Could your business use a financial detox?

A financial detox helps create a foundation for business growth.

As the year draws to a close, no matter how successful your year was, your business will benefit from a financial detox to commence 2017 on the most positive note. While many of us are familiar with taking personal detox, a business cleanse will set you up on the right foot come January.

For businesses, it’s all about understanding your financial vulnerabilities and cashflow pressures and creating a foundation to fund business growth. Some tips for businesses coming into the New Year include:

  1. Default creditors

Take a look at your past year and identify customers that haven’t paid, made part payments or continually pay late. Understand the financial significance of this group and make some decisions around resolving this occurrence in your business, which may include expelling these debtors, enforcing new terms or escalating to retrieve these debts.

  1. Review payment terms

Evaluate your terms in relation to competitors as well as client history. If you are continually spending important business hours chasing payments you may consider new policies such as deposits, pre-payments or COD.

  1. Set your budget

What are you looking to achieve in 2017? Set your budgets and forecasts in order to understand key cycles of high expenditure. By anticipating these waves, you can put in place financial structures to source or manage funding.

  1. Evaluate your funding providers

Do you have multiple loans in place? How much interest are you paying? It may make sense to streamline this area of your business and review the market for best offers. More and more small businesses are turning away from traditional banks and embracing alternate providers with faster access, competitive rates and flexible repayment options that align to your business results so you are not out of pocket when you don’t have a good business month.

  1. Set and adhere to accounts receivable processes

It’s easy to ignore late payments as you focus on your business but this has a negative financial impact that you need to be diligent in addressing.

  1. Confirm your business targets

By defining and building strategy around your income levels/ you can create the mindset and team focus in delivering these outcomes.

Applying these disciplines will reduce stress and support a more sustainable business. This is your chance to make 2017 your best yet.

Mark Hearl, CEO, Sprout Funding