Don’t get stuck in a cashflow crisis

A good starting point is to know where your finances are at to start with – a good accountant should be able to tell you, so it may be worth giving them a call if you already have one. (Or call AIMS if you don’t!)

Sometimes it is necessary to spend a little to save, and cashflow for small businesses is a huge concern right now so here are some ideas on managing cashflow and finances.

• If you don’t have an accountant it might be the time to invest in one. Ultimately, any good accountant should be adding value to your business that you are happy to pay for.
• You could ask your accountant to do a cash and savings review and analysis of your business. They will charge you for this service, but it may save you money in the long run as you will understand better where and how your money is spent.
• Consider investing in book keeping software – it will make your business more efficient and save you time: time which you can spend with clients instead.

Get your tax organised: If you are a very small operation, take a look at your turnover forecast for 2021. If your turnover is likely to fall below the VAT threshold, you may want to consider reviewing your VAT registration: you may be better off not being registered.

Are you going to be able to pay your tax? There are various deferral and time to pay options available. See https://www.gov.uk/difficulties-paying-hmrc

If suitable for your company, perhaps launch a voucher scheme so your customers can buy vouchers for friends and family for Christmas – you benefit from having the money from the voucher sale now, which will help your cashflow, even if the voucher isn’t claimed for a while.

And finally, one of the most successful coronavirus schemes was the ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme – this showed that consumers are willing to buy things they don’t necessarily need, simply because it is being offered at a discount. If your business lends itself to this type of thing, consider a discount promotion to encourage people to buy for Xmas or New Year.

Find your local AIMS Accountant to support your business.