When looking at getting business finance one aspect of your business you must be comfortable with is your financial performance. When discuss your finance request knowing your numbers and key aspects of your financial performance will set you apart from the majority of businesses.

Being able to read (and understand!) a Balance Sheet and a Profit and Loss is one aspect of running a successful business that eludes many business owners. A good grasp of your numbers will not only get you off to a flying start with the bank but it can also give you a better understanding of your business and areas of potential improvement.

In this clip from a live seminar BLS’s Rob Warlow talks about the importance of knowing your numbers when applying for a business loan or any form of business finance.

In the latest episode of the Friday Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow looks at the meeting of the old financial world and the new financial world with news that PWC have tied up with Funding Circle to meet their client’s borrowing needs.

To support the growing alternative finance market news from the UK government’s British Business Bank of a financial package arranged with Shire Leasing.

Business confidence is on the rise as reported in a survey carried out by Barclays and news from another High Street bank, RBS/Nat West which has revealed plans to launch a number of accelerator hubs for start up businesses. RBS has also announced a new pot of money to lend out to growing businesses.

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week Rob talks with author and corporate finance specialist Tim Luscombe who shares a salutatory lesson in why you need to keep accurate management accounts.

You can also listen to this Bulletin as a podcast and download it to your computer or phone by clicking below.

When we are raising finance for businesses one common stumbling block is the delay in getting all the required financial information together. From the annual Accounts to Management Accounts, the financial aspect of a business is a blind spot for many business owners.

A recent survey carried out by You Gov found that 62% of business owners found running a business a ‘constant challenge’. One thing many business owners find difficult is to let go of tasks they find tedious or time consuming. This inability or unwillingness to delegate comes down to mindset and in this survey 37% said they struggled leaving employees in control.

One of the many tasks business owners try to tackle is financial control; 25% of those surveyed said they have problems with this aspect of their business. Furthermore 22% said they spend over 10 hours per month on ‘behind-the-scenes’ admin work.

All of this leads to one major downside… 73% say that they can’t set time aside to plan ways to grow their business. Think of the missed opportunities.

So the solution is to outsource those tasks you hate. There are plenty of people out there who can take these tasks away from you. When it comes to preparing Management Accounts, doing the VAT and chasing outstanding invoices get a bookkeeper in to do this for you.

It’s all about freeing up your time so you can concentrate on what’s important to you. An added bonus of course is that when a deal of a life time lands on your desk you have all the financial information ready to go which makes our job in getting you finance that much easier.

A win-win!

In this clip from a live seminar hosted in Amsterdam Rob Warlow talks about how the current climate in raising finance is the new normal… we have to accept that raising finance will be a challenge for quite a while. With this in mind Rob explains how we have to adapt and why having an understanding of finance and a financial skill set is so important.

When looking at getting a business loan one aspect of your business you must be comfortable with is your financial performance… you have to know your numbers. And yet being able to read (and understand!) a Balance Sheet and a Profit and Loss is one aspect of running a successful business that eludes many business owners.

In this clip from a seminar Business Loan Services’ Rob Warlow looks at the importance of knowing your numbers when applying for a business loan or any form of business finance.

Posted on 16.04.2014, by Rob Warlow

In the latest Business Finance Bulletin it’s a good news edition with positive news about the UK economy and reports of a soaring crowdfunding market. Rob Warlow looks at reports from the P2P Finance Association on funds being lent out by crowdfunding platforms and the launch of a new crowdfunding site Landbay.

Rob also looks at a new pot of money being set aside by HSBC for lending to growing SMEs. Video is a way of getting your message across to lenders about your business and Rob talks about Crowdbox, a new service hosting business video pitches.

In the Tip of the Week Rob features a clip from a seminar he hosted in Amsterdam for Wealth Coach Kevin Green talking about the importance of financial information when approaching your bank for business finance.

Posted on 25.03.2014, by Rob Warlow 

In the latest episode of the Friday Business Finance Bulletin I look at what was in the Budget for business owners and savers – capital allowances and using ISAs to support crowdfunding and Peer to Peer lending.

I also look at a report from the ACCA’s Global Forum on SMEs which focused on financial literacy – an important skill when approaching a lender for finance.

And in my Tip of the Week I talk about the emotive subject of giving a personal guarantee, or Directors Guarantee, to secure your Limited Company’s debt.

Posted on 27.12.2013, by Rob Warlow

In this clip, taken from a Kevin Green seminar run in Amsterdam recently, a look at why now is the new normal when it comes to raising finance and how you may need to brush up on your finance skills.