Home
>
Small Business
>
7 Tips To Improve Your Cash Flow

7 Tips To Improve Your Cash Flow

Cash is King?That is what everyone tells us and it is true! You cannot function successfully in any business without proper cash flow. So if this Cash Principle is so well known, then why is it that so many businesses struggle? Sometimes the obvious is not always so obvious when you are entrenched in running the day-to-day aspects of your business. Here are 7 Tips to Improve Your Cash Flow!

1. Cash and Carry. Operate a cash and carry type business versus worrying about receivables. The best business plan is one where customers pay at the time of purchase so you don't have to worry about invoicing or collection procedures. Invoicing and collections take up valuable time, so you want to come up with creative ways to incentivize payment immediately. Set the ground rules in the beginning so your clients know what you expect.

2. Receivables Collection. Collect your receivables in a prompt manner. Don't let them hang out there forever until your customers decide they want to pay you. Being a good steward of your business is "good business", so have a process in place for invoicing and collections. The longer your receivables are outstanding, the less likely you are to collect. You don't have to be mean and rough to collect promptly from your clients. A good rule of thumb is that you should always have a due date on the invoice and then send out a follow-up statement within 10 to 30 days from the due date. Each industry and business environment has different insights as to what is the "ideal" time. I would not send follow-up correspondence any sooner than 10 days past due. Payment may just be delayed by the mail; however, waiting longer than 30 days is too long. If you have not received payment within 45 to 60 days of the due date, then a phone call should be made to follow-up with your customer. Accounts that go past due 90 or more days should be taken to the next level of collections with an outside agency, internal collection "ninja" or any other mode you have established for collections. Find what works best for your business and stick to it. Each day that you are delayed in receiving payment is an additional cost of doing business. Time is money.

3. Receivables Funding. Implement an accounts receivable funding program. Factoring of accounts receivable has become very popular and it can be a great way of keeping the cash flowing. Businesses who deal with large businesses or government agencies lend themselves to utilizing factoring programs. If your clientele is made up of small businesses or individuals, you may find it more difficult to establish an accounts receivable funding program. Why? Funding companies are monitoring risk. There is less risk with larger companies or government agencies. Or so they think!

4. Vendors. Negotiate terms with your vendors to help delay the outflow of cash payments. Lots of vendors have payment terms where you can delay the payment until end of the month or maybe even up to 60 days. This allows you a little float time to use their money while you are working on your project. Then hopefully you'll receive payment from your customers prior to needing to pay for the products you purchased. Some companies also go the route of consignment. Then you are selling someone else's goods and don't have your money wrapped up in inventory. This option can help you increase your product offerings without having to invest large amounts of money in inventory.

5. Customer Deposits. Have your customers pay a deposit prior to the start of the job. This will help you cover your upfront costs as you start the projects. It's very common to have a deposit with the signing of your contract. It decreases the risk associated with nonpayment because you've received a portion up front. You can also implement periodic payments throughout the contract vs. a single payment upon completion of the project so that cash is flowing in consistently.

6. Revolving Credit Line. Establish a revolving line of credit through a lender to help you with potential cash flow crunches. Especially if the amount of savings from prompt pay discounts are greater than the financing charge from the lender or the lender's financing charge is less than what your vendors might charge for late payments. This helps give your business a safety net so that you can continue to operate during those times when you are offered great specials if you buy today but may not have extra cash available.

7. Savings Fund. Establish a savings fund to help you operate through slow times. Most businesses have swings in their business flow and managing cash effectively can be a challenge. Store away extra during the good times to help alleviate issues during the slow season. I know this sounds easier than it is, but if you take out a percentage each month and transfer it to a savings account then it will be "out of sight and out of mind."

You may find that each of these 7 tips is viable for your business, or maybe only 1 or 2. Anything that you can do to focus on better cash flow will provide benefits to your business. The worst thing you can do is sit back and "hope" that things go well. Look around! See those "CLOSED" signs on the surrounding shop windows? They played the "hope" game and lost. What are you going to do? Hope? No?implement a plan for cash flow management starting now.

Contact: Pam Newman is a Certified Management Accountant, Author, and Certified QuickBooks? ProAdvisor for Financial and Point-of-Sale software.

For more information, visit her website at http://www.quickbooksinformation.com or call 816.304.4398. QuickBooks? is a registered trademark of Intuit. RPPC, Inc. is a third party provider of training for QuickBooks?, and is not part of Intuit.

monthly home cleaning Buffalo Grove ..

In The News:

Baseball teams can now analyze complete swing mechanics in normal training environments using Theia's markerless AI system that processes standard high-speed footage.

Smart home hacking fears overblown? Expert reveals real cybersecurity risks and simple protection tips to keep your connected devices safe from hackers.

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.

Android rolls out Emergency Live Video for 911 calls, letting dispatchers see real-time scenes during emergencies. Great for holiday travel safety.

Malicious Chrome and Edge extensions collected browsing history, keystrokes and personal data from millions of users before Google and Microsoft removed them.

Google's new Call Reason feature lets Android users mark calls as urgent before dialing, displaying an urgent label to recipients using Phone by Google app.

Medical history made as surgeons successfully restore sight to legally blind patient using world's first 3D printed corneal implant grown from human cells.

Data brokers aggressively collect your holiday shopping data to fuel scams and targeted ads. Learn how to delete your digital profile before 2025 starts.

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.

AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.

A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.

New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.

Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.

Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.

Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.

7 Tips To Improve Your Cash Flow

Small Business