3. Business Finance Training The recession has pushed many businesses in to bankruptcy, including some famous high street names. But come boom or bust, businesses like Bazzer’s fruit and veg stall always do well. How do they do it?
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6. Loans Owners funds Cash What is working capital? External Internal Funds come in to the business as cash - from the business owner, from share capital and loans
7. Loans Owners funds Cash What is working capital? External Internal Stock Cash is converted in to stock
8. Loans Owners funds Cash What is working capital? External Internal Stock Debtors When stock is sold and invoiced it is converted in to what accountants call debtors. But it is better to think of it as a ‘free loan’ to the customer
9. Loans Owners funds Stock Cash Debtors = Trade Cycle What is working capital? External Internal When customers pay their invoices debtors are converted back to cash This is called the Trade Cycle
10. Loans Owners funds Stock Cash Debtors Creditors External Internal What is working capital? If suppliers give credit terms this is effectively a free loan to the business - and an additional source of funds, referred to as creditors
11. Loans Owners funds Stock Cash Debtors Creditors External Internal What is working capital? When the supplier invoice is paid the funds flow back to the creditor.
12. Loans Owners funds Stock Cash Debtors Creditors = Working capital External Internal What is working capital? Working capital is the circulating capital inside your business Cash, stock, debtors and creditors together make up working capital
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18. Stock Cash Debtors Creditors = Working capital External Internal The working capital cycle Now let’s work out how long it takes to complete this circulating process which the accountants call the ‘working capital cycle’
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20. Business Finance Training It’s important that when you make any business decisions you take in to account the likely impact on working capital and cashflow – lot’s of businesses don’t. Frank decided he could save a few quid by importing some of his women’s clothes from China. He got the cost of the clothes down a bit but the problem was it took longer to get here. Frank had to increase the amount of stock he held to cover the longer delivery time. In fact he had to hold an extra one months’ worth of stock - and he hadn’t checked how much this was going to cost him!
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24. Business Finance Training Frank didn’t have all of the £300,000 he needed for the extra stock so he borrowed some from his brother. If he hadn’t been able to get hold of the £300,000 he would have been in trouble one way and another. Frank was lucky, lots of other businesses get caught out by ignoring working capital. Some pay the ultimate price and go bust!
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26. Look out for my Barrow Boy’s Guide to Profit Business Finance Training