Friday January 13, 2012 at 1:21pm
With Christmas out of the way and as we rapidly approach the end of the tax year it’s a good time for every small business owner to take a look at their financial management and accounting practices. Small business owners often make seemingly simple accounting mistakes which at their most extreme could mean the difference between a good and bad fiscal year.
Here are three common financial mistakes we encounter and how to avoid them.
Not discussing costs and payment terms in advance. Co....
Thursday November 10, 2011 at 9:00am
I read recently that late payments to small businesses exceed £33 billion. And more often than not it's large businesses who are failing to pay up on time.
Bacs (Bankers’ Automated Clearing Services) say that around 860,000 companies are experiencing late payments with each SME on average owed £39,000 and left waiting two months to get it.
With bank lending at an all time low in my opinion there’s little hope of overdraft or loan facilities to fund this shortfall....
Thursday September 9, 2010 at 9:24pm
No doubt you have realised that times are tough at the moment. Customers are scarcer and they want to spend less or want more product or service for less money. The banks aren’t lending at the suggestion that you can easily borrow elsewhere if they say no. Their balance sheets are undercapitalised and lending targets have certainly shrunk regardless of what they say in public.
In such an environment it makes sense to move away from the seat of the pants approach to decision making. Gone ....
Wednesday September 8, 2010 at 9:53pm
Well it is a fair question that most of us would like to say yes to, but when put on the spot we find we stumble and don’t have all the answers. Some of the more common questions asked by the Dragons are: “how can you convince me there is a market for your product”, “what sales have you made this year so far”, “what is your forecast profit this year and next”, “who would buy this product” and “how much profit do you make on each sale&rd....
Tuesday July 27, 2010 at 12:41pm
Cash - you can never have too much, but you can often have too little. Staying on top of cash flow is critical for every business. These 10 tips will help you boost cash flow.
Invoice as soon as possible. It’s far better, from a cash flow point of view, to bill throughout the month than stick rigidly to one billing day, often at the end of the month.
Give it focus. Cash flow is the most important element of your business. Don’t delegate the task and ignore progress.....