Business matters
Amonthly roundupofwhat’shappening intheworldof smallbusiness.
Cash costs small firms Cash payments are costing the UK’s small andmedium-
sized businesses £9.4bn a year, according to research frompayment software provider Sage. Just under a quarter of businesses surveyed said
members of staffwere guilty of stealing cash,while just over a third admitted they had lost cash as a result of
human error.While 56 per cent claimed they spent up to an hour ormore every week counting and transporting cash to the bank. A third of respondents believed that the next 20 years could see a decline in
the use of cash,with contactless growing to become themost popular formof payment by 2020. Of consumers surveyed, 90 per cent said that it’s important for businesses
to offer a variety of paymentmethods,with 58 per cent saying they aremore likely to shop at retailerswithmultiple payment options.
New pound coin Businesses should get ready nowfor the introduction
of the new12-sided pound coin, due to come into circulation inMarch, the Treasury has said. It is urging businesses that handle cash or operate
vendingmachines to viewthe officialwebsite –www.
thenewpoundcoin.com– to help guide themthrough
the transition. AdamLawrence,CEO of the RoyalMint, said firms should “find out how
the new£1 could affect their business andwhat steps they need to take to prepare for the launch of the coin inMarch 2017.” Measuresmay include adapting their equipment and training their staff in preparation for its arrival.
Unpaid invoices cost dear Over three-quarters (76 per cent) of small andmedium-
sized businesses (SMEs) havewritten off unpaid debts in the past year, according toAmicus Commercial Finance, the specialist provider of flexibleworking capital to SMEs. The average amountwritten off by UK SMEs in the
last year is £11,708, representing just under £50 billion inwritten-off debts, or £134million every day. According to the study of 500 small businesses’ owners,medium-sized
businesseswith between 50 and 249 employees are theworst affected by delayed paymentswith a quarter (24 per cent) of invoices remaining unpaid after their debtor day period or not at all. Firms of this size lose an average of £33,750 a year through unpaid debts.
50,000 SMEs hit by payment delays Research fromthe Federation of Small Businesses
revealed that late customer payments are costing the UK economy £2.5bn a year, and are leading to 50,000 SME closures annually. AamarAslam,CEO of alternative lending firm
Funding Invoice has urged the Government to appoint
the long-awaited Small Business Commissioner, promised 18months ago, in addition to offering advice to SMEs facing the burden of late payments on how to help their financial situation before it is too late. In themeantime, SMEs should consider their financial support options and
look for third-party support to help alleviate these cash-flowproblems before they become fatal to the business.
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