Financial Foundations: Now is the Time to Tighten Belts

Financial Foundations: Now is the Time to Tighten Belts



Now is the Time to Tighten BeltsSmall business owners should review basics and business for ways to cut costs.

With the ever-changing financial situation facing small business owners today, there are more challenges than ever. There are many small things business owners can do that will add up to substantial savings.

Everyone needs to be paying careful attention to cash flow – it’s the lifeblood of any business. Beyond that, there are a number of tried-and-true suggestions to save some much-needed cash:

· Have an insurance check-up — Review your insurance coverage with your agent, and then shop around. Insurance premiums are competitive, but you won’t know that unless you shop around.* Manage your energy usage — Install one power switch for all your office devices. You do not need to leave your printer, mouse, monitor and modem on. Look into your dark office and see how many small, glowing red lights are on - you are paying for all of them.

· Look for free shipping — Many office supply companies now have virtual office catalogs and free shipping. Many stores have discount cards or point systems you can take advantage of.

· Buy in bulk — Join with several colleagues to buy larger quantities of brochures, paper, etc.

· Use your frequent flyer miles — Many frequent flyer programs allow you to redeem the points in goods or services as well as airline miles.

· Make lemonade from lemons — Get cash out of your slow-selling items. Use them as sale items or loss leaders. Getting cash out of slow-selling items creates cash to invest in faster moving items, which create greater margins and more additional cash.

· Look first at your largest expenses —Payroll is generally the No. 1 expense category. Review your staffing-to-sales ratios and reduce where necessary. Provide incentives to your sales force to produce greater sales and customer satisfaction.

· Examine how your money is spent — For example, are your advertising and marketing dollars the most effective use of that money? Are they delivering the most bang for your buck?

· Audit your assets — Large items, such as property, buildings and manufacturing equipment, are easy to keep track of; however, assets such as laptops, printers, fax machines and mobile electronic devices can easily be lost or forgotten. You may be paying taxes and insurance premiums on items you don’t own anymore. If you haven't done an inventory of your assets in a while, set aside time to list everything your company owns. Don't forget furniture, fittings, fixtures, etc. Any items that are no longer in existence can be eliminated the next time you update your insurance and when taxes are due. Having an accurate asset list can also help with insurance recovery in the case of a disaster

· Manage your fuel consumption carefully — Mobile companies are suffering more than most, because they can’t erase fuel costs without also cutting out revenues. Getting to your destination more efficiently will immediately cut up to 10 percent off your fuel cost. Use planned routing, trained dispatchers and navigation systems. Train drivers to reduce their speed and avoid excessive idling.

Incorporate a cash-gap plan — Improve the gap between money out and money in.
Example:You order raw materials and have negotiated to pay for that material within 30 days. It takes you 90 days to create your finished goods. You give your customers 60 days to pay their bills.

You now have 90 days between the time you pay to the time you receive payment. You also have additional time to create the finished goods (60 days). In this scenario, you are paying cash out 150 days before you are receiving your payments for these goods. How can you decrease this cash gap?

1. Negotiate additional payment time with your vendors.
2. Look for alternative vendors that provide better terms.
3. Negotiate shorter times for your customers to pay you; provide incentives.
4. Pay bonuses to your accounts receivable staff to shorten the payment cycle.
5. Shorten the time you take to create your finished goods.


Review your liquidity ratios:
1. Current ratio
2. Quick ratio
3. Inventory days
4. Accounts receivables days
5. Accounts payables days

The cash you don’t have right now because of this gap is cash that you need to pay back lines of credit and therefore reduce interest payments. Or it’s cash to invest. Now is the time to take stock of where and how you are spending money. A few small measures here and there may be just what you need to keep your business afloat during the rough times, so that you can take advantage of the good times to come.

Sign-A-Rama - Kearny Mesa in San Diego

Financial Foundations: Now is the Time to Tighten Belts