Tips to help you manage your growing pile of bills and keep your vendors satisfied.
If you’re like me, you HATE checking your postal mailbox. It seems like all I get these days are bills, bills, and more bills. All the money I earn from my services goes into my bank account…and then right back out to my vendors and employees. Don’t get me wrong – I’m happy to pay these important people who play a key role in my business growth. But I would like to keep a few dollars every now and then. Ugh.
Keeping on top of your bill payments is a crucial task for small business owners. It’s a daunting task, as sometimes it seems like we can’t get in money fast enough to pay all our bills. Nothing will sink your business faster than a growing pile of unpaid bills. As a CFO with over 15+ years experience in managing the cash flow for small businesses, I’ve learned a few tips and tricks to help keep your creditors at bay. Here are three of them:
Organize your bills into a hierarchy.
Give priority to your key vendors and employees – those people that help keep your business running on a daily basis. If you delay payment to these people, you are signing your own death certificate!
Get a line of credit!
As you work, you incur expenses immediately, but often don’t get paid by your customer until much later. You need cash NOW though, and that’s where a line of credit will save your life. Even if you have horrible credit, you can probably still get credit for your business…so make sure you establish a line now, before it’s too late.
Make your estimated tax payments MONTHLY.
The worse creditor is the IRS and local tax agencies. You are required to make quarterly estimated tax payments, but many business owners find it challenging to save up that much cash and resist the temptation to use it before taxes are due. So make your estimated payments more frequently – that way, the cash is already out the door, and you won’t have to stress out every quarter.
CFO’s are masters of utilizing your cash flow effectively. We have mastered the art of keeping vendors at bay, so you can focus on providing your products and services, and earning your income! If you are feeling overwhelmed by a growing stack of bills, let us help! Schedule your free consultation below and let’s chat.