Some basic ways to improve your business liquidity

The liquidity of an asset can be determined by taking into account the convenience, when converting it into cash at any given time. For example, an asset is highly liquid if it can be switched into cash quickly and easily, whereas an asset is less liquid if it takes lots of time and efforts to convert it into cash. Liquidity is an important factor, which is considered by investors whenever they are looking to invest. When we talk of business liquidity, it is the ability of some specific business to arrange cash for its daily requirements. A business can be profitable and all, but it can still fail to prosper if it lacks in liquidity department. Business liquidity is necessary to carry routine business operations, for example paying utility bills, wages and fulfilling other obligations.

Cash management and liquidity:
Business liquidity is directly related to cash management that includes budgeting, forecasting, ROI, cash collection & allocation, and the likes. Poor cash management can hurt business liquidity in many ways. Finance managers must consider liquidity risk every time they are looking to invest the capital in any venture; also they need to monitor cash flow closely.

Account Payable & Receivables:
When you’ve got lots of sale and purchase going on credit basis, you need to keep an eye on your account receivable, as well as account payable. The idea is to try and collect payments as soon as possible, while trying to delay payments which are due (while staying in ethical limits and not bullying your creditors). Encourage customers to pay in cash, remember cash is the king, even more so in times of recession.

Don’t stack useless assets:
Some businesses make the mistake of piling up assets that are not really useful at that particular time. These assets can be some seldom-used vehicles, vacant land, useless furniture, inventory or machinery that they don’t need at the moment. Sometimes renting or outsourcing can do the job, therefore you don’t really need to purchase all sorts of equipment every time the slightest need arises.

Choose the right investment:
When the company holds cash that exceeds its present expenditures, the excessive amount must be invested instead of holding (because of opportunity cost). However, the people responsible for choosing investment options must keep the liquidity factor in mind. Try to avoid investments that lack in liquidity, and keep an eye on future expenses as well.

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Which business structure is best for your small business?

There are basically three types of business structures (or forms of ownerships) to start with, and if you are looking to commence a business, you need to study all of them in detail as they are not just different methods to manage a business. Business structure actually plays an important role in many ways. For example, cost of starting and then maintaining a business varies with different structures; then you have this very important objective of minimizing tax payable, another decisive perspective can be the liability factor. You can change the structure in future (e.g. getting into a partnership from operating as a sole proprietor) but it's better to start from the right one, instead of going through the change process later on.

Sole Proprietorship:
The most basic form of small business, where one man starts, manages and owns a business. There's no or minimum start up costs involved, you are the sole possessor of your business and all its assets. However, this sole ownership comes with unlimited liability, which means even your personal assets are at risk in case something goes wrong and a suit is filed against your business. As a sole proprietor, you are responsible to pay income tax on your profits. Apart from the unlimited liability part, sole proprietorship is the most convenient way to start a small business, for example consultancy services, real estate agent, retail store, etc.

Partnership or Joint Venture:
Another very simple form of business structure is known as partnership; in which two or more persons join hands to establish and manage the business. Profit, loss and liabilities are equally divided between all partners (or as per the agreement). Taxation liabilities are same as sole proprietorship, as partners are required to pay taxes on their share of profits, in individual capacity. Just like sole proprietorship, your personal assets are not protected as each partner carries unlimited liability (unless some of them are mentioned as limited partners in the agreement). Partnership can also result in some disputes or personality clashes if all members are fixed at running the business in their own way. Partnership helps two or more people to combine their finances and expertise to form a more competitive business when compared to sole proprietorship.

Limited Liability Company:
Limited Liability Company has characteristics of multiple business structures; it offers tax advantage similar to partnership, while precluding the unlimited liability. Limited Liability Company functions like corporations except that they are not required to offer company shares in stock exchange. Even though the cost of maintenance or establishing a Limited Liability Company is higher than partnerships or sole proprietorships, many smart entrepreneurs still prefer this business structure just because of limited liability clause.

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Valuing a business before investing into it

Business valuation is the assessment of economic value (Fair market value) for that business. You may need business valuation for a number of purposes, for example when you are looking to invest in some business, or planning to buy/sell some enterprise. Business valuation is not only handy when investing into some business, it also helps in taking better decisions when you are getting into partnership with someone or seeking loans for your business. Valuation is normally carried by professional appraisers, first because it is a complex task and needs professionals to do it; second an outside party will provide a more objective and neutral report. However, a better understanding of what contributes into the valuation of businesses will help you to progress into the right direction.

Just like any other financial report, the appraiser or valuator needs to disclose what approach has been applied for business valuation as all approaches have different pros and cons. Three approaches mostly used for business valuation are

i) Asset based approach
ii) Income based approach
iii) Market approach

Sometimes a combination of all of these approaches is used.

Asset Based Calculation:
Anything of economic value, that a business own is called an asset. As the name suggests, in asset based approach a business worth is calculated as the sum of its assets (both tangible and intangible) minus the total amount of its liabilities. These figures are picked from balance sheet. In liquidity based approach, assets are valued by the net amount they can generate in case their owner decides to sell them in the market.

Income (or earning) Based Approach:
Several methods are used in Income based approach, but the most appropriate method is "discounted cash flows". Unlike asset based approach where business is valued by the value of assets, this approach focuses on the future earning potentials. The drawback of this approach is that it depends mostly on the projected cash flows and expected returns, which are not guaranteed to be correct.

Market Value based Approach:
Market value based approach seeks to determine the business value by comparing it to some recent sales of similar type of businesses. There are no real calculations involved and this is merely an estimated value, which relies on the simple demand and supply rule for the markets.

Most experts recommend a combination of these approaches for a more realistic result. There's no single approach that will suit all types of businesses; stakeholders can choose an approach of their liking or leave it to the professional valuator to decide the most suitable one.

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Things to consider when taking out business loans

Starting a business is an exciting experience except for the time, when you get to the stage of acquiring business loans. It's another thing to be all excited about your business idea, but to transmit this excitement into someone else and making the investor believe in your idea as much as you do is something else. And when the person in question is a banker or venture capitalist, the job becomes even harder. Acquiring a business loan for an established business is relatively easy and it should not be a problem if you are maintaining a good credit history. However, the success rate is significantly low when we talk of business startups going out in search of loans. Ironically, they are the one who need it the most.

Critically review your idea:

Before going to the bank or any other traditional lender, scrutinize your business idea from all perspectives. Understandably, you'll be a little biased towards your own idea, for you that's nothing but perfect, but try to think from a third party viewpoint. Are their any statistics, which you can turn up to support your idea? Does your idea complement some ongoing market trends? Are you going to offer some product or service that's already in demand? Better discuss your idea with some of your friends or relatives to get some neutral comments or reaction. More often than not, you'd get some off-putting reminders, try and come up with the counter arguments or plans.

Make a Business Plan to present your case:

You need to present a comprehensive but concise, and fully documented business plan. It will help the banker to understand the prospects of a business, a well thought out plan also represent you as a person who is capable of running a business. The business plan should clearly explain the growth potentials with the help of facts and figures. If you are seeking loan for a business startup, your personal credit history should be clean, because more often than not you'll get a loan on the basis of your personal net worth and guarantee. You can strengthen your case by coming up with estimated Balance sheet or cash flow.

Another thing that will strongly go in your favor is your experience (if you have any) of working at some high-level position at a company that relates to the business you are willing to do. It amplifies that you know the trade secrets and the market for this business.

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