Review your business finances and save thousands of pounds! Series 1 Review of The Business Finance Podcast!

Hello,  

Episode 12 is the final episode of The Business Finance Podcast Series 1. 

We are reviewing each of the 11 episodes we have released so far and the theme this week therefore is reviewing your finance facilities. 

As we look back through the episodes we are highlighting the key takeaways from each show, including the following:

• Benefits of The Growth Guarantee Scheme
• Using Invoice Finance for Start-ups and Growing Businesses
• Using Corporation Tax and Vat Loans
• Growing your business via acquisitions
• Refinancing expensive business loans 
• Assessing finance options before submitting tenders
• The case for protecting your revenue with Bad Debt Protection

Here is a link to each episode:

Unsecured Loan or Growth Guarantee Scheme? - The Business Finance Podcast - Episode 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zija083SiGM

How To Fund Your Growing Business - The Business Finance Podcast - Episode 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcOraykqyCc

Protecting Profits In The Construction Sector - The Business Finance Podcast - Episode 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrvnMhvnwUY

Solving A Manufacturers Cash Flow Problems - The Business Finance Podcast Episode 4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neohwU-Kx64

How To Fund A Growing Haulage Company! - The Business Finance Podcast Episode 5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b8Ev9EbKN0

Corporation Tax Loans and Vat Loans Explained - The Business Finance Podcast Episode 6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEsW0XZ1LFg

Thinking of Buying or Selling a Business? Interview with our Mergers and Acquisitions Specialist - The Business Finance Podcast Episode 7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xTeiujcWNk

Construction Special - What opportunities does the 2024 Budget bring to UK Construction Companies? The Business Finance Podcast Episode 8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTEF8KqDeBc

BOOST Your Cashflow NOW - Funding your Courier Business - The Business Finance Podcast - Episode 9
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsl-F8Ta6Rw

Financing Secrets to Make Your Recruitment Business Boom in 2025! - The Business Finance Podcast - Episode 10
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZR-CxviAZ8

The best way to Protect Your Business from BAD DEBTS - The Business Finance Podcast #11
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnSMi30AyLk

Thank you to everyone who has watched and listened to our first series of this Podcast, we have some great ideas lined up for series 2. 

Please like any of the episodes you found useful and kindly subscribe to our channel. 

If you have any business finance requirements, please arrange a call via our website www.thebestgroup.co.uk 

Thanks for listening!

Transcript

Review your business finances and save thousands of pounds!

16 Dec 2024, 15:19

Review your business finances and save thousands of pounds!

(0:01) The Business Finance Podcast, brought to you by the Best Finance Group. New (0:06) episodes every Friday. Hello, welcome to episode 12 of the Business Finance (0:13) Podcast.I hope you're all well. You're not very well today, you're not feeling (0:17) yourself, are you? I'm not 100, but just off a little. The pod must go on.The pod (0:22) never stops, does it? No, that's right. This is episode 12, this is the series finale. (0:26) Yeah, so today we're going to review, I was trying to work out a theme like the 12 (0:31) days of Christmas.I was trying to work that in, but well, the best I could come (0:35) up with was the 12 tips for business. 12 tips for business. So we're going to review the (0:40) 11 episodes that we've done so far.We're going to just take out some key (0:45) points that I think are the best things that were raised from those (0:48) episodes. So we're just going to quickly run through that and yeah, hopefully (0:53) that'll be a nice way to finish the season. We might have a (0:56) Christmas special next week that we're working on, but... Christmas special, wow, (1:00) that's one to tune in for.That is one to tune in for, but let's be able to keep that (1:03) under wraps at the moment. Yeah, there's a few things we've got to get sorted, but (1:06) anyway, let's crack on. So thank you for those who've watched us and listened to (1:11) us this year.We've had 50 downloads of our podcast. I was looking at Buzzsprout, (1:17) they sent us the stats yesterday. So thank you to all those who've downloaded and (1:21) listened to the podcast or watched the podcast.Especially hola to our friend (1:26) whoever you are in Venezuela that's been listening to our podcast. So thank (1:29) you very much. Get in touch in the comments, tell us why (1:32) you're listening and if you've enjoyed the episode.So thank you to you (1:36) and everyone else. So let's crack on then. So we're going to review the podcast so (1:40) far.Episode one was unsecured loans and the growth guarantee scheme. So the (1:46) takeaways from that episode really were, I think the growth guarantee scheme, the (1:50) government's loan scheme, is a great option if you look into whether refinance (1:55) exists in loans. And that's to take away their personal guarantee and not to (2:02) have your personal, your primary residence as security.So yeah, so we've (2:07) done quite a few of those. Any growth guarantee scheme deals stick out (2:11) in your mind from this year? Yeah, some absolute highlights in there really. (2:16) Ones that were trying to achieve higher amounts of funding.They were either (2:20) trying to consolidate debt or they were achieving funding that they (2:25) wouldn't have been traditionally been able to get. So the growth guarantee (2:28) scheme is still there and actually, yeah, it's a real gem. So capitalise whilst it is (2:34) there.And the reason that they potentially wouldn't have got that or (2:38) why the lenders are able to offer that is because the government offers a 70% (2:42) of that loan guaranteed to the lender. So they are able to go, okay, maybe there's (2:46) some borderline cases that we wouldn't normally have funded but we can fund (2:50) because of this guarantee. Yeah.So tip one is consider the growth guarantee (2:54) scheme for consolidating loans and removing PG's from existing borrowing. (2:59) Okay, there we are. So episode two, we were talking about funding a growing (3:02) business.In that episode, if you remember, we were talking about funding a (3:06) new start recruitment business. We were talking about using invoice finance and (3:10) that's the same for any startup or any business that's growing quite (3:16) quickly. Invoice finance, as long as you're providing B2B invoices, you're (3:21) selling to other businesses, even if you're a new start and even if you're not (3:25) a homeowner, that's probably the funding choice most accessible, would you say? (3:29) Absolutely, yep.New start recruitment agency, factoring, absolutely massive. (3:35) Gets them off the ground and can even put payroll into it as well. So out (3:39) the box, all they've got to do is place their workers, everything else is done.(3:42) Happy days. So tip two is think about invoice finance to help your (3:47) startup or growing business. Episode three, we were talking about protecting (3:51) profits in the construction industry.So we were talking about ISG and their (3:55) collapse and the fact I think we said it, I think it was last week when we were (3:59) talking about bad debt protection. I think there's over 300 million pounds (4:02) worth of debt to subcontractors that's not going to be paid, unfortunately. So (4:09) yeah, we've talked about bad debt protection and we'll come on to that but (4:12) really construction industry, we said it's been a tough year and it's all about (4:15) protecting those profits, isn't it? Yeah, key industries, as you say Phil, (4:18) construction, absolutely bad debt protection every day of the week.If not, (4:23) pretty much all industries to cover yourself against those bad debts, (4:27) instrumental. Yeah, and really it's more about as well their construction (4:31) finance, which is specialist invoice finance for construction companies that (4:36) can really help with the cash flow as well. So we covered up both those points.(4:39) Tip three, construction companies consider invoice finance with bad debt (4:44) protection. Episode four, we talked about manufacturers and yeah, so I think (4:49) it was a loan you did for the manufacturer we talked about in that (4:53) episode. Yeah.But manufacturing, typically why do manufacturers need (4:58) finance? Manufacturing in any business that is producing goods always struggles (5:02) for cash flow, so loans, unsecured loans, which can be accessed quickly, easily (5:07) and got the flexibility of repaying the loan early, free of charge at any point, (5:11) is really beneficial. Yeah, I think we talked about revolving credit facilities (5:15) and also supplier finance. Yes.So if you have got a really large invoice to pay (5:20) for materials, you can use supplier finance. How does that work? They'll pay (5:24) that. They'll essentially buy the goods in for you.Yeah, you spend it over 10-12 (5:29) months. Okay, so tip four is consider revolving credit facilities or supplier (5:34) finance to help with the cash flow, whichever industry you're in. Okay, episode (5:39) five, we talked about funding the haulage industry.Yeah. Yeah, which we do a lot of (5:43) and again, we talked about the different strains on your cash flow if (5:49) you're a haulage industry. Yeah, weekly wages, always never-ending fuel (5:54) increases and can be very tight margins on big contracts.Yeah. But there is high (5:59) turnover and there is very good margins to be taken from certain particular jobs. (6:04) Yeah.How do you mitigate against cash flow stresses, unsecured loans and it's (6:08) got to be invoice finance, either through factoring or invoice discounting? (6:12) Yeah, and actually it's worth mentioning with asset finance as well. So if you are (6:17) often buying vehicles... Trucks, trailers. Yeah, sometimes you might just use the (6:23) same lender and that's what we were talking about in that episode.You might (6:25) just use the same lender because it's quick and easy and you haven't got time, (6:27) but actually there's things like credit lines that you can get. So you might get (6:30) a credit line of a million pounds for the whole year and you can just, you only (6:34) have to do the application once and you can just draw down, right, I need (6:36) 150,000, I need a new van, I need a new truck. Can you just draw it down and it's (6:41) very, very, very, very quick and it's good fees on that as well.Yeah. So that was (6:45) that one. So the tip was consider using a broker for asset finance, unsecured (6:52) loans, whatever it may be.We can steer you in the right direction. So (6:57) episode six, we had a lot of feedback on this and this was corporation tax and VAT (7:03) loans. So we were basically talking about the different four quarters of the (7:07) year that can be a struggle for some businesses meeting that VAT payment and (7:12) corporation tax sometimes, not all business owners know exactly what's due (7:17) at the end of the year.You're hoping for the good news from your (7:21) accountant that the corporation tax is going to be manageable and sometimes (7:25) it's not. And I had one in yesterday, £115,000, corporation tax, (7:31) home care, so domiciliary care business, said to me, Jack, my accountant's just let (7:36) me know I've got £115,000 corporation tax in January. Can you help me out (7:41) please? Can I get some form of business loan? Said to the client, I can do better than that, (7:45) we'll get a specialist corporation tax loan, 8% per annum, spread over 10 months, (7:50) happy days, we've put in the application, should hear back today.Yeah. Massive. (7:55) Fantastic.So they'll pay HMRC and then you just spread it over there. Direct (7:59) debit and the interest that you pay is tax deductible for your next year's (8:02) corporation tax. Yeah.Everyone's aware. Fantastic. So yeah, VAT loans, corporation (8:07) tax loans, tip six, don't leave yourself short of cash, use a tax loan and spread (8:12) the payments.So there we are then, episode seven, we had young Alex in, talking (8:17) about business acquisitions, buying and selling businesses, that was a good episode. (8:20) Yeah. So, and he's been quite busy, Alex, hasn't he? Absolutely.You do a lot of (8:25) business acquisition work yourself. Yeah. So acquisitions are a very large part of (8:30) what we do on a day-to-day basis, buying and selling.So we can exclusively act for the (8:34) buyer or sell a business exclusively or do both. So yeah, and it's a very popular time (8:42) at the moment, still a lot of people retiring and I've got three share acquisitions at the (8:47) moment whereby there's multiple shareholders, one is buying out another. So it can not only (8:53) be new people coming into the business and taking over, it can be existing businesses, (8:58) a share purchase, so two directors, one buying out another.So just tell us then about, it's (9:04) not just helping someone to sell their business, I think it's really interesting when you help (9:08) people to find a business to buy. Yeah, we do a criteria and we can do a bespoke search (9:14) to find that perfect business for that business owner. So then you approach them on your client's (9:19) behalf.So that's the way it works. Yeah, absolutely. So upon application, we can talk (9:23) through with any client that's looking or any person looking to buy a business, we can talk (9:28) them through the process.Yeah, and that'll save a lot of time. Yes. And you've got a really good (9:32) team around you of accountants and solicitors that have done many acquisitions for you.So (9:37) we've got specialist acquisition partners that can facilitate that whole thing for you. Yeah, (9:41) so you've got a whole team. If you're thinking of buying a business as well, what about buying (9:45) the business that you're working currently? I think this is what people don't realise.So an (9:49) MBO, so you can do a management buy-in. If you're a senior manager position in that current business, (9:54) you can absolutely buy that business which you work in. And that application is always stronger (9:59) than an MBI, a management buy-in.Why? Because you know the business, you work in it and you (10:05) understand it. So if you do work in a business and the opportunity is there to buy it, speak to us. (10:12) And we can help out.And the good thing for the business owner, if you're selling the business (10:16) to staff, if it's a staff buy-in, it's very much tax friendly for them, isn't it? Yeah. There's (10:23) always tax efficiencies which can be capitalised on. Most importantly, noting up until April is (10:29) the key time to do it.So if you are thinking about doing it, now is the time. Why is it key (10:33) up until April? Because your accountant will be able to advise, but if there's the business asset (10:39) disposal relief, which essentially means if there's cash in the business, being able to take (10:43) it out through an acquisition in the most tax efficient manner. Fantastic.So tip seven, consider (10:51) buying a business to speed up your business growth. Episode eight was a construction special. That was (10:57) a budget reaction.And we were talking about the different infrastructure projects that were going (11:03) to be taking place due to the budget. And I was speaking to my Ted, I was speaking to Ted the other (11:09) day about he's got a facade and cladding business. And that was one of the things we talked about.(11:16) Things like that, these projects, these high-rises need their cladding replaced. There's a lot of (11:22) scope for anyone supplying green materials, eco materials into that space. And these are the type (11:27) of businesses that we'll be speaking to over the next couple of months.So we discussed that, (11:30) and we'll put the link to that episode in the notes at the bottom. We were talking about if you're (11:36) going for tenders to get your finance in place beforehand. So if you think we're going to go for (11:40) a big tender, that's right up our street.Don't go and win it and then wonder how you're going to pay (11:44) for it, how you're going to finance it. Really start early. Say, look, this is what we're thinking (11:49) of doing.We're going for a bigger tender than we normally would go for, but we're concerned about (11:53) cashflow. What could we get? Here's our business accounts. Tell us what you think of the limit we (11:57) could get.So tip eight is look for finance before you go for tenders. Episode nine was funding (12:05) couriers. So again, we were talking about, because a lot of people will start up a courier business, (12:12) and if you've just got one van and you're on something like a courier exchange or the same (12:16) day courier network, that it's quite difficult.A funder likes to see a bit of a spread of risk. (12:21) So I think what we were saying was it can be done. It's quite difficult.So we're trying to (12:27) say, get some private clients. Don't try and have a mix of courier exchange work and private (12:32) clients. And obviously the more vans you've got, you can show that you've got plans to bring on (12:37) another driver in the next couple of months.It just helps build the case. And again, it's about (12:42) spreading the risk. So yeah, that was funding couriers.So yeah, just the tip nine, try and (12:47) find clients independent of the courier exchange. That'll boost your chances of getting funding. (12:52) Episode 10, again, was recruitment finance.And we did talk about the big deal, which was a deal (12:59) of the week. Deal of the week. Deal of the week.And it was about, we saved about £60,000 for a (13:05) recruitment company looking to bring all their payroll and back office in-house. And we saved (13:10) them, eventually it's going to be about £60,000 a year by bringing that in-house. Tip 10, compare (13:16) the market and consider bringing your payroll in-house.Yeah. Brilliant. We can help you do (13:22) that.Right, nearly there. Episode 11 was all about bad debt protection. I thought that was a (13:28) good show that.It was so important. Yeah, vitally important. If you've got invoicing out the door, (13:34) particularly large amounts to single people, or you are project-based, so you have a lot of large (13:42) invoices to certain customers, having bad debt protection in place is a must, in my opinion, (13:48) because if that customer weren't to pay, would that drag you down? What effect would that have (13:55) on your business? If it's negative, absolutely get bad debt protection in place.Again, at minimal (14:02) fee. I think there was one, was it 6 million turnover? And it was about £13,000. That was (14:07) the quote.Sounds about right. Yeah. So there we are.So bad debt protection, I think is going to (14:12) be really important. There's going to be quite a few businesses struggling up there next year, (14:15) so just protect that revenue as much as you can. So tip 11 is get a quote for bad debt protection.(14:22) Episode 12 is this episode that we're on right now. And we're reviewing our podcasts over the (14:27) last three or four months. So I think tip 12 would be review your finances.Yes. There's so many people (14:35) this year that we've helped either refinance really expensive debts or change their invoice (14:41) finance facility from very expensive to reducing their fees, using the growth guarantee scheme to (14:47) take away the personal guarantees and removing your primary residence. There's a lot we've done.(14:55) So tip 12 is review your finances. Speak to us. We'll do it for you.You can just get in touch (15:01) with us via the website and either Jack or myself will personally have a look and have a chat with (15:06) you. Just review everything because every penny counts next year. It's more important than ever.(15:11) The predictions are there to show that there's going to be business growth, which is really (15:16) good and really positive. However, managing overheads, as you rightfully said, is absolutely (15:22) key. Base rate is due to come down.So use this time between Christmas and New Year when it's (15:27) quieter for a lot of businesses. So like you said, Phil, review your finances, review everything on (15:32) your P&L in your business and look where you can make savings and then look where you can make (15:38) investments to fuel growth. If that is funding to get to where you need to be, get in touch because (15:44) we can help you and there is options available.I would say it's very, very quick for us to do a (15:50) review. So if you want a no obligation review, if you say, right, this is what I'm paying for my (15:55) finance facility, what can we do? Give us your debtor book, give us your accounts, show us what (15:59) you're paying at the moment. We'll go to the market.That's what we do. We'll come back and (16:04) we'll present the best options for you. So really, it's probably going to take sort of 10, 15 minutes (16:07) of your time.You could save thousands of pounds. So it's worth doing. Again, if you've got lots of (16:12) expensive loans that you've taken out when you were growing and when you started up, (16:17) just send us a list of the loans you've got, what your payments are, what's outstanding.(16:20) Send us your last six months bank statements. Send us your accounts. We'll go away.We'll find (16:25) out. We'll say, well, there you are. That's what it would be.It's free. There's no obligation (16:30) and it could save you thousands of pounds. So I think the message is, why not review it? We're (16:34) happy to do it for you.Get in touch at thebestgroup.co.uk. Right. So what do you think (16:39) then? That's a good place to leave it. That's brilliant.How do you feel about the podcast? (16:43) It's quite an interesting experience, isn't it? It's good. Yeah. And it's really humbling to see (16:47) we've got over 50 downloads.We've got a small following there. And hopefully we're actually, (16:52) by the people that you guys are watching here today, we're adding value and you can pick up (16:56) some tips that you can implement into your business. Because for us, that's where we get (17:01) our enjoyment from, isn't it? Yeah, absolutely.Seeing the success of others. Yeah. So yeah, (17:06) we hope it's been useful.We'd appreciate any comments. Comments, just let us know how we're (17:11) doing. If you've got any questions you want answered, let us know.We're off out tonight, (17:17) aren't we? It's a Christmas party tonight. So we're going to Alcatraz in Bristol. So we're (17:22) going to be locked up, aren't we? Shout out to Alcatraz in Bristol.Yeah. So it's going to be a (17:27) good night. So I hope you feel better.I've got my own paracetamol on you because we need you on top (17:31) form tonight. So yeah. So look out for the Christmas special next week.And I just want to say a (17:37) little thank you to all our introducers. Yes. Because we had a nice drink with a lot of them (17:42) last week and that was a really nice gathering in Bristol.But yeah, we get some really brilliant (17:47) clients pass to us and it's so nice to be trusted, to look after their clients and to make a real (17:53) difference, make savings, make life easier. So it's a big thank you to all our introducers out (17:58) there. And we're always looking for more introducers.So please get in touch if you've (18:02) got any clients you think we might be able to help. So that's it from us. He was Jack Seymour.(18:07) He's Phil Murphy. And we'll see you on the next one. Thank you.(18:11) Thank you for joining us. If you have any commercial finance requirements, (18:15) please contact us at thebestgroup.co.uk