penses, etc. The result is the total cash available.
IMPROVING YOUR CASH FLOW Monitoring your shop’s cash flow— whether you do it on a monthly basis or on some other schedule—will help you adjust your business practices, so you can meet your immediate financial obligations. It will also help you determine your upcoming needs for cash or credit and anticipate any potential problems. If the money flowing out of your business exceeds the amount coming in, the fiscal health of your business stands on a precarious footing. Here are a few suggestions to help improve your shop’s cash flow: ☞ Require that a customer put down a 50 percent deposit on any project. This is one of the best solutions for improving your cash flow, as well as one of the oldest practices in the sign industry. This can offset your purchases of raw materials and labor costs. Payment in full of the balance upon completion of the job can eliminate any collection problems.
☞ Encourage cash payments or credit card payments. But whenever customers pay by check, make a quick beeline to the bank and deposit them immediately. ☞ If you extend terms to customers, provide discounts for payments on balances due when customers pay within thirty days. That way you
will decrease the time between the sale and the payment. ☞ Develop an aging report categorizing the aging of your accounts receivable. In a spreadsheet, list past “due balances” in columns for “1 to 30 Days,” “31 to 60 Days,” and “61 to 90 Days.” Assign the responsibility for the aging report to one of your employees, who can
Non-Neon Lighting The perfect replacement for Glass Neon Tubes!
PRODUCT FEATURES • Offered in 24V (For short runs) & 120V (For long runs) • Continuous coils up to 150 ft. • For interior and exterior use
• Can be easily field cut in increments as required and bent to extremely tight radii
• Superior brightness provides uniform neon and fiber optic like illumination without any hot spots • Rated to last up to 100,000 hours
• Up to 70% energy savings over other types of comparable lighting • Unbreakable and crush resistant rated to over 450 PSI • Color jacket retains color even when not lit
• Numerous complementary accessories enable a vast range of applications
Serving the Industry Since 1972
New Jersey • Arizona
Outwater Plastics Industries, Inc.
Lowest Prices... Widest Selection... All From Stock!
1-800-631-8375 22
Sign Builder Illustrated // May 2014
www.outwater.com/vip2
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