Lots of businesses get the ‘cash flow blues’ during this time of the year. Some business owners dread Christmas for this reason.
The summer holidays are almost upon us. This brings with it a case of the ‘cash flow blues.’
You may know the feeling… there’s bills to pay but your clients are already ramping up for summer. It could be they are waiting for payment from a client themselves or their business is simply struggling with their own cash flow.
Christmas can have a negative effect on cash flow
The Christmas summer holiday period is a four-to-five week break from business as usual for a large number of businesses. It’s not uncommon for owners to end up going without pay during this time. Some businesses even max out their credit cards to solve cash flow problems during the holiday period.
Even if you haven’t experienced this extent of ‘cash flow blues’ in your business, you’ll probably understand that cash does get scarce this time of the year.
Do you have cash management processes in your business? How do you ensure clients don’t pay you slowly (or wait until the new year to pay)?
If you don’t have robust systems in place to make sure you get paid, now is a perfect time to review your processes.
Our top suggestions to avoid cash flow issues over the summer break are:
- Issue new invoices earlier than you normally would – get billing fast!
- Offer flexible payment options – including fee funding if you are a professional adviser.
- If you need to, consider offering an early payment discount.
- Prepare a three-monthly budget for the holiday period.
- Talk to your suppliers about the possibility of delaying or spreading payments to them.
- Utilise a dedicated accounts receivable resource/specialist supplier to improve payment speed. Check out smartAR Outsourced Ledger Management for more information.
Bonus cash flow management tip
Get paid faster by offering payment options via your own branded online payment page. You can integrate this page onto your website, and showcase ‘pay now’ buttons and links via your invoices, statements and reminder emails. By making payment seamless from any device it will speed up your collection process.
Beat summer’s cash flow blues with smartAR. Book a demo with our friendly team to find out how our fee funding service can help your business get paid faster.