Your clients or customers are, in many ways, the lifeblood of your business. After all, without your paying customers, your business simply wouldn’t survive in the long run, no matter how amazing the products or services you offer are.
late payments
Many business owners don’t consider their contract’s terms and conditions as a priority. Some would even copy from their competitors or use templates without understanding its contents. However, doing so may expose your business to some legal complications later on.
A recent Government report shows that £44.6 billion is owed to small-to-medium sized businesses in late invoice payments. While it’s hard to fathom how much impact this amount of money will have on the economy in general, it’s important to understand the impact it can cause business owners.
Good invoicing is vital for freelancers and anyone running a micro/small business. Sending out well-designed, concise invoices is important to get you paid. It will make it easy for your clients to pay you, that way you’re much more likely to get paid on time. The last thing you want to do is spend all of your time chasing unpaid invoices.
Cash flow is the term for the money that flows in and out of your business. From petty cash to business capital, cash is what keeps small businesses alive. While it is usually measured monthly, quarterly or annually, your cash flow should always be at the forefront of your mind.
[continue reading…]
According to the latest research from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), it was found that small businesses are unprepared for some of the biggest disruptions a business could face. The issues that could arise from cyber crime to staff losses or severe weather, can have a huge impact on small businesses. Therefore, small businesses need to get prepared and have a contingency plan in place.
If you’ve already followed the standard procedures for recovering an unpaid invoice, you may be considering more drastic actions. Unpaid invoices are a common problem for SMEs and can cause significant financial burdens. Once 38 days have passed since the invoice due date, you have four options for debt recovery given by Sage.
Whether you work for yourself or run a small business, the most difficult thing to manage is cash flow. So, what can you do if you are owed money and the person is ignoring all your phone calls and letters? Firstly, don’t panic! Late payments has become part of the small business culture, but there may be some who try to evade making payments. This is when you will need to look at the debt collection, and really take what is yours.
It’s no secret that the survival of small business can be challenging for entrepreneurs in the UK — only four in ten businesses survive past the five year mark of running the business. Businesses fail from making continuous mistakes which lead to the collapse of their business, so knowing the causes of business failure is key to eluding those factors and focusing on success. A plan to survive should therefore be accompanied by short and long term goals and objectives to keep you on track.
The late payment culture in the UK has been plaguing the livelihood of small businesses and causing severe financial strains. The federation of small business (FSB) is urging for more effective policies from the Prompt Payment Code (PPC) which has failed small businesses in the past. The demise of Carillion has effected thousands of people and many businesses that it owed money to.
A new FinTech platform has been launched by the Federation of Small Business (FSB), which aims to help small businesses deal with the struggle of funding. Small businesses struggling to secure funding from traditional institutions, like banks is a common issue. Therefore, this new platform is a great new addition to the alternative funding methods available to small businesses.
The new Small Business Commissioner, Paul Uppal is driving the change that needs to take place, regarding small businesses being paid late. Larger businesses and companies unfair treatment of small businesses, and the culture that has become a norm can really have detrimental effect on small businesses. Therefore, when the Small Business Commissioner was appointed earlier this year, one of the major issues that he said he would deal with was the late payments problem.
Starting up and running a business is no easy task. Although it is a rewarding venture, which enables you to be your own boss and put entrepreneurial skills to use, there are certain problems you will likely face. Here are the top three problems that are affecting small businesses in the UK right now. If you are business owner, you are likely aware and if you are thinking about starting a business, its important to take these problems into consideration.
[continue reading…]
