Recognising The Signs That Your Small Business Is Heading For Trouble Business Articles | December 11 Adidas Alexander Wang UK , 2006
Has your business started to take a turn for the worse recently? Are your cash flow worries keeping you awake at night? Spotting the symptoms early is crucial because there are remedies.
The following ten questions will help you to determine if your business is the lean mean fighting machine you believed, or a bed-ridden sick note, coughing and spluttering its way on a wobbly pair of last legs.
1. Increase in staff turnover
If you've watched a number of your key employees walk away from the business recently you should sit up and take notice. Staff is arguably a company's most valuable asset and if your people are leaving, it's often the first sign that something is going wrong.
The problem is not just the associated cost of recruitment Yeezy Boost 350 UK , but also training new starters and the additional burden on remaining staff while the new team members get up to speed, that add further strain on the business.
Remedy
One of the best ways to keep track of staff morale is to hold regular reviews where employees can air their views on both the business and their specific concerns without fear of recrimination.
2. You lose a key account
It's believed that winning a new customer is seven times more expensive than keeping an existing customer happy. Small businesses are often too reliant on a couple of main customers, as demonstrated in the recent collapse of MG Rover and Courts.
There are a number of reasons key accounts could defect: Your product or service is not of the standard promised or expected, or you could be beaten on price Yeezy Boost 350 V2 UK , quality or service.
Losing a key account can have a serious impact on your cash flow. Credit companies such as Experian offer a credit scoring service which can be invaluable when setting credit terms for key accounts. This is important: You wouldn't lend a stranger £20,000, so why offer new customers this kind of credit facility without checking their financial strength? In order to manage this risk further, there is a wide range of bad debt protection policies available which pay out in the event of your customer going under.
Remedy
Take a long Adidas Stan Smith UK , hard look in the mirror and discover the underlying reasons for your clients' lost faith. This way, you'll have a much better chance of either winning the client back, or at least making sure you don?t lose others going forward.If your customers' satisfaction isn't a priority for you already, it should be now! Paper trails for every transaction can be an extremely effective way to guard against disputes and to keep an eye on quality control. Obtain written purchase orders to back up your invoices and always get a signoff from the customer to say goods have been received or a service completed satisfactorily.
3. Orders are rising fast
This is not something that would be immediately cited as a sign of problems. However Adidas Superstar UK , when your business is growing quickly you need to be even more careful about your cash flow.
We've all heard the phrase "cash is king" and this is never more true than when you're struggling to keep up with increasing demand for your products or services.While most resources will be occupied meeting that demand, it is worth remembering the income from these orders may take three to six months to come in. That means you?ve got to be able to cover your costs for at least that period to keep the business afloat.
Remedy
Two of the most effective ways to manage your long term cash flow are to use factoring or invoice discounting services and to lease your manufacturing or office equipment.Factoring and invoice discounting raises up to 90% of your invoice value 'up front', enabling you to invest back in the business. You get the remaining monies when your customer pays the debt, less a fee.
4. Waiting longer for payments
If your customers are taking longer to pay your invoices but you?re still working to fulfil a growing order book Adidas Ultra Boost 2019 UK , you're going to start having problems. And it may happen sooner than you think.
A customer who puts in repeat orders is important for your business success. However, if they take too long to pay, you have to ask if it is worth accepting their next order until some agreement has been made about payment.
Remedy
Too few small businesses employ a designated credit controller to collect invoice payments and chase up late payers. If you're starting to notice customers taking too long to pay, it?s worth sitting down with them and discussing the reasons.Business is built around mutually beneficial relationships and the better you Adidas ACE 16+ PureControl Ultra Boost UK , your suppliers and your customers understand each other, the more flexible the relationship will be.
Be understanding when you're asking for payments but remember that you have rights, including being able to charge interest on overdue invoices. Make sure that all credit terms are stated on each invoice, along with the due date for payment. If you don?t Adidas Ultra Boost 2.0 UK , your customer can quite rightly say they didn?t know when they had to pay.
Remedy
Factoring companies can also collect your outstanding debts. They'll effectively buy your outstanding invoices, release up to 80% of the value and take their fee from the remainder when payment is collected. If you do not need an external credit control facility but would still like the funding it can generate, an alternative product is available called invoice discounting.