Thursday, May 25, 2006

Avoiding a Financial Crisis: Have A Plan For Your Small Business

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Having a superb product, soaring sales and stupendous customer service are undoubtedly some of the things which go into making a successful business. But all of this is irrelevant if you suffer a financial crisis. Without a sound stable financial position the slightest shock can be enough to send your business crashing to the ground.

So what can you do to ensure that all your hard work is not in vain? What can you do to make sure that a financial crisis doesn’t rock the boat or even sink it? Let’s take a look at what can cause these jolts and, more importantly, what you can do about it.

Poor Record Keeping and Administration

Business owners are usually not good record or bookkeepers! People who start businesses are the ones who have great ideas, see a gap in the market or have the personality to sell anything. They are not people who jump out of bed in the morning and say “Great, it’s a VAT and paperwork day today!”

If you are to keep your business on the straight and narrow then you have to accept that there are going to days like this; you can’t avoid it. You must keep records of your sales, your purchases, how much you have, how much raw material or finished goods you hold.

Without these records you will very quickly lose track of where you are. You won’t know:

· What you have spent your money on

· You won’t know where your cash is going

· You won’t know where all your stock is – has someone stolen it? Who knows?

You are effectively working in the dark and this is not conducive to financial stability. So what sort of records are we talking about? Nothing sophisticated. It can be as simple as a book with one page for your income and another for your expenditure. At least once a month total it all up to see how money you have made (I hope!). There’s a saying. ‘The people who keep records are the people who break records’ – so true.

Not Watching Your Bank Balance

Do you know exactly what your bank balance is today? Why is it important? Because if you are going to write a cheque you must know whether you have the money on your account. If you don’t that nasty Bank Manager may just bounce it.

Obviously this can have a negative effect on your reputation; your credit will be damaged and you may struggle to get support from your Bank and suppliers in the future. All because you didn’t check what your balance was.

To avoid this make sure you keep a running total in a cash book of what you have on your account. Why not sign up for Internet Banking? These days all the High Street Banks make this facility available, so there is no excuse for losing track of where you stand.

Poor Cash and Credit Management

Closely linked to keeping an eye on your Bank balance is how you handle your cash flow. There are 3 aspects to this.

1. Don’t be tempted to keep too much at your home or on your business premises. You could lose it to thieves, fire or flood

2. If you are doing ‘business-to-business’ sales then you may be faced with having to sell on credit. If so then be disciplined in chasing up any outstanding payments. You can’t afford to be embarrassed about asking for a cheque. If you have agreed 1 month credit, why wait for 3 months? Chase as hard as you can because remember you have your own debts to pay!

3. You may be lucky to have a period of credit granted by the people you buy from. If they give you one month’s credit, then stick to it. If you decide to hold onto your bills before paying you may be faced with a Solicitor’s letter. Don’t ignore the problem and hope the phone calls will go away - they won’t!

No Cost Controls

To keep yourself in a strong financial position shop around for purchases you have to make. Compare prices and specifications. Have an upper limit beyond which you will not pay. Always be on the lookout for a good deal.

Spending On the Wrong Things

Running your own business can be a very powerful feeling! You may be tempted to spend on anything but the business – a new car, flash clothes, a new kitchen. Well, you have to look the part don’t you??

During the early years and even when you are established make sure you spend your hard earned cash on the right things. The trappings of success may not be right at this stage of your business life. Your business, in order for it to grow, needs cash. Remove the cash and you remove the life blood which keeps your business alive.

You have to be disciplined in your expenditure and ask yourself the question, ‘Will this cost add anything to my business?’. Don’t act on impulse; go away and think about every large expenditure. If the answer to the question is no, then you should think twice about spending.

Failing To Make Cuts in Time

Failing to make the necessary cuts to ensure the survival of your business is something you cannot afford to do. If you spot you have a problem do something about it! Don’t sit back and hope things will get better; the chances are it won’t.

If you have product or service which is not performing and it’s costing you money don’t try and dress it up – be ruthless and cut it out. Make your decision quickly; don’t hang about. Not acting fast will only compound the problem.

Depending On a Small Number of Customers

Having a small number of customers is not a problem when everything is going well, but if one or two leave you or fail to pay up on time, then this can cause problems.

If you depend on 3 customers and one of them leaves then you are faced with a 33% reduction in sales. Unless you can replace him immediately you may not be able to cut your overheads quick enough to avert any crisis.

You cannot afford for your business to be held to ransom. Try and diversify as much as you can. Get out there and get new customers.

The same applies to businesses which rely on only one or two products. A shift in public tastes can leave you high and dry with unsold stock and no business!

Not Having a Budget

One good financial discipline is to have a budget. At the beginning of each year sit down and, based on your previous year’s income and expenditure, set new targets. Look to see where you can cut back in expenditure or even what to cut out all together.

Armed with your budget you will have a guide to work to. This will be a second check before you make any large unnecessary purchases.

Having a budget will provide discipline to your expenditure. At the end of every month up date it by including your actual income and expenditure then compare your budget with the actuals. Going through this exercise will give you more focus and what your business is doing. It can help you put things right by highlighting the problem areas.

No Contingency Plan In Place

Bigger businesses need to have a contingency plan for all parts of the business. A contingency plan is basically a plan which answers the question, “What would we do if this happened …?”

What is your “if”? What if you lose your premises? What if your computer goes down?

For a small business the biggest risk is you! What would happen to your business if you fall ill or even die? Most small businesses are totally dependent on the owner. You do everything!

If you are ill enough for one or two months that you can’t work who will see to the customers? Who will get new ones? Who will see to the paperwork? Who will collect the money owed to you?

These are important questions you must answer now. You have to identify someone who could fill in for you if you are to avoid a potential financial crisis. Your next step is to write a manual on how your business works, and outlining all the key processes. If something does happen then at least there is a path to follow!

Not Talking To Your Bank Manager

As soon as most people see a financial crisis looming the person they try and avoid most is their Bank Manager! If they see him walking on the same side of the road they will cross to avoid bumping into him.

A Bank Manager is usually the first person you should speak to. Bank Managers like to be kept up to date with what is happening in your business. They don’t like surprises. It’s when they are kept in the dark they make decisions that can have a major impact on your business.

You must resolve to talk to your Bank Manager the moment you suspect there is a problem. Who knows, he may surprise you by offering to do something to help!

Financial problems can usually be avoided by taking a step back from the business and thinking about what can go wrong. Once you know that, then you can take actions to put preventative measures in place before it’s too late.

Useful Links:

Commercial Loan - http://www.advancedbusinesscapital.com/
refinance - http://www.mortgagerefinancinggroup.com/
working capital - http://www.cashflowspecialistsinc.com/

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Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Working Capital Works

Cash is the lifeline of a company. If this lifeline deteriorates, so does the company's ability to fund operations, reinvest and meet capital requirements and payments. Understanding a company's cash flow health is essential to making investment decisions. A good way to judge a company's cash flow prospects is to look at its working capital management (WCM).

What Is Working Capital?
Working capital refers to the cash a business requires for day-to-day operations, or, more specifically, for financing the conversion of raw materials into finished goods, which the company sells for payment. Among the most important items of working capital are levels of inventory, accounts receivable, and accounts payable. Analysts look at these items for signs of a company's efficiency and financial strength.

Take a simplistic case: a spaghetti sauce company uses $100 to build up its inventory of tomatoes, onions, garlic, spices, etc. A week later, the company assembles the ingredients into sauce and ships it out. A week after the checks arrive from customers. That $100, which has been tied up for two weeks, is the company's working capital. The quicker the company sells the spaghetti sauce, the quicker the company can go out and buy new ingredients, which will be made into more sauce sold at a profit. If the ingredients sit in inventory for a month, company cash stays tied-up and can't be used to grow the spaghetti business. Even worse, the company can be left strapped for cash when it needs to pay its bills and make investments. Working capital also gets trapped when customers do not pay their invoices on time or suppliers get paid too quickly or not fast enough.

The better a company manages its working capital, the less the company needs to borrow. Even companies with cash surpluses need to manage working capital to ensure that those surpluses are invested in ways that will generate suitable returns for investors.

Not All Companies Are the Same
Some companies are inherently better placed than others. Insurance companies, for instance, receive premium payments up front before having to make any payments; however, insurance companies do have unpredictable outgoings as claims come in.

Normally a big retailer like Wal-Mart has little to worry about when it comes to accounts receivable: customers pay for goods on the spot. Inventories represent the biggest problem for retailers, who must perform rigorous inventory forecasting or they risk being out of business in a short time.

Timing and lumpiness of payments can pose serious troubles. Manufacturing companies, for example, incur substantial up-front costs for materials and labor before receiving payment. Much of the time they eat more cash than they generate.

Evaluating Companies
Investors should favor companies that place emphasis on supply-chain management to ensure that trade terms are optimized. Days-sales outstanding, or DSO for short, is a good indication of working capital management practices. DSO provides a rough guide to the number of days that a company takes to collect payment after making a sale. Here is the simple formula:

Receivables/ annual sales/365 days


Rising DSO is sign of trouble since it shows that a company is taking longer to collect its payments. It suggests that the company is not going to have enough cash to fund short-term obligations because the cash cycle is lengthening. A spike in DSO is even more worrisome, especially for companies that are already low on cash.

The inventory turnover ratio offers another good instrument for assessing the effectiveness of WCM. The inventory ratio shows how fast/often companies are able to get their goods completely off the shelves. The inventory ratio looks like this:

Broadly speaking, a high inventory turnover ratio is good for business. Products that sit on the shelf are not making money. Granted, an increase in the ratio can be a positive sign, indicating that management, expecting sales to increase, is building up inventory ahead of time.

For investors, a company's inventory turnover ratio is best seen in light of its competitors. In a given sector where, say, it is normal for a company to completely sell out and re-stock six times a year, a company that achieves a turnover ratio of four is an underperformer.

Computer giant and stock market champion, Dell, recognized early that a good way to bolster shareholder value was to notch up working capital management. The company's world-class supply-chain management system ensures that DSO stays low. Improvements in inventory turnover increased cash flow, all but eliminating liquidity risk, leaving Dell with more cash on the balance sheet to distribute to shareholders or fund growth plans.

Dell's exceptional WCM certainly exceeds those of the top executives who do not worry enough about the nitty-gritty of working capital management. Some CEOs frequently see borrowing and raising equity as the only way to boost cash flow. Other times, when faced with a cash crunch, instead of setting straight inventory turnover levels and reducing DSO, these management teams pursue rampant cost cutting and restructuring that may later aggravate problems.

Cash is king, especially at a time when fund raising is harder than ever. Letting it slip away is an oversight that investors should not forgive.

Useful Links:

Commercial Loan - http://www.advancedbusinesscapital.com/
refinance - http://www.mortgagerefinancinggroup.com/
working capital - http://www.cashflowspecialistsinc.com/


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Home Loans / Refinance Home Loans / Home Equity Loans

Refinancing a home means taking a new mortgage loan to replace your current mortgage loan. There are two major types of mortgage loans, those with a fixed interest rate and fixed monthly payments and those with changing rates and changing monthly payments.

When you refinance your home, you usually pay off your original mortgage and then sign the papers for a new loan. With a new loan, you will pay most of the same costs you paid to get your original home loan. These costs can include settlement costs, discount points, and other loan fees.

The total expense for refinancing a home loan depends on the interest rate, number of points, and other costs required to obtain a refinance home loan. To obtain the lowest rate offered by the lender, most lenders will charge several points, and the total cost can run between three and six percent of the total amount you borrow for your refinance loan.

You should:
    1. Check to see that interest rates have lowered enough to make the cost of refinancing your home worth it in the end.
    2. Compare the "total" costs to refinance your home as well as interest rates to determine if refinancing your home will save money.
    3. Usually, the lower the interest rate, the more points the lending institution will want to charge.
    4. Shop around for a lender. Get a list of charges and costs you must pay at closing from each lender you consider.

Most of the following home financing loan resources are going to require some basic information and may want to do a pre credit report check. Refinacing your home or getting a home equity loan is a good way to use those extra funds to pay off other debt you have. Mortgage rates are really low right now and you should take advantage of the loan offers out there to get the best mortgage rate. Most of these lenders will still loan you money for a home refinance or home equity loan even if your credit is poor though the interest rate might be slightly higher. Check your credit score because you do want to get the best mortgage rate available.

Mortgage Refinance Group - Mortgage Loan offers mortgage quotes from mortgage lenders for home loans, including new home mortgage, refinance, home equity, and debt consolidation.

Home Loan, Refinance Loan, Bad Credit OK from Low Cost Lending  

This one also takes you straight to a secure page for a quick loan application. You can use an equity loan to pay off some of those higher interest credit cards with a lower interest on the refinance loan. Doing this can save you literally hundreds of dollars per year.  (click here) for a quick quote. Everything you do to improve your credit report makes it better for future home loans  or refinance home loans.

Useful Links:

Commercial Loan - http://www.advancedbusinesscapital.com
refinance - http://www.mortgagerefinancinggroup.com/
working capital - http://www.cashflowspecialistsinc.com


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Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Small Business Loan For Women

The Small Business Administration states that business loans for women are on the rise, and will continue to be needed on an increasing basis in coming years. Business loans for women are more popular than ever due to a variety of factors. Did you know you could easily refinance your home and use the equity for a business loan? Small businesses make up almost 21% of the banking market and therefore they are willing to make business loans with attractive loan terms. Minority business loan programs are also available.

The most common type of business lenders are:
   commercial bank 
   credit union 
   savings and loan companies 
   investment companies

Small Business loans for women are increasingly important for female business owners. However, careful consideration should be taken before securing a business loan to make sure that the loan is truly needed for the business to expand and succeed, and to make sure that the loan payments will easily fit into the business' budget. Women and minorities have an even wider selection of entities willing to loan them business capital.

The fact is you may not get a business loan without some collateral. What do you have to offer the lender? Smaller banks and credit unions allow you the opportunity to work face-to-face with the decision maker who will approve or decline your business loan. Commercial banks may also request that a business have a co-signer or guarantor. Banking practices for small businesses are picking up speed as the economy gets back on track.

Applying for a Small Business Loan

When you have ideas, plans, and desires in place, the anticipation of moving forward in operation a small business is extremely exciting. Only one thing can hold you back - money. Working with a lender and applying for a small business loan can be easy or difficult, depending on how much preparation you've put into the process. 

The lender will ask for a variety of items when applying for a small business loan. Small business loans can sometimes be difficult to obtain no matter where you turn or to what type of financial lender you turn to. A good credit history, a record of how you paid past bills often is necessary to get a business loan. Before selecting a bank, be sure to have a good understanding of your own business needs, and what you need from your bank.

The process of applying for a business loan is a little harder compared to the standard procedures in getting a home mortgage loan or a personal loan. Business owners may want to expand their business, buy more inventory, or even hire more employees and need a business loan to accomplish those goals.

If your business loan is not approved, it's time to go back to square one and look at your presentation pieces. After reading through the details, put yourself in the business lender's shoes. Would you approve a business loan to someone like yourself with the loan proposal you're reading?
 

Useful Links:

Commercial Loan - http://www.advancedbusinesscapital.com

refinance - http://www.mortgagerefinancinggroup.com/
working capital - http://www.cashflowspecialistsinc.com
 

prevent foreclosure -

http://www.preforeclosuresa.com/jptufo
http://www.savemyhome.tv/jptufo
http://www.FreedomForeclosure.com/jptufo
http://www.10kPerMonth.com/jptufo
http://www.ar850.com/3168

 

Home Equity Loan

The following resources provide home equity loans. A home equity loan is a loan you can get against the equity that you have paid on your house. The longer you have been paying on your house, the more home equity you have. A home equity loan means you are borrowing money against the money you already have and it's like a guaranteed loan and easy to get. A home equity loan can also be called a second mortgage whereby you have two loans. One against the home equity plus your original mortgage.

home equity loan - a loan that is guaranteed by your home. There are two types of home equity loans: the standard home equity loan and a home equity line of credit. In a standard home equity loan, a specified amount of money is loaned in a lump sum for a specified period of time. A standard home equity loan is also called a term loan, a closed-end loan or a second mortgage installment loan.

home equity  – The difference between what your property is worth and how much you currently owe on your mortgage.

home equity line of credit  – The part of a home's value that the mortgage borrower owns outright; the difference between the fair market value of the home and the principal balances of all mortgage loans. Home equity line of credit. A home equity line of credit is an open-ended loan, paid as revolving debt, that is backed by the portion of the home's value that the borrower owns outright. Interest paid on a home equity line of credit is usually deductible.

Home Equity Loan Resources

Home Equity Loan Rates – Mortgage Loan offers mortgage quotes from mortgage lenders for home loans, including new home mortgage, home equity, refinance and debt consolidation.

Mortgage Refinance Group- My favorite to recommend for any kind of loan. A cool site that offers a number of different programs and unmatched customer care!

Bad credit? No problem. Refinance today and save. Get multiple offers. Get Lower rates. Get started today. 

Arnold Cortez
http://www.AdvancedBusinessCapital.com
Ph: 512-497-6204
Fax: 866-651-7782
acortez@advancedbusinesscapital.com

 useful links:

refinance - http://www.mortgagerefinancinggroup.com/
working capital - http://www.cashflowspecialistsinc.com

prevent foreclosure -

http://www.preforeclosuresa.com/jptufo
http://www.savemyhome.tv/jptufo
http://www.FreedomForeclosure.com/jptufo
http://www.10kPerMonth.com/jptufo
http://www.ar850.com/3168
 

Monday, May 22, 2006

9 Ways to Increase Cash Flow For Small Business Growth

Cashflow Idea No. 1. Use ‘cashflow’ sales checklists.
For sales people, get them to ask every single customer to make another ‘add-on’ purchase with the one they’ve already made. A great way to do this is to have a shopping ‘checklist’ of what the customer could buy.

Cashflow Idea No. 2. Use ‘cashflow’ payment checklists.
For your administration team. Have a checklist of your customers and when their payments are due. Set up reminder e-mails/sms’s/and faxes for each customer to ensure their payment is received on time.

Cashflow Idea No. 3. Increase your prices.
Increase your prices and you may notice a couple of things. Firstly, ‘nothing’ may happen! That’s the ideal. Secondly you may lose a couple of customers, but they’ll typically be the ‘hard’ ones to deal with. If you increase your prices by 5 or even 10% across the board you’ve got heaps more profitability and more cashflow.

Cashflow Idea No. 4. Invite your past Customers to buy from you again.
Collect your customers details and then regularly invite them back to your business. There are many ways you can do this. You can make them an offer, have a 'closed door' sale, a new season VIP sale night, send them a monthly newsletter, telemarket them or let them know you’ve got a gift waiting for them when they call back.

Cashflow Idea No. 5. Change your trading terms.
Good cashflow is all about getting your money in as quick as you can, and paying it out as slow as you can. So change your trading terms to get your sales income in as quick as possible. If you’re at 30 days, change it to 14, 7 or even COD. The quicker your terms, the better your cashflow.

Cashflow Idea No. 6. Pay out slowly.
The other part of having good cashflow is paying out your suppliers ‘slowly’. Do it slowly, but keep a good relationship with your suppliers. So find out when is ‘acceptable’ for them. Currently, you may be paying on 30 days. Yet they may accept 45 or 60. If that’s the case you’ll have another 15 to 30 days to use the money.

Also consider paying on your credit cards. That way you’ll get an extra 30 to 55 days interest free. And if you have a 'frequent flyer' rewards system on your cards you can accumulate points faster.

Ideally try and follow the 7/60 rule. Have your money come in within 7 days, and pay your bills around 60 days.

Cashflow Idea No. 7. Accept only ‘good’ customers.
In light of the previous two points, only deal with customers that will gladly follow your trading terms. You may not like turning your back on some ‘slow’ customers, but it’s worth it when you get all ‘fast’ paying customers.

Cashflow Idea No. 8. Use only profitable marketing.
Try, test and measure all of your marketing. Financially analyse each marketing campaign so that you know it’s making a profit or a loss. Then use only the profitable ones. You’ll probably find that you’re wasting money on some marketing that isn’t bringing you in any money.

If you’re not marketing, start testing some small ads/flyers/e-mails and keep going until you find something that works, with an offer that works in an ad that works. If you’re already advertising, test your headline, test other offers, test other mediums.

Cashflow Idea No. 9. Get someone else to endorse you
If you want a lot of business quickly, you could find someone with a database that’s full of people who suit your target market. Then organise with them a relationship whereby you both end up winning and have them endorse you to their database. You may do the same for them, as did a hairdresser and a gymnasium, or a restaurant and a menswear shop.

These 9 ideas can increase your cashflow, and thereby increase your small business growth. So take each idea over the next 9 days and try each one in your business.


Arnold Cortez
www.AdvancedBusinessCapital.com
acortez@advancedbusinesscapital.com

www.mortgagerefinancinggroup.com
www.cashflowspecialistsinc.com

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Sunday, May 21, 2006

Working Capital

Working Capital

A company's current assets minus its current liabilities - considered a good measure of both a company's efficiency and its financial health. A positive working capital means that the company is able to pay off their short-term liabilities. A negative working capital means that a company currently is unable to meet their short-term liabilities with their current assets (cash, accounts receivable, inventory). Also known as "net working capital".

If a company's current assets do not exceed its current liabilities, then it may run into trouble paying back creditors that want their money quickly. The working capital ratio, which measures this ability to pay back creditors, is calculated as current assets divided by current liabilities. Working capital also gives investors an idea of the company's underlying operational efficiency. Money that is tied up in inventory or money that customers still owe to the company can’t be used to pay off any of its obligations. So if a company is not operating in the most efficient manner (slow collection) it will show up in the working capital. This can be seen by comparing the working capital from one period of time to another; slow collection may illustrate an underlying problem in the company’s operations.
 

Interesting Links:

Working Capital Works - A company's efficiency, financial strength and cash flow health shows in its management of working capital.

Reading The Balance Sheet - Learn about the components of the statement of financial position and how they relate to each other.

In Position - Check out this overview of how to determine and analyze a company's financial position.

Using DCF In Biotech Valuation - Valuing firms in this sector can seem like a black art, but there is a systematic way to pin a price on potential.

Make investing easier - Let’s face it, making money from our investments is never easy. But at least MarketWatch makes investing easier. Visit Now to learn how!

To find out more information about this kind of Business Cash Advance you can get more information here... www.advancedbusinesscapital.com

See you at the top,

Arnold Cortez (512-497-6204)

If you don't currently accept Visa or Mastercard but would like to get set up you can find out more information here.

 

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