Holiday Cashflow Management

Taking a holiday this summer is good for you and good for the business. Time out for relaxation, beach, sun, fun and time with family and friends. Great to refresh oneself for the stresses of work in the forth coming year. You can make this holiday much more enjoyable knowing that your cashflow management is working. Here are some tips that will let you get the most out of this holiday season.

1. Plan for your holiday.

How many days have you got before closing up and then reopen. You’ve got functions, staff obligation and work to complete.

• Budget for gifts, holiday pay and remember the regular commitments like, loan repayments that have to be maintained.
• Know who your overdue paying customers are and arrange time to meet or contact for payment.

2. Book activities early to ensure you don’t miss out.

Be proactive in the run up to the holidays. Everybody is busy, but you must keep on top of the cashflow.

• Invoice customers for your work early. Don’t wait till end of month when most businesses will be closed. Send invoices out by email with full description of work done and nominate the actual due payment date.
• Prioritise your accounts payable list and choose those to be deferred. Make use of finance facilities currently in place, e.g., overdraft, credit lines, offset accounts and interest free period credit cards.

3. A period of giving and goodwill.

Incentives go a long way in keeping up the relationships you’ve worked hard to establish.

• Encourage prompt payment before the holiday breakup with discounts or inducements. Customers have been spending big and you want to give them a reason to pay your account ahead of others.
• Communicate with your creditors. Keeping them abreast with your progress places a personal touch to your association and lends itself favourable to requests of patience at this time of year.

4. Don’t over pack. Take only what you need.

Check out your stock. This is a good time to clear out slow moving or near redundant stock and ease the pressure on cashflow.

• Holding a special promotion or bargain sale will free up resources, reduce holding costs and put money in the bank when you need it most.
• It provides the opportunity to attract customers that can also be introduced to non discounted stock lines.

5. Take the time to relax and free yourself of business stress.

Don’t add to your costs if the holiday season is your quiet time. Close down or provide a diminished service. Not only does it save on costs, it requires staff to use up leave entitlements and freshen up everybody for the new year.

6. Make sure, the car, caravan, boat, are in good order and the hotel, resort, camping ground will cater to your desires.

Does the information system employed provide you with the comfort that the business is working well? Although important all year round, it’s exceedingly relevant at this time of year that the cashflow system shows the extent of the business financial health. These days there are a number of software packages that provide reporting on cashflows, invoicing and expenses and the state of receivables and payables. With the advent of cloud accounting software the information is both seemingly instantaneous and accessible from wherever you may be. A vital tool in managing the business and cashflows during the holiday period.

7. Consult the right people about your holiday plans.

AS Partners recognize that cashflow management is vital for business success no matter whether cashflows are positive in busy times or struggling in quiet times. We assist our clients with:

• Cashflow budgets, reporting and analysis.
• Breakeven analysis, pricing, discounting and debtors management.
• Costings, stock control and creditors management
• Financing arrangements both short and long term with bank borrowings, debt factoring and leasing.
• Selection and ongoing support of appropriate software solutions both conventional and cloud.

Finally, enjoy the holiday break and take lots of photos. It helps to recall the fond memories in future times.