Cash is King

This is the 3rd post in our  10 part series. You can catch up with the other articles  here . In this series of posts we are looking at how your business can be prepared when the economy starts to turn around.

In this post we look at cash and how to keep hold of it.

Most businesses fail not by failing to make a profit, but by running out of cash.

Never has this been more true than  in the last couple of years when banks have not extended overdrafts or granted business loans. So never has the time been right to look within your business to see what opportunities exist to generate cash – start by looking at:

Who owes you money?

Make a list of who owes you money and rank that by how long the money has been outstanding over due date. At the top of the list should be the oldest debt.

Start calling them and ask for payment.

Be cautious of accepting new work until they have paid off outstanding debts.

Stock

How much stock are you holding over and above that required to meet in hand orders?

Will your stock last longer than the time it takes to get new supplies based on average sales?

Do you need to hold a sale?

Who do you owe?

Who do you owe money too?

Can you delay payment or renegotiate payment terms?

Look at your cost base

Are there any costs that don’t directly add value to the business.

Communicate

Tell your workers or team what’s going on and why and ask them for ideas.

Seize Opportunities

As the economy starts to turn, some businesses will run out of cash and go to the wall. Having cash will enable you to buy stock or equipment cheaply, or even their business,  which in turn will grow your business.

So, what do you think?