The document provides 10 tips for improving cash flow management from various experts. The tips include scheduling outgoing payments at the start of each month to see crunch points, using invoice discounting to access cash from invoices, thoroughly checking new customers and credit terms, being pessimistic about new products/customers until paid, invoicing quickly to get paid sooner, offering various payment methods, including retention clauses, negotiating favorable supplier terms, addressing underlying issues if cash flow is poor, and offering early payment discounts.

1. 10 expert tips
for cash flow
management

2. “At the start of each
month schedule all your
known outgoing BACS
payments. You will easily
be able to see where
crunch points are likely
to occur and be able to
plan accordingly.”
Tim Whitehouse,
Founder of Caprica
Online Accountants

3. “It won’t suit every
business model but
one way to regulate
cash flow is to use
invoice discounting,
where a third party
‘buys’ your invoice and
releases cash based
on its value.”
Sage Accountants
cash flow guide

4. “Before you grant credit,
all new customers
should be checked –
and re-checked once a
year. Circumstances
can change. Don’t grant
overly generous credit
terms, either.”
Start-up Donut
Cash flow guide

5. “For new products
or customers,
be pessimistic —
expect problems and
delays, and don’t
include a sale in cash
receipts until the
customer is ready to
pay the invoice.”
ICAEW
Director’s Briefing

6. “Make sure you keep
on top of invoicing.
Invoice quickly,
because even if it’s a
day, that’s a day
sooner you will be
paid.”
Tracy Gray,
Founder of
Button and Bean

7. “Make it really simple for
people to pay you. If
possible, offer a range
of payment methods so
your customers can
choose how they want
to pay you.”
Intuit Accounting
Software
cash flow guide

8. “Set out your trading
terms in writing — if you
are providing goods you
would be wise to include a
‘retention’ clause. This
means that the goods do
not belong to the
customer until they have
settled their bill.”
Simon Cowie, Head of
Corporate Services at
Hall Morrice Chartered
Accountants

9. “Try to agree
favourable credit terms
with suppliers – holding
onto your cash for
longer frees up more
working capital.”
Danielle Holmes,
Business Services
Supervisor at
Armstrong Watson
Accountants.

10. “Sometimes poor
cash flow can mask
something more
fundamentally wrong –
an unpopular product,
flabby costs or
under-performing sales
team. If you see a problem,
do something about it
before it’s too late.”
Stephen Bence, Chairman
of Beauhurst
Business Analysts

11. “Offering an early
payment discount
encourages debtors to
pay sooner rather than
later, helping to
minimise the risk of
non-payment.”
WorkBooks
Accounting Software
cash flow guide

12. Sources
1. http://bit.ly/CashFlowCaprica
2. http://bit.ly/CashFlowSage
3. http://bit.ly/CashFlowStartupDon
ut
4. http://bit.ly/CashFlowICAEW
5. http://bit.ly/CashFlowButtonBean
6. http://bit.ly/CashFlowIntuit
7. http://bit.ly/CashFlowHallMorrice
8. http://bit.ly/CashFlowArmstrong
Watson
9. http://bit.ly/CashFlowBeauhurst
10.http://bit.ly/CashFlowWorkbooks