RIABU

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16 June 2022 11:33

SMEs in UK are having sleepless nights over late payments resulting from cost-of-living crisis

A recent study by Barclays indicates that 26% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the United Kingdom are facing late payments.
This is because their customers’ operating margins are getting squeezed due to higher costs. This is in turn caused by the rapidly rising prices of heating, eating, and fuel.
According to the new findings, rising prices have begun to affect payments between bus

13 June 2022 14:02

Small businesses in the United States are worried about country’s economic health

Small businesses in the United States face a grimmer outlook due to inflation, supply-chain issues, a shortage of labour, and rising interest rates. Focus on cash flow management has become more important than ever.
According to a survey of more than 600 small businesses conducted in May by The Wall Street Journal, about 57% of small business owners expect economic conditions in the United Stat

10 June 2022 10:27

Can Singapore SMEs withstand the headwinds without managing cash flows?

As Singapore reopened its economy, small businesses were optimistic at the beginning of the year while witnessing fewer bankruptcies. But many factors have changed since then. Prioritizing cash flows is the need of the hour.
A survey conducted by DBS Bank after the budget highlighted that about 85% of SMEs would focus on ensuring consistent cash flow and conservatively manage their operational

7 June 2022 12:56

Indian SMEs are optimistic about next quarter but inflation still a major concern

Small businesses in India are optimistic about their performance in the next quarter but they are also worried about rising costs due to Ukraine war, according to a survey and the index reading by ASSOCHAM-Dun & Bradstreet.
The Small Business Confidence Index, which measures the level of optimism of small and medium businesses on key business parameters such as sales, employment, prices, in

19 May 2022 13:26

If you want customers to follow payment terms, internal stakeholders need to sing from the same hymn sheet

Top-down ownership requires internal stakeholders to adopt a common culture where employees at all levels – from the boardroom to salespeople - are responsible for collecting cash from the customers. The cash collection process can be incorporated at all levels of the organization structure by providing proper training and accountability through KPI metrics.
In this video, RIABU’s Simon Littlew

9 May 2022 10:29

Canada’s Business Barometer shows steady confidence, but wage and price hikes are slowing recovery

Short-term confidence has improved in all business sectors in Canada, including those that have been significantly affected by the pandemic. However, labour shortages and rising costs continue to hold businesses back from recovery.
According to the latest Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) Business Barometer, businesses in the hospitality sector saw the highest jump in short-ter

6 May 2022 09:59

Business bankruptcies in England and Wales rise to highest level since 1960

Businesses in England and Wales have voluntarily filed for insolvency due to supply chain disruption and price pressures from commodities and energy.
In the first quarter of 2022, about 4,900 companies went bankrupt, a 117% increase from the same period last year, and a level not seen since the survey began in 1960, according to the Insolvency Service.

Samantha Keen, UK turnround and

5 April 2022 12:09

Send accurate Invoice at the first time itself

Early contact with your customers and prompt discrepancy resolution mechanism plays a big role in accounts receivable. In this conversation with RIABU's Simon Littlewood, Teginder Singh, CFO of the Southeast Asia region at a global logistics company with a special focus on accounts receivable function, shares his experience in dealing with different types of customers and the types of invoicing mi

30 March 2022 10:15

World Bank hints of possible delays in loan repayments by SMEs

In its recently released annual report that focuses on interrelated economic risks worldwide, the World Bank has raised concerns about possible delays in loan repayment by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
According to the report, MSMEs make up over 90% of all firms and employ 60–70% of the working population and contribute 50% of GDP worldwide. Hence, their survival is crucial for p

23 March 2022 10:20

How Raytheon Technologies is helping its suppliers with their cashflow woes

Governments and the business community know that small businesses are lifeline of an economy. In the case of Raytheon Technologies, a US-based defence contractor, is actually acknowledging the importance of small businesses by taking concrete action. The company has paid US$450 million in accelerated progress payments to its suppliers to help them manage their cashflows.
Greg Hayes, Raytheon’s

16 March 2022 11:57

Effective cash collection starts at the top

To ensure all departments in a company are aligned in their cash collection approach, leadership from the top is critical, says Yati Omar, director of finance at a manufacturing corporation. Without such leadership, solutions such as outsourcing cash collection will not make up for the lack of a cohesive company culture regarding receivables. Check out this advice and more in her conversation with

7 March 2022 17:35

The important link between environmental sustainability and cash flow

The world needs to cut greenhouse gases by half by 2030, and eliminate it completely by 2050 to avoid catastrophic climate change. Large and small companies alike have important roles to play in this fight.

Want to know more about this topic? Listen to RIABU's Simon Littlewood and Mark Laudi discuss this issue on our podcast, Be First In Line To Get Paid:

Larger companies with lo

3 March 2022 17:25

SMEs in Eastern Europe concerned by late payments and economic instability

A survey by trade credit insurer Atradius about payment practices in East European companies highlights a stable business environment and fewer bankruptcies in 2022. But, of course, this was before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And even then, digging deeper into the report reveals that small businesses are more worried than larger ones, especially those involved in the cross-border trade.
W

2 March 2022 16:04

Nurture relationships at all levels

Working capital is the most important aspect that helps a company survive and keep its people employed. But it all depends on prompt payment by their customers.
Despite the advantages of technology and automation, doing business is still all about people. So it's a good idea to nurture relationships with your customer, and that includes helping your finance team build relationships with their c

1 March 2022 12:50

Pressures on SMEs in 2022

Often times, people start a small business with full excitement, but they miss to set up an invoicing process to help them get paid on time, which later leads to cash flow problems.

Tim Charlton, managing director of Charlton Media Group, discusses the outlook for inflation, interest rates, and other factors that may increase insolvency pressures for SMEs, and how getting cash flow manageme

25 February 2022 12:12

The collection process starts the day you sell

Getting paid on time is a proactive process rather than reactive. But many SMEs often start a discussion about payment with your customer when things are already falling apart. Initiate this process early and often, and resolve all invoice discrepancies speedily rather than letting things fester, advises Anto Baby, country head of finance for a Medtech company. Check out his full conversation with

24 February 2022 14:42

Prioritise a plan for managing cash flow

Your new customer won't always tell you all the things they expect you to do in order for them to process the invoice. Daryl Albury, finance head for Asia for a mining services provider, believes that buy-in from top management, as well as from the various departments related to a company's cash flow, is critical when it comes to ensuring a business gets paid on time. Check out his full conversati

23 February 2022 12:55

Optimising your collections process

Why does a company get paid late by their customer? The contributing factors could range from problems in the collections process to poor communication, says Anand Nanukutty, the national finance director for some markets for a consumer goods company. And resolving these issues is critical. Check out his full conversation with RIABU's Simon Littlewood.

Get more tips on effective cash f

22 February 2022 12:43

The art of collecting receivables

If you run into problems with collecting payment, it means that there is something along the way that hasn't gone well, says Bernd Herrmann, global CFO, Product Service Division, at TÜV SÜD, which provides consulting, testing, certification and training services. Check out his full conversation with RIABU's Simon Littlewood.

Get more tips on effective cash flow management from

21 February 2022 13:58

You get paid on time when you communicate effectively and often with your customers

Sometimes it's a nightmare to work with different accounts receivables, but when you have a strong relationship with your customers, things work well, says Christophe Derdeyn, the partner at a consulting company. That's especially the case when working on a fixed-price basis, where contracts need to be written in a way that limits the amount of scope creep and also specify milestones that trigger

Subjects: Business enterprise, General