- Most business owners taking a ‘back-of-the-envelope’ approach to cash flow, using ad hoc paper notes or spreadsheets to manage money coming in and out.
- Business owners monitor cash flow every day, but two-thirds don’t seek advice on managing it
- Only 30% of business owners use an accountant to manage cash flow information
Cash flow, the money a business has in the tank to function, can make or break businesses. The latest MarketInvoice Business Insights explored the attitudes of UK SME owners on managing cash flow.
And they found that over half (52%) of business owners said they relied on making ad-hoc paper notes, using spreadsheets or relying on text messages from their bank to understand their cash flow position. Meanwhile, 18% reported using online accounting software to do so. Overall, 70% are taking it upon themselves to manage this. Only 30% were using an accountant to manage cash flow information.
What is cash flow? Put simply, cash flow is the money your business has readily available to use for day-to-day operations. Put less simply, it is whether your current assets are enough to cover current liabilities. Cash flow is also sometimes referred to as operating liquidity, working capital and current ratio.
Cash flow is clearly something front-of-mind for SMEs with almost half (45%) of business owners checking their cash flow position on a daily or weekly basis to ensure they have the means to continue the smooth running of their business.
Anil Stocker, CEO at MarketInvoice, commented: “Every business needs to know their cash flow position but the disproportionate manual focus on this can distract entrepreneurs from focussing on their business and driving growth. Managing cash flow needn’t be such a taxing affair with the plethora of online tools available today.”
Cash flow constraints mean that 87% of businesses are prevented from taking on more orders. Yet, two-thirds (67%) of business owners aren’t seeking any advice about cash flow. Of the businesses that ask for help, the majority (14%) are turning to their business bank manager. Furthermore, in shoring up cash flow, almost half (48%) of business owners reported increasing their bank overdraft facilities and one in six (16%) used invoice finance to tackle cash flow constraints.
Anil Stocker added: “It’s imperative that business owners get advice to manage their cash flow. We can’t allow UK economic growth to be stunted because of cash flow constraints. Businesses waiting on long payment terms can use invoice finance to help bridge the gap by getting an advance on their invoices and propel their businesses forward.”
The research is based on a survey of 1,000 business owners of UK Ltd companies who employ between 1 and 249 staff and took place in August 2019. It was conducted by LM Research & Marketing Consultancy.
Hernaldo Turrillo is a writer and author specialised in innovation, AI, DLT, SMEs, trading, investing and new trends in technology and business. He has been working for ztudium group since 2017. He is the editor of openbusinesscouncil.org, tradersdna.com, hedgethink.com, and writes regularly for intelligenthq.com, socialmediacouncil.eu. Hernaldo was born in Spain and finally settled in London, United Kingdom, after a few years of personal growth. Hernaldo finished his Journalism bachelor degree in the University of Seville, Spain, and began working as reporter in the newspaper, Europa Sur, writing about Politics and Society. He also worked as community manager and marketing advisor in Los Barrios, Spain. Innovation, technology, politics and economy are his main interests, with special focus on new trends and ethical projects. He enjoys finding himself getting lost in words, explaining what he understands from the world and helping others. Besides a journalist, he is also a thinker and proactive in digital transformation strategies. Knowledge and ideas have no limits.