This article is from long term TSC member, Julia Leask, the Number Hunter.
It’s likely to be a rocky road for many businesses over the next few weeks and months. So, working together as a business community to support each other will be essential.
Working capital is a vital part of any successful trading business – providing the liquid cash needed for everyday operations. Suddenly finding your business without this cash can be a shock, but there are ways to fill these cashflow holes and get the company back on track.
In short, it comes down to careful cashflow management, and ensuring you have the best possible routes to additional finance and funding provision.
Key ways I can help include:-
- Accessing government assistance – the Government is offering a variety of ways to support businesses financially during the coronavirus crisis. I can explain what loans, grants, tax reliefs or filing extensions may be available to you and can help you fill out all the relevant forms and applications to make a claim.
- Helping you understand your cash requirements – the starting point of any funding search will always be to understand what your current cash requirements are. This means sitting down to review your whole financial position. Then, armed with this information, we can see exactly how much you’ll need to borrow.
- Liaising with banks and lenders – I can put you in touch with the most suitable banks, lenders and alternative funding providers, and can help in conversations with these lenders. For example, you may want to discuss the possibility of extending your overdraft facility, or whether you could temporarily suspend principal payments etc.
- Preparing financial information for lenders – any lender will want detailed financial reporting to back up your loan application. I can produce up-to-date accounts, cashflow statements and forecasts to help banks and finance providers understand your financial health and the risk levels involved in lending to your company.
- Improving your debtor tracking – outstanding customer invoices is another key area to get under control. I can help you understand your aged debt position and identify which invoices you should be prioritising when it comes to chasing up customers and finding mutually agreeable payment terms.
- Extending credit from suppliers – the coming months will be tough for many businesses, so it’s worth having open and honest communication with customers and suppliers around when payments will realistically be made. Agreeing on small discounts, part payments or extended terms will all help to increase liquidity for everyone.
Talk to me about getting on top of cashflow
If you’d like to get in control of your cashflow management and funding needs, I’m here to help. I can help you crunch those cashflow numbers, access the best possible routes to funding and remove some of the worry during these testing times.
You can contact me, Julia Leask, The Number Hunter at:
Tel: 01926-298829
Mob: 07855-275099
julia@leaskas.co.uk
