It really does pay to be a forward thinker when it comes to your finance.

Why? Developing forward thinking processes helps you plan for emergencies, enables you to take advantage of opportunities and guides the organisation towards future growth. This forecasting will help with daily, short term and long term planning.

If your business is cyclical then you may find there are regular periods of time when your business becomes quieter or there are longer gaps between invoice periods. You need to have a full understanding of your cash flow to really comprehend your business. The good times and the bad times; the highs and the lows.

Opportunities
Having a healthy cash flow will allow you to capitalise on opportunities as they arise. What these will look like will depend on your business although it could relate to a partnership, training, expansion or increased investment in stock.

Emergencies
Emergencies can take the shape of many forms. Not being able to pay your own suppliers or make regular payments on your loans can all occur when steady cash flow is a serious problem.

Where to go for funding
You have a number of options to tap into future finance including traditional loan lenders or invoice factoring. Of course factoring is a much quicker and convenient process than the more traditional methods providing a fast turnaround and availability of cash. It is also linked to the value of your debtors, not your assets and is practical for small to large sized businesses. How quickly you can access the funds is one of the most important questions you can ask.

There is no one size fits all forward thinking approach. Every business plan is unique to the endless amount of variables created by your personal set of circumstances.

Has your business planned ahead? What would happen to you if an emergency occurred?  Leave me a comment telling me how you have prepared.