Opening our latest Bulletin, we look at how a survey from Bibby Financial Services confirms that business owners continue to feel increasingly confident about the future. What’s driving their confidence and what’s the one thing which could hold them back?

Tide, the mobile business account provider, has announce the forthcoming launch of Tide Invoice Assistant. We look at how the new service can save business owners time in handling their invoicing tasks.

To wrap up, we review the latest figures from the Finance and Leasing Association which, for the first time in nearly a year, report an increase in Asset Finance deals written. Is this a sign that businesses are beginning to reinvest?

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Google, Spotify, Stitcher or itunes channel.

If you prefer to read what’s in the latest Bulletin here is the transcript.

Business Finance Bulletin Transcript

Business confidence levels continue to rise. Tide bank launches new add-on service to reduce invoicing burdens and asset finance usage signals that maybe businesses are starting to reinvest.

All of this in the latest Business Finance Bulletin.

Business Confidence Continues to Rise

It’s great to be starting this Bulletin with more positive news. The positivity of course, is around the predicted bounce back in the UK economy, which the government and the Bank of England is now starting to signal. Also confidence levels amongst business owners is continuing to rise. This has been bourne out in the latest survey undertaken by Bibby Financial Services and IN the latest survey they’ve revealed that 75% of small business owners say they now have a more positive outlook for the rest of the year.

Also 74% of them say they anticipate that business would return to pre COVID levels by Christmas. So there’s quite a significant turnaround. What’s driving this?

In the survey, 59% of business owners said that they are looking forward to acquiring new customers. These are customers that they’ve never dealt with before. So if we’ve got business owners looking to acquire new clients, that’s a really good sign of positivity.

And also this positivity is backed up by hard cash. On average small business owners say that they’re looking to invest approximately £150,000 over the next 12 months. This has been driven primarily by the construction sector and also the transport sector and with these sectors, once they start spending, it really trickles down to the economy. Also a third of businesses say they’re going to be reinvesting in hiring new staff and also training their existing teams as well.

So all of this is a really good sign. Of course, there is one downside. The survey also revealed that small businesses are owed on average, approximately £116,376 in unpaid invoices. I’ve mentioned in recent Bulletins that we’ve got to be careful. Now, when you start growing watch that you don’t lose control of your cash flow; it’s cash that will really fuel your growth. So do keep an eye on your cash position, but overall, really good to see that both the economy is looking more positive and also a positive outlook from small business owners as well.

Tide Invoice Assistant

Do you spend a lot of time on administrative tasks, such as creating invoices, chasing up on invoices, managing expenses and spreadsheets? Well, according to Tide, the mobile only bank, businesses can spend about one and a half hours per day On average chasing overdue payments. They can also spend three to four hours per week or managing expenses, creating invoices and managing spreadsheets.

All of this of course is unproductive time; it takes you away from the important task of generating sales and managing customers.

If you’re already a Tide bank customer, you can as of now, create invoices on your app. Well, Tide have now launched a new add on service called Invoice Assistant. This will allow you to do a number of things in terms of managing your payments and invoices. Under Tide Invoice Assistant, you will now get automatic notification of when payments are made, so you can do your reconciliation.

It will automatically chase those customers who are overdue on payment. You can also set up direct debits via GoCardless, so when the invoice is due, the payment is automatically taken, so no more chasing. It’ll also provide some credit insurance as well to protect you against a nonpayment.

This add-on service costs just £10 per month plus VAT. If you find that you are spending an awful lot of time on admin, and you think you can manage your time in a better way, then this service will be ideal for you. If you want to know more about the Tide service, all you have to do is go along to their website, which is www.tide.co. and there you will find information on their business account and also this new service.

A great new service from Tide for those businesses who are time poor.

Asset Finance Growth

More good news. I’ve taken a look at the latest figures from the Finance and Leasing Association in terms of the amount of business their members have been doing with asset finance deals such as HP and the leasing.

The latest figures for the number of deals written in March has shown that there’s been an increase of 15% in activity in the month of March 2021 compared to March, 2020. Of course, March, 2020 was the first month of the lockdown. And so to see a 15% increase on that month is perhaps not unsurprising, but it’s the fact that it is an increase is a positive. It just shows that businesses have started reinvesting back in their business.

Overall, on a 12 month basis, year to year volumes is still down 20% because obviously activity was very low during the whole of the year, but it’s really encouraging to see at least in the month of March activity levels of building back up. Where’s the activity happening?

There was a 22% increase in the deals written in March in terms of commercial vehicles; there’s also a 14% increase in deal activity for business equipment. So it is very clear that businesses are starting to reinvest back into their businesses, which is obviously a good sign and just shows that business owners are ready to be back up and running and a lot more confident about the future.

If you are interested in asset finance and want to know more about HP and leasing opportunities, please just drop us a line info at business loan services . co.uk, and we will happily guide you through the various options.

So overall, really good news this year, that business owners are starting to spend and investing.

Close

That’s it for another Bulletin and as ever, I hope you enjoyed watching. If you did, please, don’t forget to give it a like a share and subscribe to this channel. So that’s it and I look forward to being with you again, next time and in the meantime, have a great successful week.

As the economy kicks back into action, it’s not only businesses which are feeling more confident. Opening this latest Bulletin, we look at a number of lenders who are offering increased support to small businesses with new funding pots and enhanced terms.

Have you tried opening a business bank account during the last 12 months? If you have then no doubt it was a frustrating experience. The government seems to think so as well with the launch of a Treasury Select Committee investigation. What are they asking of the High Street banks?

To close, in the latest Lloyds Bank Recovery Tracker further good news about an improvement in business recovery. One sector stands out in seeing the signs of an early bounce back.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Google, Spotify, Stitcher or itunes channel.

Here also is the transcript of this latest Business Finance Bulletin…

Increased access to finance for small businesses; banks questioned about their opening of new bank accounts; and business recovery starting to look strong. All of this in the latest Business Finance Bulletin.

Small Business Finance Support

It the weeks go by and I speak to more and more business owners, there’s one theme that’s constantly coming out and that’s an increased level of confidence. Yes, business owners are feeling a lot more optimistic about the future, and it’s not only business owners who are feeling more confident; it’s also lenders.

Over the last week or so, I’ve seen more lenders coming out and saying that they want to support businesses with increased access to finance. So let’s take a look at a couple of these examples. First up Bibby Financial Services. Bibbys are an invoice finance provider, and they’ve announced the creation of the Pandemic Recovery Fund. They’ve put aside £300 million to support small businesses. This is on the back of a survey they’ve carried out where 66% of small business owners say that they anticipate business being back to pre-COVID levels by September. Obviously all of that increased business brings working capital needs, and that’s where Bibby’s funds comes in.

Next step, is Nucleus Commercial Finance. They’ve announced some tweaks to their Business Growth Loan. Previously, you could have a loan for six months up to a maximum of £25,000. Obviously they are confident about the future, so they’ve now increased that loan term up to 12 months, and you can borrow up to a maximum of £50,000.

Next up, Yorkshire Building Society or YBS Commercial Mortgages. They’ve announced that for their semi-commercial mortgage range they’ve now introduced a 10 year fixed rate. That’s a real sign of confidence they’ve got in the marketplace.

Next up a new lender to the market, Go Business Loans. Go Business Loans have just launched offering limited companies and LLPs loans from £2,500 up to maximum of £20,000. You can apply online and you get notification of the decision within 24 hours. It is great to see a new lender coming into the marketplace, so well done to the team at Go Business Loans.

So overall you can see, it’s not just business owners who are confident about the future; it’s also lenders as well, which is a great signal or a great sign that perhaps better times are around the corner.

Opening a Business Bank Account

Have you tried opening a business bank account over the last 12 months? Well, if you did no doubt it was a highly frustrating experience. The high street banks in particular practically closed their doors to new customers. They just didn’t have the resources and the manpower to cope with the volume of requests for new bank accounts, particularly from sole traders who were trading through a personal account, but realised they needed to have a fully fledged business account in order to qualify for the CBILS and Bounce Back Loans. So as a result, the whole system ground to a halt.

So bad has it been that last week, the Treasury Select Committee actually wrote to a number of the banks being a Barclays, Lloyd’s, Nat West, Metro, Santander and HSBC asking them for comments on their account opening procedures.

They want to know how long does it take to open an account; Have you had any complaints; how you’ve responded to those complaints. Also a killer question, do you intend staying in the small business market?

All of these banks have to reply to the Treasury Select Committee letter by the 19th of May. So it’d be interesting to see what their responses are. I guess the fact that they’ve even received the letter may wake up some of them to think, Hey, we need to get back on track here and make it easy to open a business account. Obviously the economy can’t operate if people don’t have bank accounts, so this is why the government has taken a very keen interest on this.

It will be interesting to see what the response is from the banks and more importantly, what action they’re going to take to make it easier for businesses to open bank accounts.

Business Recovery Improvement

In the first segment of this Bulletin I highlighted that there’s been a definite increase in the feeling of confidence amongst UK small businesses. This has been born out by the latest Lloyds Bank Recovery Tracker. In a review of the 14 sectors that the tracker looks at, 11 of them have said they’ve seen an increase in business in March. In fact, the growth rate has been the highest since September 2020. So we can see there is definitely an increase in levels of activity in the UK economy.

The transport sector particularly, which covers not only logistics, but airlines, rail, and also the bus industry has seen a significant jump in activity. And that’s a really good positive sign that the UK economy is starting to move. So really good news. However, one thing I did cover in the previous bullets in that of course growth brings its own problems and that is access to cash to fuel your working capital need.

So with all of this growth going on, one thing I plead is to make sure that you watch your cashflow. If you need to have access to finance, make sure that you look at all the various options available to you, not just commercial loans, business loans, invoice finance, and asset finance, but also the new Recovery Loan Scheme. All of these are out there designed to support you as you start to grow again.

If you want to chat through any of these finance options, of course, just drop us an email info at businessloanservices.co.uk, and we’ll happily chat through all the various options with you. So great to see that the UK economy is back on the growth path, but watch out for that need for cash.

Closing

That’s it for another Bulletin and as ever I hope you enjoyed watching. If you did, please, don’t forget to give it a like, a share and of course, subscribe to this channel.

The latest SME Confidence Tracker from Bibby Financial Services reveals a continual decline in investment appetite among small businesses. What are the barriers to investment and of those businesses which are investing, what are they planning?

If you’re thinking of purchasing a commercial premises for investment purposes, one often over-looked requirement is the need for a compliant Energy Performance Certificate. We look at why failing to hit a minimum rating can scupper your chances of obtaining finance.

To close this Bulletin, a survey from Pay UK puts a spotlight on the burden and cost to small business owners of the rising late payment problem.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher or itunes channel.

Innovative and high growth firms can find obtaining finance from High Street banks challenging. Ahead of exiting the EU, and to ensure smooth access to finance, the British Business Bank has announced a new fund to help high growth businesses.

A new survey from Barclays Bank has revealed that consumers are searching out firms with eco credentials as part of their buying decision-making. To help businesses being more eco-friendly and take advantage of this change in behaviour, we look at a Green loan product launched by Barclays.

To close this Bulletin, we review the latest quarterly SME Confidence Tracker from Bibby Financial Services. Perhaps not unexpectedly, the figures make gloomy reading but there is a spark of enthusiasm around expectations on sales growth.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher or itunes channel.

To open our latest Bulletin, we share the great news that Funding Circle has invited BLS to join its Business Champion Programme. This is in recognition of the quality introductions we have made to them, adherence to their guidelines and our knowledge of the marketplace. So how will our inclusion to the Programme benefit our clients?

More developments in the mobile banking industry with the announcement from CountingUp that it has now launched its Business Bank Account. We look at how the service differs from other mobile banking apps on the market.

To close this edition, we review two surveys from Bibby Financial Services and the Institute of Directors which reveal that business confidence continues to recover from recent low points. However, businesses still see a number of challenges facing them when it comes to growth.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

Early signs are coming through that some small business owners are beginning to experience a downturn. To start this Bulletin, we review the latest survey from Bibby Financial Services as part of its regular SME Confidence Tracker series which sets out a number of challenges business owners say they are facing.

When it comes to raising finance how are businesses seeing the market place? This is the question posed by Hiscox Insurance when it spoke to 500 small business owners. The answers reveal that they are uncertain about where to look for finance outside of the main High Street banks.

Have you heard the term, Keyman Insurance? We take a look at why it’s important to protect key people in your business, so protecting you from any unforeseen events.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

Getting finance for a start up business has always been tough but with the Start Up Loans Company, the pain has been eased. In this Bulletin, looking back on the loans they made in 2016, which UK start up hotspot cities have taken advantage of the loans available?

Different methods of calculating interest rates can make comparing finance options a challenge. We take a look at a new online tool from short term lender Fleximize, which can help you compare finance offers on a like-for-like basis.

The latest SME Confidence Tracker survey from Bibby Financial Services reveals the top three challenges facing UK manufacturers. The top slot is taken by concern about rising prices but other constraints are also weighing heavy on the minds of UK SMEs.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

With news that the Bank of England has reduced its Base Rate and an announce of a new scheme to get banks lending and businesses borrowing, in this edition of the Business Finance Bulletin we look at whether these will have the desired impact.

We take a look at the findings from a survey carried out by the British Chamber of Commerce and Bibby Financial Services which reveals low awareness levels of the sources of alternative finance amongst UK SMEs.

Have you been faced with writing off a debt owed to you following being hit by a late payment of an invoice? The latest Bibby’s SME Confidence Index suggests that too many businesses are writing off debts and the average sum involved is not small.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.

In our dealings with growing businesses on the search for finance it’s always surprising how many still believe that outside the traditional High Street banks there are few alternative options to consider.

When we mention crowdfunding, short term loans, merchant cash advances and other alternative sources of finance, there is typically a vague acknowledgement that they have heard of such sources but nothing beyond that.

This lack of appreciation that there are sources of finance to tap into outside of the banks has been highlighted in a recent survey carried out by the British Chambers of Commerce and Bibby Financial Services.

The survey of more than 1,000 businesses provides an interesting insight into awareness levels of the primary sources of finance. Perhaps not surprisingly, awareness of overdraft facilities came out top at 93%, even though banks are not as keen in extending overdrafts as they once were!

Next on the familiarity chart are bank loans and commercial credit cards with awareness levels of 88% and 86% respectively. The growth seen in the usage of leasing and HP since the credit crunch is reflected in an 86% awareness levels amongst UK SMEs.

What sources of finance are languishing near the bottom of the pile though?

Trade finance facilities were known by 46% of businesses, peer-to-peer funding by 42% and angel funding by 39% of those surveyed. Propping up the sources of finance list standing at 19% awareness levels is mezzanine finance (a hybrid of debt and equity). No surprise there perhaps!

Despite what you may think there are a plethora of options available but the key problem is that you simply don’t have the time to search the market for the best options.

In fact, one of our clients this week said that they prefer to use us to source finance because we immediately know where to go thereby saving them time. That where commercial finance experts come in.

One other interesting finding from the survey was that of those firms which were successful in securing finance but ultimately rejected the offers, 54% did so because the interest rate offered was too high.

The main question though is ‘too high compared to what?’

Alternative finance is by its nature typically more costly than traditional High Street lenders due to the higher level of risk and the lower standard of security they are prepared to consider. For the alternative finance industry, the next step after raising awareness levels amongst business owners, is to resolve the pricing perception.

Our advice to clients is as long as the finance available to you allows you to achieve what you want to do, benchmark it in the market to check it’s not too wide of the mark, then look beyond the price and get on with building your business.

In this episode of the Business Finance Bulletin a look at Atom Bank, a new online-only bank which has announced that it is now targeting small businesses following approval of its SME lending service.

Back to the traditional High Street banks, Lloyds Bank has announced the launch of it 2016 SME Charter. Their pledges include support for new businesses wishing to start exporting and targets in terms of lending to small businesses.

Recent Bulletins have featured surveys reporting that small business confidence is on the wane but in this Bulletin we share positive findings from the latest Bibby Financial Services SME Confidence Tracker, which counter previous negativity.

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week, we look at what overtrading is and how you can tackle it.

If you would prefer to listen to the podcast version you can click below or download to listen to later via our Soundcloud, Stitcher or itunes channel.