’re caught short. If this is an issue that you have had to face within your small business, you should consider the following tips:

Automate your finances

Trying to manually manage what’s coming in and going out of your bank account can be a struggle. It also leaves room for human error and can be very time consuming. There is plenty of technology out there that can do this for you, saving hours of your time which offsets any cost that it may incur. Some of the best software packages include tracking, forecasting and automated reports that easily raise any red flags and warn you if any action needs to be taken.

Better payment options.

Every customer is different and appreciating that not all of your customers are willing to pay by bank transfer can really speed up the process of getting them to part with their cash. By opening up your different methods of payment your giving customers every option to pay their invoices without any excuses. For monthly payments that don’t change you may even want to consider getting them to set up a standing order, so payments are taken automatically, meaning an easier life for both you and them.

Bridging Loans

Depending on what your business is, you may want to consider a bridging loan as a flexible short-term finance solution. Particularly for property business that may do renovations, a commercial bridging loan can be a good way to secure funding against investment, or commercial properties and land in order to fund the remainder of your project and ensure that you don’t run out of money before everything is completed. Often within property development, payments are made in big lump sums rather than smaller regular payments, so short term commercial finance can help things tick over smoothly. Working with a commercial finance broker means that you can find the right solution for your particular situation.