Expanding your business can be exciting, but if you grow too fast – and without adequate planning – you could face major problems.
Besides the uncertainty of how long the growth period will last, it’s common to lose focus on some of the factors that play a key role in the success of your business – your people, capital, forecasting and legislation that can affect your daily operations.
Avoid getting lost in the chaos of growth by looking out for ‘blind spots’, which are things you don’t realise can go wrong due to a lack of knowledge or the classic ‘she’ll be right’ mentality. A little time spent learning and preparing today means a better chance of success tomorrow – a good offence is the best form of defence, after all.
GROW WITH THE (CASH) FLOW
Steady cash flow is the fuel that powers your business, but when you’re busy doing a million things at once it can easily slip to the bottom of the priority pile. Here are some tips to keep the cash flowing while you’re growing:
- Invoice quickly – good debtor management is crucial, so send invoices quickly, ensure your payment terms are clearly outlined and offer discounts for prompt payment.
- Make it easy – whether you offer mobile, online, credit card or modern POS payment options, make it simple for customers to pay you.
- Take advantage of technology – ditch the paper and take advantage of cloud accounting.
- Be one step ahead – use cash flow forecasting to outline your expected income and costs.
If cash flow is king, forecasting is queen – and making informed estimates doesn’t have to be confusing. Give us a call to chat through your objectives and we’ll help you develop a valuable, detailed and easy to digest profit and cash flow plan so you can confidently stay on track as you grow.
FINANCING BUSINESS GROWTH WITH PROVISIONAL TAX
There are several options available when it comes to accessing money to invest in your business.
However, did you know that provisional tax payments are also a source of finance?
Tax Finance, an option offered by an IRD-approved tax pooling provider such as Tax Management NZ (TMNZ), lets you free up working capital by deferring a provisional tax payment to a later date, without incurring IRD interest of 8.22 percent and late payment penalties.
The cost is cheaper than using your business overdraft or an unsecured loan. Approval is guaranteed, and no security is required.
Who might Tax Finance suit?
It will suit those who:
- Are looking for funding that doesn’t affect other lines of credit or who want to keep headroom in their existing lending facilities.
- Don’t wish to go through the rigmarole of the normal lending process.
- Want a fixed interest cost.
How does Tax Finance work?
- You pay TMNZ an upfront finance fee, which is based on the amount of tax due and the future date you wish to pay, and TMNZ puts a date-stamped tax deposit aside for you in its tax pool account at IRD.
- At the agreed upon future date, you pay TMNZ the tax owed.
- TMNZ arranges for your date-stamped tax pool deposit to be transferred to your IRD account. IRD treats this as if the tax was paid on time once it processes the transfer, eliminating any interest and late payment penalties incurred.
Contact us for more information.
