As we get closer and closer to the festive period, many companies begin to slow down, however for business owners and managers, it is vital that they ensure business cash flow is effectively maintained throughout the Christmas and New Year celebrations, particularly as many businesses are choosing to shut down for the duration of the festivities.
Below we will take a look at how you can effectively manage your business’ cash flow over Christmas.
Ensure your invoices are sent
When it comes to invoicing, ensure your clients receive these well in advance of the Christmas shut down, with clear payment terms (whether before or after Christmas). Sending these in a timely manner will ultimately increase the chances of your invoice being placed on the nearest payment run and therefore paid more quickly. Sending invoices in the last few days before Christmas is likely to go unnoticed, and may even get lost under a vast amount of emails that accumulate whilst businesses are closed.
Be proactive with chasing
Great credit control means keeping a thorough track record of when invoices fall due, therefore if you know that a number of invoices will become due prior to Christmas, ensure you chase these as soon as possible. If you have invoices that will be due during the Christmas period, a polite phone call prior to Christmas shut down to enquire on a date of payment may encourage your client to pay you earlier.
Hit the ground running come the New Year
As prepared as you may be, there is always the risk around Christmas period that client payments will fall behind. If this is the case for your business it is essential that you come back in the New Year ready to proactively chase for payment of those missed invoices. In chasing straight away, you are likely to be put at the top of your customers’ payment list.
Many small to medium businesses struggle to keep up with the back office administrative requirements that are essential to cash flow. If you are looking to start you 2019 year positively, consider partnering with an effective back office support specialist. Take a look through our Zodeq 360 service to find out more about how we can help your business to thrive.
