Debtors & Cashflow with Greenfire Accounting

14

Debtors and Cashflow

Business is good. Customers love your products. You provide a superb service. So why is your cashflow trickling, not gushing? You have analysed the numbers. Your overheads are reasonable and there’s no wastage. But what about your debtors?

If your business isn’t strictly ‘cash over the counter’ you probably already understand the work – and the pain – of chasing money from overdue payments.

Good debtor-management can make a real difference to cashflow. Poor debtor-management can be a major roadblock. You can have a lot of money tied up in debtors that you could use better elsewhere, to keep driving the business forward. Think about it this way: the money you have tied up in debtors is your (reluctant) investment in your customers’ business. Wouldn’t you rather invest in your own business? A cloud of negativity sits over debtors. People don’t like to deal with and so it usually just gets worse. It sucks up time as you try to unravel the paper-trail in invoices, statements and call logs. It can be a nightmare to figure out.

So…

ILLUMINATE CHURCH

HIBISCUS COAST

ALL WELCOME

It is entirely worth checking out… Every Sunday 9:45am

The Events Centre Kingsway School, 100 Jelas Road, Red Beach

Be upfront with your trading terms. Let customers know as early as possible about your terms of trade and bill promptly after product delivery or work completed.

Manage credit risk. Wherever possible, run a credit check before you offer credit.

Stay on top of your debtor ledger. Review it frequently and sound the alert on overdue payments.

Do the numbers. How much money do you have currently tied up in payments pending? On average, how long does it take you to collect debt in your business? Aim to reduce these numbers.

Have a system. Delegate the task and give your debt manager the tools to make it work.

The key to managing debtors is not to let it get away from you. Call me if you want to talk through how to manage debtors in your business.

Lizelle Swart 021 464 295

16 timlawrence

Fishing Spot

It’s official: Winter is over and Spring is here and that means two things – scallops and work ups. The last month has been terrible weather for fishing, with lots of wind and rain and only a few opportunities to get on the water. Cabin fever certainly set in over the last couple of months and I have been trying to keep busy by working on the boat to get it ready for summer and making my own tackle.

Every day I have been watching the forecasts, looking for that little weather window, hoping and dreaming of a calm day so I can sneak out wide. Little windows would open up and then, two days before, the forecast would change back to 25 knots with rain, but my persistence paid off and a window appeared on a Monday. Now; how could I make this happen… Meetings were moved, excuses were fabricated and I slipped out the door without saying a word. We hit the water about 11am and headed around the north side of Little Barrier; this time to test out some old marks from previous winter sessions. In the end we settled along the eastern side where the water looked fishy and you could see the current moving along the reef and forming an eddy on the seaward side. A perfect spot for straylining. The fishing was good, the bite was strong and the fish kept getting bigger and bigger – to the point where we started releasing the bigger specimens as they wouldn’t be very nice for eating. I even straightened a hook on a monster right beside the boat. It was a good day. With September kicking off the scallop season I will be out there testing the water and the scallops (yes it’s cold but I am from the lower North Island where the water gets to sub 10 degrees, so Auckland water is balmy). In June there was a shellfish ban for the Mahurangi Harbour area down to the Whangaparaoa Peninsula due to a biotoxin. This alert has been lifted, so it is safe to gather shellfish along our coastline. You can check for further details at http://www. mpi.govt.nz/travel-and-recreation/fishing/shellfish-biotoxin-alerts. We have a trip booked to Kawau Island early September; there will be around 10 of us heading over for two days of fishing and diving. If you would like to come along, then please get in contact. Tight lines!

Millwater wine review

Stony Estate Organic Reserve Pinot Noir 2012

With Winter dying away, lighter-style reds are a perfect way to end the day. Pinot Noirs go perfectly with lamb dishes and there’s nothing like a lamb rack or roast on a late Winter or Spring evening. Just writing that whet’s the whistle!

The Organically-grown and produced Stony Estate Reserve Pinot Noir 2012 is a real find. Originally marketed as the Reserve tier of a leading Central Otago vineyard, we’ve been able to secure a limited quantity of it under this new label, and it’s an exclusive to Manly Liquor.

“Beautifully matured and complex, the bouquet shows dark berry, smoked meat, nutmeg and earthy mushroom characters. The palate is sweetly fruited and generously textured, and offers layers of fine texture and polished tannins. A richly savoury style with plenty of seductive flavours. At its best: now to 2017.” That’s Sam Kim’s 4.5-star review and it tells the story well. But let’s ask Peter Saunders as well: “(An) elegant style Pinot as does so well in Central Otago. A very fair-priced wine for all that it offers; some delicate fruit flavours, good balance, a touch of bitterness to suit food, and a very good food partner. Enjoy with a roast of lamb or beef cutlets, spicy pasta or pizza. Sound from now into 2018 in a normal cellar.”

With comments like this, you know you’re getting a super deal at just $15.99 a bottle – or $15 a bottle when you buy six or more. You typically pay $20+ for a Central Otago Pinot and that won’t be reserve quality.

Stony Estate Organic Reserve Pinot Noir 2012 is available exclusively from Manly Liquor. Contact us to arrange free delivery.

Ivan Tvrdeich Millwater Resident Manly Liquor