Cash Flow Buzz

Cash flow Clouds Loom Ominously Over Small Business

Don’t let slow debtor payments turn into a disaster..

Credit agency Dun & Bradstreet has delivered a blunt warning to SMEs about the patchy state of the economic recovery and now has 36,000 firms rated as being at “high risk” failure over the next 12 months.
The majority of firms at risk are small and have traded [...]

Eventually They Will Come Down, But What Do You Do In The Meantime?

It’s time to update your funding options…Panic about increased interest rates to business is a combination of media beat-up and generational naivety. In the Dark Ages of late last century interest rates were high. When this happened, bank liquidity dried up. The businesses that grew stronger looked to alternate sources of funding….

How to Act BIG When You’re Only Very Small

You’ll be surprised at what funding you can obtain for those large style business transactions

Small business is the true engine of economic development and job growth. And today plenty of people, either dislocated in layoffs, finding it difficult to find the right kind of employment in a tough economy or simply yearning to strike out [...]

Cash Flow – The No. 1 Problem Faced by SMEs (Sensis, March 2010)

Most SME’s believe banks are their only saviour to cash flow woes…

According to the latest Sensis Business Index Report (March 2010), SMEs have ‘mixed feelings’ about their business prospects over the coming 12 months and cite cash flow problems as their number one concern.
Hardly surprising.
Whilst the government touts its super tax [...]

Unsecured Trade Finance – Old Hat Overseas, New Down Under

Funding based purely on the transaction & not your assets…Since writing my last blog on trade finance, I’ve had requests for a little more detail on how it works. Mind you, one reader in particular was adamant that I leave out banking jargon and legalese in any explanation, so in the tradition of less is sometimes more, I give you: Unsecured Trade Finance.

Kev Fleeces Miners, Shareholders Take A Hit & My Neighbour’s Wife Could Get Lucky!

Greedy government eyes off mining profits…

Pre and post war Australia, rode the sheep’s back. It was literally Australia’s golden fleece. However, unless my memory, or more pertinently the history books have changed, Australian farmers were not slugged with additional taxes.
Every promise the government has made for initial reform hinges on resource companies and the states [...]

Dot The I’s And Cross Your Fingers

Small businesses that buy goods from overseas have been urged to pay close attention to a legal battle that has pitted listed Australian toy company Funtastic Limited against a former Chinese supplier. If you’re starting-out or looking to grow, arranging loans may be financially out of the question and the legals daunting…

“Hey Wayne, Let’s Ignore Henry & Focus On Stuffing-Up Tony!”

The Henry Report’s out. If you’re a small business with less than $2 million revenue you will probably be better off as your tax rate will be cut from 30% to 28%. Here’s what you’ll save.

Revenue
You’ll save (PA)

$2 million
$40,000

$1.5 million
$30,000

$1 million
$20,000

Henry’s recommendation to change the definition of [...]

Government Tax Breaks, Banks Quote Hannibal Lecter & Lambs Stay Silent

Not as scary as Mr Lecter but still challenging

Eric Johnston from the Age writes: “BANKS will find it tougher to apply out-of-cycle interest rate rises on home loans if, as expected, the Henry review of the tax system urges the introduction of a tax break on savings.”
I know it’s a matter of semantics Eric, but [...]

Construction Is ‘Sexy’ But No One Wants To Pay For It

Construction is attractive, but being rejected….

Louise Hall from the SMH reports that the NSW economy continues to be the worst-performing in the nation and the government must urgently introduce initiatives to stimulate growth in construction, business investment and jobs.

Today’s state government is (literally) paying for the indolence of its predecessors. We are probably a decade [...]

Less Red Tape, Simpler Tax Rules & Tony Abbott Wins Le Tour De France

The SMH reports today that Australian firms have fewer taxes and less red tape at the top of their wish list for the soon-to-be released Henry tax review, a survey says. We all have dreams. The federal opposition leader would love to get a gig with Lance Armstrong’s Team Radio Shack in the upcoming Tour De France…but he won’t.

Developers Review Options as Commercial Construction Sector Rebounds

The NAB has just released its Quarterly Australian Commercial Property Survey. The survey suggests that 76% of commercial property developers indicate they will commence new works in the next 12 months. In Europe, Great Britain and the US, progress payment funding has been an alternative to traditional construction financing

Which Bank Looks After SMEs?

Where is your business fueling up?

According to Commonwealth Bank group executive of business and private Banking Ian Narev “There is a misconception that banks have stopped lending to small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs),” Mr Narev said.
“We have lent and continue to lend to small business customers.”
He said the bank had made no material changes [...]

Banks Undergo Empathy Bypass Surgey

Carl Rogers, Nobel peace prize winner, humanist and pre-eminent psychotherapist of the twentieth century espoused three core conditions to relating to people and understanding the human condition: empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard.
Poor old Carl would have been absolutely at sea in Sydney on Monday at the Senate hearing on the access of small business [...]

Those Simple Bear Necessities: Setting Aside Reserves for Downturns?

Are you getting by on bear necessities?

Dun & Bradstreet’s latest outlook survey for June showed that 43 per cent of businesses reported no change in their debt levels while 36 per cent planned to reduce their debt within the next three months.
Business coach and entrepreneur Jen Dalitz – founder of www.sphinxx.com.au, a social networking group [...]