New Year – New business ideas
Happy New Year! If 2020 forced you to close a business or relook a job, the new year is a great time to focus on some new business possibilities. There are great opportunities to start new businesses moving forward, based on the successes of 2020. Become a Consultant Based on your experience and expertise, starting […]
Using downtime to plan and prepare for the new year
Everyone needs a break after a long and challenging year, but when you are running your own business, you can benefit from taking a day or two to plan and prepare your business for the next year. Outline your Objectives for 2021 Taking a few hours to think about what you want to achieve in […]
Getting the South African Economy working again
For most businesses, the limp into the festive season has been marred by the second wave of Covid-19 infections. It is mainly brought on by complacency and consumers not taking the virus and its impacts seriously. For many SME’s the December holiday season should have helped them recoup some of the losses from 2020. Even […]
Supporting local means supporting your neighbour
It takes some special occasions for South Africans to be supportive and patriotic about their country. The 1995 World Cup was one of them, the Soccer World Cup we hosted, and more recently, Siya Kolisi raising the Web Ellis Trophy in 2019. South African consumers see glitz and glamour in imported products and brands. And […]
The impact of your credit score on your business
With Christmas around the corner and holidays on the horizon, you need to consider your credit score and plan your bill payments for the end of the month. For many, it is not a consideration until it is required, and sometimes that is too late. Individual and company credit scores are an essential aspect of […]
Entrepreneur Burnout is a real thing
For small business owners, regular office hours or a planned holiday is far from the top of mind. The Covid-19 pandemic’s stress has placed many companies under a financial strain, and the pressure is starting to mount. Before you lose your cool at your staff or suffer a road rage incident, consider what the stress […]
Finding various ways to fund your SME
Understanding business finance options can be confusing. There are two main parts to financing small businesses. Equity Financing or Debt Financing There are some common ways you can fund your business: Personal Investment, Angel Investors, Government Assistance, Commercial Bank Loans, Financial Bootstrapping, or Buyouts. Venture Capital and Angel Investors seem to be a romantic solution […]
The Importance of forward planning
For so many SME’s, forward planning is not a priority. As many of the companies are owner-run, time is in short supply. The scheduling of forward planning sessions is essential to scope the projections for the next quarter. You need to know what will get you there. The Covid-19 pandemic caught many businesses off-guard. A […]
How can invoice discounting help your business cash flow?
For most growing businesses, there comes a time when your cash flow is under strain. Invoice Discounting can be your saving grace. It is often not an option to get into debt by using a traditional overdraft facility or a credit card to cover the shortfalls. Sometimes, the company credit card is already maxed, and […]
When times are tough, the tough buckle down
Many small companies struggle with the debate about when to double down and work harder to achieve growth and success and when to let go. Before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, many companies were already teetering on the edge of collapse, and all it took was one or two months with no income to fold the […]
Bizcash’s agility helps its customers in tough times with reduced fees
In an environment where companies are increasing prices to save their businesses and cover the shortfall that the Covid-19 pandemic had on their operations and cash flow, Bizcash was hard at work to ensure that their clients could be reducing costs. It is not very often that you find business finance companies reducing rates and […]
Good Debt vs. Bad Debt
When is debt good for your business, and when is it bad for your business? These are questions that you should be asking. The answers are what successful business owners already know. Bad Debt As in your personal capacity, if you incur debt, it is considered bad debt. These can take the form of a credit […]
Don’t wait too long to seek finance for your SME
One of the biggest mistakes small businesses make is waiting too long to apply for additional finance for their business or operation. Staying on top of your cash flow is an essential part of running the business successfully and critcal in growing the company. If you wait until you really need the money, you can […]
The Importance of separating your personal and business finances
Keeping your personal and business expenses and finances separate when starting a business is essential to how your company operates and how it is perceived by the corporate world when you are looking to finance or sell your business. Keeping your assets shielded from any business claims is imperative; otherwise, you may lose everything if […]
Adopting automation to save you time and money
For many small businesses, the added expense of a system or software can be prohibitive. At some point though, researching and adding in systems into your business to increase the automation, time saving, accuracy and reporting into your business, can be just the tool to boost your growth. There are some simple tools that you […]
Employing staff as a small business
So often, companies just starting are a little wary of hiring staff to help them out during the business’s early stages. These fears may be due to the insecurity of income, being able to cover your expenses first, or even the deer in the headlights freeze of not knowing which position to fill first. Employing […]
Customer Retention is critical to your business
You don’t have a business if you don’t have customers, and customers do business with people. That is why it is so critical to have customer retention strategies in place. Many small business owners are so busy trying to manage and run their company that they don’t spend time getting to know their customers and […]
5 Proven Benefits of Remote Working Staff Members
Remote working is not likely to go away anytime soon. Companies that have set up their employees to work from home have found great advantages to this way of working. Lowered Business Expenses They are saving in rent space, security, cleaning costs etc Consider the reduced need for coffee and tea in the office, companies […]
Advantages of Invoice Discounting
Careful management of the cash in your business can be the difference between survival or shutting down permanently.
Beat the Bank: Avoid the Obstacles of Traditional Business Loans
It’s not easy being a small business right now. Nearly a decade since the 2008 financial earthquake, GDP growth has petered out and the South African economy has moved into another recession. In an environment fraught with economic and socio-political uncertainty, banks are again tightening up their lending practices – with the result that small […]
3 Must-Know Financial Ratios to Effectively Manage Your Working Capital
It’s an unfortunate fact of life that, generally speaking, you have to pay for stuff you need. And paying for that stuff – stock, raw materials, equipment, space, people to work for you – is part of owning a small business. Of course, you need to be able to generate enough money to meet those expenses. […]
8 Easy Ways to Secure Your Business Cash Flow
On Day Zero, Cape Town’s taps will be turned off and Mother City residents will begin queuing for their H20 at 200 collection sites across the city. It’s a nightmare scenario, something you see happening in a dystopic disaster movie set in the year 2148. The truth is, businesses everywhere are engaged in a constant […]
How Bizcash is helping one of SA’s leading coal traders take his business to the next level.
“Bizcash offer a fantastic service, it’s fast, convenient and far more advanced than any other finance facility I know of. They have helped our business enormously.” Jonathan Erskine has been trading commodities for more than 25 years. In Hong Kong, China, and the UK, he has traded everything from clothing to computers, cellphones to scrap […]
Invoice Discounting vs Factoring: What you need to know
Sometimes an unsual paradox arises in business. You may need to raise cash precisely because your business is productive. For example, you’ve just delivered a major order of your product, when another big order comes in. You accept it, of course, but you require capital to fulfill the new order. The problem is, payment from your first […]
Business Loan Options for the Modern Era
One of the most startling recent developments in the world of international finance has been the rise of Alternative Finance. Worldwide, banks are being left in the dust as a new breed of agile lenders with flexible, bespoke solutions, digital, fully automated platforms, and far lower barriers to entry bring finance to businesses formerly excluded from […]
Understanding Cash Flow To Ensure Your Business’s Financial Health
Cash flow is the lifeblood of your business. Primarily, it comes from customers or clients buying your products or services, but can also come from loans, investor capital, or interest accrued on savings and investments. But cash isn’t just there to make your bank account look more respectable; it’s a crucial component in the growth […]
Qualifying Criteria For Alternative Business Financing
In recent years, a host of alternative financing options have emerged offering loans that are faster, more flexible and more affordable than traditional lenders such as banks. One of the most important advantages of alternative financing is that the lending criteria required by these alternative options are far less restrictive than those that traditional banks […]
The 5 Most Common Causes of Business Cash Flow Problems
Cash is like water. Just like your body needs water every day to survive, your business needs cash to stay afloat. Most business owners are good at selling their services or pushing product, but are less effective at controlling their cashflow. Your business might be profitable on paper, but if the cash isn’t flowing in […]
