The advantage to good Cash Flow Management

Cash is what enables a business to survive and grow and it is what indicates that a business is healthy. Without cash your business won’t go anywhere. Your business would survive without sales for a while but if it doesn’t have cash behind it you can safely say it is doomed from the start.

In order to keep your business from failing you need to have good cash flow management. You need to keep track of all your business incomings and outgoings and one way of doing this is to choose a good accountant. By doing this it will save you and your business time and money. When you are choosing an accountant you should keep considerations such as the following in mind:

• Whether you feel comfortable and at ease talking to the accountant about the business and any problems you may have
• Getting advice on the best accounting and payroll systems to use
• Are you comfortable with keeping your accountant informed of any changes to your business to ensure you get the best, most up-to-date advice?
• Regularly compare costs to ensure you are getting value for money

Another way of achieving good cash flow management is through the process of monitoring, analysing and adjusting your businesses cash flow. In order to do this you need to perform a cash flow analysis on a regular basis in order to stop cash flow problems from happening.

Cash flow management is essential to keep organisations in business and to help you maintain your cash flow management you should perform what is known as cash flow forecasting. By forecasting the cash flow of your business you are able to predict peaks and falls within your cash flow and it also comes as a help to you if you ever need to approach a bank concerning your finances. This is because many banks require forecasts before they will consider giving you a loan. When you are undertaking cash flow forecasting it is important that you have two cash flow forecasts; one that covers the next twelve months and another showing the actual figures for the past twelve months.

By maintaining the cash flow to your business it allows you to identify the sources and amount of cash that is coming into your business as well as where your money is going and the amount of money that is going to all the different places.

The purpose of good cash flow management is to provide a business owner with projected figures that were calculated to ensure the survival of a business and to achieve business targets.

So what are some of the most important aspects of cash flow management? For small businesses the most important aspect of cash flow management is avoiding extended cash shortages, which is often caused by having too much of a gap between cash flowing in and out of a business. You won't be able to stay in business if you can't pay your bills for any extended length of time.

Cash flow management is key to ensuing that your business succeeds where many other businesses have failed so get a grip on your finances today and get your cash flow management off the ground and in full swing.

Helen is the web master of Angel Start-ups, financial experts in all areas of business finance and Cash Flow Management.

Get Business Finance through a Small Firms Loan Guarantee

Ensuring that your business has an effective funding solution is key to your business success. Before you can do anything with your business you need the finance to be able to fulfil your business needs. So how do you go about gaining the business finance that you need?

There are many avenues that you can approach when it comes to gaining your start up business finance such as bank loans, investors and credit cards as well as overdrafts; however in order to gain any form of business finance you need a well thought out and structured business plan. On the other hand there are occasions when you may have a viable business plan but you are still struggling to get finance in order to expand or start up your business; this is where a Small Firms Loan Guarantee can help.

Small Firms Loan Guarantee is also known as SFLG and is a joint venture between the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) as well as a number of participating lenders. An SFLG was put in place for people who have tried and failed to get a conventional loan. They are available for most types of businesses and business purposes but it should be noted that there are still some restrictions and exclusions, which is why it is important that you check these against your business before making an application for a SFLG; this can be said for any form of finance. You should check that your business is able to apply before applying for any form of finance to save yourself time, money and effort.

A Small Firms Loan Guarantee is most suited for small to medium businesses that have trouble trying to gain a conventional loan. They are extremely helpful to small and medium businesses as you won’t have to offer assets as security. But before you apply for a SFLG you should take a good look at your business and carefully think about the needs of your business. When doing this you should keep questions such as the following in mind:

• What is the money needed for?
• How much money do you need for your business?
• Have you investigated all of the forms of finance that are available to you?

I suppose you are now wondering what exactly a Small Firms Loan Guarantee offers you, well the main features and criteria of a SFLG are as follows:

• A guarantee to the lender covering 75% of the loan amount, for which the borrower pays a 2% premium on the outstanding balance of the loan, payable to BERR
• The ability to guarantee loans of up to £250,000 and with terms of up to ten years
• Availability to qualifying UK businesses with an annual turnover of up to £5.6million
• Availability to businesses in most sectors and for most business purposes, although there are some restrictions

So if you are a small to medium business in need of finance then keep the idea of a Small Firms Loan Guarantee in mind, you never no it could be just what you are looking for.

Helen is the web master of Angel Start-ups, financial experts in all areas of business finance, contact them today for more information about a Small Firms Loan Guarantee.