Late payment is a continual challenge for small businesses and a recent survey carried out by Zurich lays the blame at the door of the larger businesses. We share the findings of this latest research and what you can do to combat suffering from late payers.

With many people being uncertain about the current performance of the UK economy, one measure of confidence is the amount businesses are borrowing from the banks. I lift the lid on the latest Bank of England bank borrowing figures to see what businesses are up to.

To close this Bulletin, we share some recent experiences which highlight why you need to keep a close eye on your credit file. Lenders place a lot of emphasis on a clean report so it pays to keep your file in order.

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A year after a Competition and Markets Authority report on transparency in the finance services market, lenders to small businesses are now required to quote an APR on lower value loans. Will it help boost competition?

More evidence that businesses are beginning to feel the strain with the latest Red Flag Alert report from Begbies Traynor revealing a jump in businesses classified as being in ‘significant financial distress’.

One sector that is doing well is Peer to Peer lending. The figures on volume of lending done by members of the Peer to Peer Finance Association in Quarter 2 2017 show that businesses are continuing to take advantage of finance from this source.

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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.

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The British Business Bank, which was established to improve small business access to finance, has issued its latest Annual Report. In our latest Bulletin, we take a look at the progress the Bank has made over the last 12 months.

Alternative lenders are being increasingly quirky in how they tap into new markets to offer finance. We look at the news of a link-up between Funding Circle and takeaway app Just Eat which aims to boost takeaway owner’s access to finance.

The Federation of Small Businesses has always championed ways of tackling late payment and so it comes as no surprise that it has launched a service to help small businesses get paid on overdue invoices.

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With the government keen to boost exports, UK Export Finance has announced a new support initiative to help improve the flow of finance to exporters. To open the Bulletin, we look at how it will work and which other businesses will benefit.

Access to finance remains a hot topic. We share findings and suggestions from a new report, ‘Banking Small Businesses’, which it’s hoped will be picked up by government and banks to boost small business funding opportunities.

Whenever we feature the problems surrounding late payment, it’s rare that there is any good news. Whilst a recent survey undertaken by BACS, the payment service provider, has its fair share of gloomy statistics, there is at least one glimmer of hope in terms of reducing late payments.

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.

The government is keen to be seen to be playing its part in tackling late payment and we start this Bulletin with an announcement that a large number of government’s key suppliers have signed up to the Prompt Payment Code.

With banks increasingly reluctant to hand out overdrafts, how are businesses managing cashflow? It seems the gap is being filled by businesses increasingly turning to invoice discounting. We look at the latest figures which confirm the switch to this alternative source of finance.

Lenders seem to want to see mountain of paperwork when they are reviewing your finance request. One request is sight of your Tax Returns but want exactly do they want? To close this episode, we go through the three pieces of information lenders want to see.

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.

A popular source of finance to fund the purchase items such as plant and machinery is Asset Finance but businesses are often put off by its perceived complexity. In this Bulletin, we look at a new streamlined Hire Purchase application process launched by Hitachi Capital designed to make the task easier.

We live in uncertain times and this is demonstrated by the mixed messages coming out on business confidence. We review two recent surveys which demonstrate that that some businesses are buoyant about where they are now and the future, but others less so.

Savvy business owners know when to say ‘no’ to a new contract. That’s the finding from a recent survey which reveal three key reasons why a business would refuse to take on a piece of work. Are you confident enough to turn away work if it could potentially damage your finances?

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.

Atom Bank is a relatively new, digital-only, challenger bank. In this edition of the Business Finance Bulletin we look at a £30m investment made by the British Business Bank, which Atom will be using to support small businesses.

The Queen’s Speech contained news that the government intends to introduce the Goods Mortgage Bill which will provide additional comfort to asset-based finance providers lending to sole traders and partnerships. The new Bill will help these trading entities better access services such as invoice discounting.

To close, we have another example of how small businesses are bypassing the traditional High Street lenders to obtain finance. We look at an announcement from PayPal that its Working Capital loan product has hit a new milestone in terms of money lent and the number of PayPal business customers which have successfully accessed finance.

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.

Despite recent surveys reporting that small business confidence was resiliently high, recent events have given business owners reason to take a step back. In this Business Finance Bulletin, we share three steps you can take to tackle business uncertainty.

Of all the risks businesses face today, one which is common to all businesses and sectors are financial scams. To help protect you from fraudsters we look at the three most common scams and what you can do to ensure you keep your money safe.

Outside of the traditional and non-traditional lenders, there is another source of finance being offered by firms you would not consider to be finance providers. One such firm is Amazon and we look at how Amazon Lending is focused on increasing the finance it’s providing to retailers selling on its ecommerce platform.

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.

Whilst increasing sales is always a key focus for ambitious businesses, as we recently highlighted to a growth-hungry business, the danger of overtrading can cause chaos. What is overtrading and how can you avoid falling into the trap of running out of cash?

Despite small business owners remaining confident about their prospects, one message coming out is that many small businesses are reluctant to borrow. We look at the latest findings from the SME Finance Monitor team which reveals that SMEs are cautious about taking on new debt.

Managing administration and finance tasks is often a burden for time-poor business owners. NatWest have recognised this and we look at the announcement of the launch of a pilot app designed to improve the way businesses can monitor and track use of their commercial credit card.

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.