Goodbye US Post Office

STOP relying on the US Post Office for your payments

Now more than ever, you should STOP relying on the US Post Office to send out your invoices and to receive prompt payments from clients! Here's one MORE reason why-http://bit.ly/10OCF56-our mail is about to get even slower, even if Saturday delivery is preserved. Go electronic using custom methods that suit you, and your payments will speed up. Many clients prefer to use electronic methods as well. I can show you how you can accommodate them.

Guest Blogger Arun Sinha always has something pithy to say...

...and this time it is on one of my favorite subjects, cash flow:


Cash flow blues

A friend from one of my networking groups told me about a cash-flow crunch he found himself in, through nobody's fault. He has a 3-person firm, and like many small businesses, he gets the bulk of his revenues from one client. Currently, about 62% of his sales come from his largest client.

Sometime in December 2008 he sent this client his monthly invoice via email as usual. 30 days passed, and he hadn't received his check. Since this was a huge client, my friend was treading very softly around them. He didn't ask about his payment until another 10 days.

Client said, "We never got the invoice." There had been a glitch in their email system. Some incoming emails were lost, some weren't. Guess which email was lost.

So my friend sends the invoice out again. By now it's getting close to February 09. He has depleted his rainy day fund, so he draws on his line of credit at his bank so he can make his payroll and utilities.

Meanwhile, the client's business has slowed, so they don't pay in 10 days like they used to. They take the full 30 days. Which means my friend finally gets his check a little over 70 days after emailing his invoice. Then, because it's an out-of-state check, he waits another 7 calendar days for the money to land in his account.

There are a couple of lessons from this saga: Don't rely on one big client and one big check. Things can go wrong without malice on anyone's part. You always need more in your rainy day fund than you think.

I have had the pleasure of networking with Arun for over 6 years. I value his judgment and input. Arun's copywriting skills are shown well on his website http://www.AccessConsultingInc.com and his blogs are:
Envirobuzz and AccessNotes.

Both are worth subscribing and reading. Thanks, Arun!

Charities are going bankrupt...

Banks are spoken about being nationalized.
What's next?

The New York Times on 20Feb08 ran an article about the struggle nonprofits are enduring, forcing many to close, entitled "Charities Now Seek Bankruptcy Protection" by Stephanie Strom in which she said:

"While no one has compiled data on how many charities have turned to courts for protection, experts in the field say it has become more common as nonprofits have been pressured by donors to operate more like businesses."

That's what we do-help nonprofits think and act more like businesses, especially in their cash flow. Can we help you?

Client seminars

We just held our first, in what I hope will be monthly, free client seminars, in this case for my not-for-profit clients.
The repsonse was great as we filled the room, and the comments were even better, as this one was unsolicited:

Hi Marc,
Thank YOU. The seminar exceeded my expectations. I really did get quite a bit out of it. Thank you for that and for being a pleasure to work with.

I think it encapuslates that we can actually help you in non-monetary ways.
All the best.

reboot

It's another computer term that may apply to us, now that the summer is almost over.

So many businesses slide along in the summer, not undertaking anything new.

They reevaluate and enact changes in September, thus rebooting themselves.

Change is constant and taking a few months off that affects cash flow improvements, delaying what could have been, is dangerous.

If you are thinking of making a change in business cash flow improvement, carpe diem! Do it now. Don't wait to reboot.

Who is gonna bail you out????!!!!????

Citibank, Bear Stearns, who else? And there will be more.

When you need a financial bailout, who will come to your rescue? No one, right?
Don't wait until it's too late. Work on your cash flow NOW.

The key to business success is sound cash flow and actively managing that cash flow. You probably cannot do it alone.

Call us in to help, we have particular expertise and tools to optimize your cash flow.

LEAP DAY!

Happy February 29th. Leap Day.

At the local coffee shop, a cup will cost you 29 cents all day, with a coupon of course!

If you optimize your cash flow for your business, today is like finding a $20 bill in your pocket. How?

It would mean one more day to receive more money in your bank account. It would mean one more day to optimize your working capital and be more efficient.

The analogy I like to use is that cash flow is like blood rushing throughout your body. A clog in the plumbing can cause problems throughout the business. Efficiency of cash inflow and smarter ways to accept payments will make your business healthier. One extra day to receive money is a gift.

I hope you have a prosperous Leap Day.

Preparing your company for a recession

An article dated 30Jan08 by Tim Reason on CFO.com entitled, "Preparing Your Company for Recession" and was subtitled "Face it: Financial Crises are Inevitable. To Emerge Strong, Companies Must Be Quick and Smart in Their Responses" spoke about 3 general ways to prepare for a recession:
1) seek ways to reduce costs
2) optimize working capital
3) measure your performance

How right he is.

I want to embellish some of his points hinting at how our services work to prepare any size company or nonprofit for the economic downturn we are in and will see continue for a while. But why wait for a recession to implement keener business and achieve smarterpayments (name rings a bell, huh?)?

1) How can you reduce costs that can be pared down, and use technology to do so?
Think anew about all your routine processes and ask: Is there a better way? Does it have to be done this way? Can technology, especially email and the internet, accomplish the same?

Consider paper invoicing, mailing and labor costs: could an invoice travel from you to your customer by email, be opened and paid all in one transmission? Sure. See this blog's most recent posting or cruise over to our greinvoice website, for details of a new service we offer: http://www.greinvoice.com. Imagine saving postage (goes up again in May!), paper and envelope costs (I cannot believe how expensive paper is getting), and getting paid faster right on the email/web-based invoice you send the customer. That gives you more time and money to do other things like optimize your cash flow or measure your business results while your payment is on its way to you. Win win.

2) Why not optimize working capital: that's an essential practice even in good economic times?
Have you tried to get a loan recently? Bank liquidity is drying up; I know, a bad pun, but you get the point. Bankers sleep best at night knowing their customers' working capital (especially their CASH FLOW) is as smooth and efficient as possible. After all, that's what's paying them back.

However, banks do not market all the best solutions. You need to go outside the banking industry to find out about ways to improve cash flow. Independent financial consultants offer new ways that banks don't offer. And each service should be tailored ot your specific needs. Like: faster cash in the bank account, no matter who helps you get it there faster, is what makes a lower interest rate on your loan, or whether the bank gives you a loan at all. If you don't do this, someone at the bank will measure your efficiency, which brings me to #3.

3) How and what do you measure? Who has the time????
Statistical measurement is anathema when your business is growing quickly. There's just no time to stop and measure. When business slows down, you are fixated on revving it up. Once again, no time or inclination to measure.

Certain services we offer provide historic totals and other ways at looking at your business graphically and seeing things in a new way. We made it easy to see a graph or chart, so you could gain new insight. If you do not measure your business, your banker will (see discussion in #2 above).


So, there you have it, another installment of how we can help you prepare for the recession. Just ask, or we may just suggest a few services.

Green B2B invoicing and payments

Business invoicing has just gotten “greener,” resulting in more cash in a new, easy way to electronically send an invoice and receive payment, while conserving our natural resources. Beat the recession.

We just launched a new service called greinvoice, which allows businesses to send invoices to their clients by email, with a link on the email to open the invoice on the recipient’s screen, at which time they can pay the invoice by electronic check or credit card…no postage, paper, envelope or trash.

We brought together three best-in-class vendors in this unique service to handle invoicing and payments in a secure online environment. Additionally, we are pleased to be able to help the environment by reducing trash and simultaneously help our clients receive payment faster.

Perhaps we are ahead of the technology curve (as usual), but the simple economics of rising postage rates (announcement today of another one penny rate increase in May) and escalating paper costs and the looming recession make the focus on cash flow even more imperative. Our lower cost to use technology to deliver invoices and receive payment makes more sense now than ever.

We have shown companies, e-commerce sites and nonprofit organizations of all sizes, locally and nationwide, many other ways to improve their cash flow using new technologies and reduce the administrative effort and expense.

See the website, http://www.greinvoice.com/ and let us know how we can help you get more green (pun intended!)

Out of tragedy, sometimes good things can result

Everyone remembers where they were that fateful day 6 years ago-how the horror of the September 11th terrorist attacks affected each of us personally: our emotions, our fears, our nascent feeling of patriotism, and the effect it had on our business and the economy as a whole.

It took a while, but as a direct result of the planes not flying for nearly a week, Congress enacted the Check 21 regulations allowing banks to submit electronic images of business and personal checks, rather than the archaic method of shipping the paper checks themselves as air cargo from bank to bank for final clearing.

This is a benefit for you in that it speeds your cash flow and reduces the work involved in presenting a deposit. Now check images from your desk can be batched and cleared electronically. It is not perfect for everyone, but for those with limited staff and higher volumes (anywhere above 100 checks a week), this is something worth looking into. We have it, just ask us how.

Wishing you a safe and introspective September 11th. Think of the many attributes of our society that are worth fighting for, in words, actions and good deeds, despite those who wish to dismantle our way of life.

Pertinent Negatives

You don't feel well and some of the symptoms could at the worst case be serious. You decide this is worth going to the doctor.

After a series of questions and other examinations, she or he tells you what you do NOT have first, to ease your mind. Whew!

What the doctor tells you next is what you have is not serious and can be treated.

The expert tells you what you do NOT have: the "pertinent negatives." You just need adjustment of some sort.

Using this analogy, is your business cash cycle running slow and you do not know what to do?

Chances are your situation is not lethal and with a little treatment, the cash flow can be treated. Velocity of cash is essential: a factor of size and speed.

Ask an expert who has at least a few options to help you, not just "one size fits all," because a real professional knows that no two cases are alike and each needs the right type and amount of TLC to nurse the cash flow back to health.

Ask for help-there's nothing wrong with getting the help of a pro. Many times, the diagnosis is not serious and can result in improved cash flow.