The COVID-19 pandemic has had a very adverse effect on economies in general. Small and medium-sized enterprises have taken quite a hit to their finances with reduced revenues, limited clientele, and near-to innovations. Even though industries have seen they are ever highest given the increased reliance on digital mediums during the pandemic, a more significant portion of SMEs has struggled with maintaining their liquidity position.
For any company to survive, liquid cash is quite important. You might have good credit lines and great vendor relationships, but if your money arrives later than your due payments, the interest rates will likely get higher, landing you in much more trouble than expected.
Liquid assets are primarily those that can instantly convert to cash. A company’s liquid assets evaluate its strength to overcome timely financial obligations and debts. Lack of liquid funds is one of the critical reasons SMEs fail to stay afloat for a long while in the market and file for bankruptcy. SMEs must crucially evaluate their current assets and liabilities to gauge their need for liquid assets. This data can easily be obtained and evaluated by looking at the bookkeeping records.
Here are a few things SME owners should bear in mind to ensure an ideal liquidity position for their business:
Keeping Track of Financial Resources
In times of financial crises, when a small enterprise has nothing left to fulfill its loss and run the business, the most crucial thing is the lack of financial and valuable resources, including funding, experienced labor, and lack of accounting records, and marketplace statistics.
To overcome this obstacle, ensure your accounts receivable department bills your clients timely and chase any unpaid invoices as soon as they become due. If need be, you might also want to reassess your payment terms and reduce the payment period with your clients. Cash confined in unpaid invoices can cause severe liquidity problems. Consider offering your clients a discount for settling the bills quickly. It is also essential to rush up to any pending payments or reevaluate your payment terms to increase your cash flow instantly. With your old clients, you could use your goodwill to get early payments.
Management of Cash Flow
While going through financial crises, the most aggravating factors include expenditures. Regardless of the economic situation, business owners must pay all expenses timely. However, they might not have enough cash to clear all the costs at a time. Keeping updated records is necessary to avoid a sudden burden. Optimizing costs is the most important thing to do when dealing with a liquidity crisis. It helps business owners keep enough liquidity to handle a financial situation.
Negotiation with Suppliers and Lenders
In addition to the flow of expenses, postponing liabilities and payments is a clever strategy for recovering from liquidity crises. Suppose you are generally in good relations with your vendors. In that case, it’s time to ask them for a favor and delay your liable payments for some periods without the addition of any interest.
Lack of Funding Options
In case of financial crises, there’s a possibility that no lender would like to lend you a reasonable sum of money to enhance your current situation. It is because the lenders or creditors find it hard to put their trust in your drowning company. However, now is the time to start looking for alternate funding options. You could investigate government-based programs that offer to fund private businesses. Moreover, if the fundamentals of your financial conditions are not sound, borrowing money will take you even in the worst direction down the road. If borrowing isn’t the right option, you might consider raising funds by selling your equity to investors who are interested in your business.
Given the uncertain economic conditions worldwide due to the pandemic, it is wise for business owners to make learned business decisions and maintain enough liquidity to survive a sudden brunt.
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