4 tips to get cash into your business

There's lots of advice around about how small businesses should manage cash flow but what seems to be missing is advice on how to create some cash in the first place.

1. To get more cash a business needs to make more sales - obvious really. But rather than try and find new customers, how about trying to increase sales revenue from existing customers. This can be done by:

• increasing prices
• increasing the number of products bought in each transaction
• reducing the amount of time between purchases
• introducing complimentary products

2. Review your credit terms. If you have to give credit at all reduce the length of time you give customers to pay. If this makes you nervous about losing existing business, just introduce it for new customers.

3. Invoice quickly - daily if possible. Make sure your invoices are clear and accurate and contain information on how and when to pay.

4. Chase money you are owed on or before the due date, not after it.

Get paid to start your own business!

We think some of the ‘new’ package of intensive support to help those who’ve been unemployed for 6 months or more announced today is not necessarily new at all.

We think the 'new' bit is the payment of £2500 to employers who train someone who's been unemployed for 6 months or more. But the cash support to help unemployed people to start-up their own business has in fact been in place for a while now and is run through jobcentre plus.

Their service provides a range of training and mentoring to help people develop their business idea into a business plan and to undertake a testing stage, of up to 6 months, where they can run their business whilst still getting their Jobcentre Plus allowance payments as well as continuing to receive ongoing mentoring support.

For those interested, more info is at:
http://www.jobcentreplus.gov.uk/JCP/Customers/Self_Employment/Dev_011591.xml.html