At a time of recession, cash is king

In the current economic climate, many organisations will be trying to
hold off creditors while trying to collect cash themselves - it’s one of
the oldest tricks in the business.

But if managing cash consistently causes you headaches, have you considered other issues that may come into play, such as the efficiency of your finance processes, the quality of your management information and even the quality of your customer service?

During uncertain times cash flow holds the key to your company’s survival. Being proactive and taking control of your debtors is the first rule of managing cash successfully. You need to identify who is holding out and why. If some of your clients are struggling financially, you need to know. But perhaps if you haven’t provided the best possible service, some of them will have grounds for withholding payment. You need to find out if and where such issues exist and defuse them.

Accuracy is the second watchword. If you have good control over what you deliver to customers and when - in terms of goods, services and invoices - your cash position will benefit.

To save you having to reinvent the wheel, this guide draws on advice from members of AccountingWEB.co.uk, Finance Week and the IRIS Exchequer communities who have successfully applied modern technology to the ancient disciplines of credit control. By presenting cash management principles and processes that have worked for other finance managers, the guide is designed to help stimulate ideas that will help you prosper, whatever the economic circumstances.

Continue reading the IRIS Exchequer Cash Management Handbook