In uncertain times, it gets harder and harder to predict financial results. Some business owners throw up their hands in disgust and wing it instead. Bad idea! Instead, when budgeting gets harder, do it more often. And for a shorter time frame.
Shorten the horizon. I am not suggesting you ignore a 12-month budget. But put more effort into a three-month budget.
Budget cash flow as well as profits. Both are critical now.
If money is very tight, use a rolling, 13 week cash flow. Update it weekly.
Banks bailed out by the taxpayer are still not doing enough to help small businesses, it has been claimed.
All the “big four” high street banks reported their half-year financial results last week with HSBC and Barclays the strongest performers, enjoying profits of £7 billion and £3.9 billion respectively.
But all eyes were on the two partially state-controlled banks.
Lloyds Banking Group, 40% owned by the taxpayer, produced better-than-expected profits of £1.6 billion while Royal Bank of Scotland scraped a slim £9 million surplus against a £1.04 billion loss a year earlier.
More retirement-aged Americans are finding it difficult to secure a job The national unemployment rate is not just affecting recent graduates and middle-aged Americans, but also the baby boomer generation, according to a new report. Many boomers who have decided to go back to work – either to recoup assets lost during the financial meltdown or to supplement their retirement – are finding it increasingly difficult to find a job, USA Today reports.
Citing information from the Center for Retirement Research, a large number of employers are hesitant to hire older workers from the boomer generation – putting the nearly 79 million Americans born between 1946 and 1964 in a precarious position. Read more…
In part one of how to improve your cash flow with receivables, you were introduced to how your payment collection methods and policies can make a big difference in your overall cash flow. Here are more ways to improve cash flow with your receivables.
Make Regular and Quick Deposits
At the minimum, you should make a bank deposit every day of your daily sales, which includes all cash and coin, checks, money orders, and travelers’ checks. If you have a spry business that receives a lot of cash and checks, you might consider making two deposits – one at mid-day and another after business hours.
Celebrities have been able to fulfil some of their childhood ambitions thanks to a television production company.
Brighton-based Electric Sky is hoping its series First Love, for Sky, will become a massive hit both at home and abroad.
Each week it will feature a famous name from the world of comedy, radio, TV or journalism who will try to re-learn long-forgotten skills from childhood.
They will work with a professional mentor before showing what they have learnt in front of a live audience.
