By Gayle Streimer, Certified Cash Flow Consultant

Whether you are a budding entrepreneur or a thriving business the number one concern is definitely cash flow ~ or simply put, MONEY!

How do you find it, preserve it, make it last? Knowing how to finance your business and manage your cash flow is really what running a business is about.

Establishing a line of credit for working capital is essential for any new or growing business. Many banks have such strict criteria that it makes it nearly impossible for new or growing businesses to obtain the financing that they need.

Assess: Do you need to find money or save money? Is your business in a growth or survival mode? Do you have a long term or short term need? Is yours a business-to-business or business-to-consumer company? Do you deliver goods or services? Is your need to cover fixed overhead or to buy materials for production? How will you pay for the new piece of equipment that you need?

How's your cash flow? Winning a contract for new work, especially with the state or federal governments can be the greatest opportunity for growth….if you can afford to hire the staff or purchase the goods to deliver on the contract and wait for the payments to roll in. A cash flow consultant can match you with a funding source that will make it possible to work through the cash flow crunch.

Consider all the options:

Accounts Receivable Financing
Any business-to-business or business-to-government company is generating invoices or receivables. Those receivables are an asset that can be converted into an advance lump sum of cash by selling them to a funder the same day that they send the invoice to the client. Fewer receivables strengthen the balance sheet. A strong balance sheet looks favorable to banks for future, traditional borrowing.

Equipment Leasing
Before you tie up all of your working capital by paying cash for that new piece of equipment, think about leasing it. Leasing is an excellent option that allows you to make
small monthly payments which preserves your working capital.

Other benefits include:
· Fixed rate financing
· Improves financial ratios
· Hedges against equipment obsolescence
· Provides an additional line of credit
· Provides an additional credit reference
· Possible tax advantages

Credit Cards
Many service companies would benefit by accepting credit cards, but don't realize how easy it is. Easy to set-up, easy for their clients to use and how it will improve cash flow, painlessly. But shop around, not all credit card processing companies charge the same fees. For as little at 1.6% per month and $.20 per transaction, plus a small hardware investment, you can set up a merchant account and start accepting credit cards. The funds are electronically transferred to your account within 48 hours. Compare that to sending out invoices, waiting 30-60 for someone to send you a check and then waiting for the check to clear.

Bill Auditing
When was the last time you reviewed your monthly bills for accuracy? Are you actually getting the service that you paid for? Does the bill actually reflect the service that you signed up for? Even if you found a mistake, would you take the time to call the company and work through getting it corrected?

A big cash flow improvement can be made by making use of a bill auditing/expense recovery service. Bill auditors evaluate your local, long distance, wireless phone bills as well as gas and electric, trash removal, sewer, water and shipping bills to uncover excessive, phony fees and taxed items. The best part of this service is that it is absolutely FREE. It is 100% contingency based. A bill auditor/expense recovery service will work to recover the money paid in error and make sure that going forward the charges are correct. Additionally, they will evaluate your plan and those offered by your service provider to match you with an appropriate plan for your usage.

There are so many options available that new and growing companies are not even aware of. There are solutions for new and growing businesses ~ even restaurateurs that typically can't even get bank financing.

……Eventually everyone runs into a cash flow crunch, it's just part of doing business……

Gayle Streimer, Certified Cash Flow Consultant is a principal of Advance Capital Resources, a cash flow consulting firm. She can be reached at 410.602.3566 ~ (toll free) 866.559.2274 or gayle@cashflowsource.com