We open our latest Business Finance Bulletin with the good news that business confidence levels are on the up. The latest Business Barometer report from Hitachi Capital Business Finance reveals that an increasing number of business owners are predicting improved months ahead.

Cashflow can be tight for many businesses, but particularly for start ups. Just Cashflow, the short term finance lender, has announced that alongside their new Business Account, qualifying start ups can now access their Revolving Credit Facility.

To wrap up this Bulletin, we review the latest company insolvency figures which highlight that businesses potentially in trouble continue to be protected by the various government support schemes.

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.

You can read the transcript of this Bulletin below…

Business confidence is starting to return; the short-term lender Just cashflow extends supports to startups; and company insolvencies still remain low. All of this in the latest Business Finance Bulletin.

Business Finance Confidence

Let’s opened this bulletin with some good news. Hitachi Capital Business Finance, as part of their quarterly Business Barometer series, have spoken to approximately 1,300 small business owners and the resounding message is that confidence is beginning to return to the marketplace.
Let’s have a look at those businesses who say that they are predicting growth.

Well, three months ago, 26% of businesses said that they were predicting growth for their business.

Forward three months to today, that figure now stands at 36% of business owners saying that they are planning growth over the coming months. That’s a quite a big increase and that’s a big vote of confidence for the UK economy.

Let’s look at the flip side of businesses who were fearing collapse. Well, 12 months ago, the survey found that 29% of small business owners said that they were fearful that their businesses would not survive.

Now, 12 months later, that figure stands at just 7%. That’s a significant fall and just shows how much confidence is now starting to come back into the market place. But of course, it’s not all plain sailing.

I just want to make you aware of one key thing to look out for and that is growth brings its own problems, particularly in terms of cashflow. When you start growing again, particularly if you’re growing rapidly, there’s a big demand on your cash. You need to buy in stock. You need perhaps to fund the growing debtor book, all of this needs cash.

So do watch that and make sure that you are forecasting your cash flow requirements ahead to make sure that you don’t run out of funds, but overall, a really good vote of confidence for the UK economy.

Just Cashflow Supports Start Ups

Are you planning to start up a new business or you have recently started one? I’m sure you’ll agree that the one thing that can hold you back is cash or more particularly cashflow.

Poor cashflow can be a killer for any business, but for startups in particular it can be very challenging.

The short-term finance provider Just Cashflow has announced, it is now going to support qualifying startups by giving them access to their Revolving Credit Facility, which is a facility up to the amount of £10,000. This sits alongside their newly launched business account which is available via a mobile phone or a desktop app. And it does all of the things that a traditional bank account will do. You can make payments online, both in and out. You have a master debit card as well. It integrates with various software accounting packages.

So it really is a good alternative to your main high street banks and particularly of interest of course to startups, where you may be able to access this Revolving Credit Facility up to £10,000. This facility acts essentially like an overdraft limit where often times when you need to make payments out, but you haven’t got the cash in from your clients yet; it acts like a bridge between cash in and cash out a really useful facility for startups.

If you want to know more about the Revolving Credit Facility and also the new business account, just go along to the just cashflow website, which is www.just-cashflow.com. A great new service by Just Cashflow and good to see that people are out there supporting new start ups.

Company Insolvencies

Let’s take our usual monthly look at company insolvency figures. That’s a bit of a depressing topic, of course, but it’s really important that you watch this, particularly if you provide credit to your customers, by giving them 30, 60, 90 days before paying you. You really need to watch the trends going out there to make sure you don’t get caught out.

The figures as I’ve reported in previous bulletins continue to be very low, which is puzzling compared to where UK economy is at the moment in terms of the stresses out there. The latest figures have been released by the Insolvency Service for March, 2021. And in that month, they were 992 firms that went into some form of insolvency arrangement. Now compared to March, 2020, that is down 20%. And that’s the puzzle. You’ve got lots of stresses in the economy, and yet a lower number of businesses are entering into insolvency compared to March, 2020.

If you wind it back a further 12 months to March, 2019, this figure is down a further 37%. So again, a very large drop in the number of businesses going into insolvency.

But of course, the reason behind this is the level of government support, via bounce backs and the CBILs loans that were given; the furlough or the various grants. But we know all of that is now coming to an end or has come to an end. The distresses will now start to come through.

The other thing of course is the perils that come with growth. And I mentioned in the first segment, you’ve got to watch out when you grow your businesses; growth brings an increased demand for cash. And if you can’t access that, then you may get into trouble. So if you are providing credit, just keep an eye on those firms, making sure that they are financially sound.

Also if you are one of the businesses suffering financially, make sure that you take the appropriate advice. Go speak to your financial advisor, your accountant, or seek out a licensed insolvency practitioner in order to make sure that you seek out the correct advice.

Close

That’s it for this Bulletin. As ever, I hope you liked it and if you did, please, don’t forget to give it a like, a share and of course, subscribe to this channel.

So that’s it and I look forward to being with you next time In the meantime, have a profitable, successful and safe week.

With 2021 being the year where managing cash flow will be more important than ever efforts to reduce instances of late payment are always welcome. We open our latest Business Finance Bulletin with changes announced by the Prompt Payment Code which will see its members reduce the number of days taken to pay invoices.

If you are purchasing a commercial property which is subject to VAT then payment can put a strain on cash flow. We look at a new short-term loan launched by Just Cashflow which can assist in the up-front VAT payment.

To close, we review new analysis from the British Business Bank which reveals the top three regions which have taken advantage of the CBILS and Bounce Back Loans.

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.

Start ups have traditionally found it challenging to raise finance. To open this week’s Bulletin, a look at how Just Cashflow will be using Augmented Intelligence to pre-select and directly approach start-ups worthy of financial support.

The latest annual Small Business Finance Markets Report from the British Business Bank reveals how banks are getting left behind in terms of financing SMEs. Are the days of High Street being the first port of call numbered?

Wrapping up this edition, a look at recommendations from the Money Advice Trust, which runs Business Debtline, on how the continuing problem of late payment needs to be addressed.

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.

Kicking off our latest Bulletin we review a survey from Xero, the online accounting software provider, which reports that despite many small business owners feeling despondent about their circumstances, the 20 years will see a significant, positive change.

With the High Street banks not known for delivering competitive foreign exchange services, we look at the announcement from cashflow finance provider Just Cashflow of the launch of its own foreign exchange offering.

To close, news from Pay UK that one day in the first week of December saw them handle the highest daily volume of automated payments. Are we finally seeing the demise of the cheque?

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.

The first meeting of the recently formed Business Finance Council has released a 5-point SME Finance Charter. The Council was established to ensure a smooth flow of finance post-Brexit but will the promises to support small businesses be merely words?

Flexible finance provider Just Cashflow has announced modifications to its product range. The changes will allow more small businesses access to finance, especially those who favour overdraft-type facilities but can’t get bank support.

To close this Bulletin, we look at a partnership announced between mobile-only bank Starling and debt insurance provider Nimbla. The service link-up available to Starling Bank business customers is designed to lessen the impact of non-payment of debt.

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.

With a drive to boost the number of businesses exporting, a survey from alternative finance provider Just Cashflow has revealed a lack of knowledge is holding businesses back from taking the export leap. To close the gap, we look at an announcement from Just Cashflow of an initiative to support businesses wishing to export.

Administration tasks, such as invoicing and follow-up, can divert business owner’s attention. To ease the burden Barclays has launched an add-on to their Mobile Banking App which allows customers to create, track and reconcile invoices.

Whilst High Street banks are busy closing branches, mobile-only bank Starling has revealed a collaboration with the Post Office, which will make Starling’s services more accessible.

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 this episode of the Business Finance Bulletin a look at the announcements in this week’s Budget focusing on small business finance issues. There’s news of a fund for growing businesses, Help to Grow, an extension of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee programme and a further step forward in the launch of the Bank Referral Scheme.

When comes to dealing with finances time is also short and that’s why clients of alternative lender Just Cashflow can now benefit from the launch of a new mobile app. We take a look at how it can help time-stretched business owners.

Concluding our look at the findings from the latest SME Finance Monitor report we review small businesses attitude to debt and awareness levels of alternative funding sources such as crowdfunding.

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week a signpost to a video on how to calculate and use the Stock Turnover Ratio to improve your stock management and boost your cash position.

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 the latest episode of the Business Finance Bulletin Rob Warlow reviews the recent Entrepreneur’s Index survey released by Barclays Bank and the Regional Growth Fund. As well as looking at the UK business scene the report focuses on High Growth businesses.

Turning to growth finance raised via equity crowdfunding a new report issued by Altfi poses the question of how businesses have fared in raising equity by this method. The ‘Where Are They Now? Report reveals some interesting findings on the benefits of equity crowdfunding.

Staying with alternative finance Rob looks at study by GLI Finance and Cambridge University Centre of Alternative Finance which states that there a significant funding gap faced by SMEs which are unaware about sources of alternative finance.

If you’re suffering from cash flow problems Rob takes a looks at a product from Just Cashflow called BusinessPlus Mastercard which is designed to ease the cash crunch which SMEs typically face.

And in the Business Tip of the Week…. invest, don’t spend!

If you prefer to listen to the podcast version click below or visit our Soundcloud or itunes channel.

In the latest Business Finance Bulletin episode Business Loan Services’ Rob Warlow takes a look at a recent survey carried out by short-term business loan provider Just Cashflow on business owners skills gaps and what they wished they had known when they first started out in business.

Late payment continues to be a problem for growing businesses and Rob shares findings from two surveys carried out by BACS and the Asset Based Finance Association which reveal a mixture of good news and bad news on late payment experiences.

There is news from Metro Bank, one of the growing number of challenger banks, on the revamp of its small business offering.

And in the Business Finance Tip of the Week Rob shares insights into problems some of the Business Loan Services’ clients have experienced in terms of their credit reports which are vital when it comes to obtaining business finance.

If you prefer to listen to the podcast version you can listen and download by clicking below via our Soundcloud Business Finance Bulletin channel or subscribe via our itunes channel.

In the latest Business Finance Bulletin episode Business Loan Services’ Rob Warlow looks at the news of collaboration between crowdlender Funding Knight and short-term alternative lender Just-Cashflow to assist growing businesses.

Looking at the crowdfunding industry as a whole, Rob looks at statistics from the Peer to Peer Finance Association on finance raised by its members during the first quarter of this year which reveal a continued growth surge.

Rob also looks at evidence of a steady improvement in the economy with news that the overall number of company insolvencies is on the way down according to official government statistics.

In the Business Finance Tip of the Week Rob chats with Santander’s Paul Brooks, Business Development Director, Wales about the bank’s Breakthrough Programme designed to help growing businesses with a variety of support schemes.

You can also listen to a podcast version of this Bulletin via either itunes or our SoundCloud page or simply listening in below.