SMEs feeling the brunt of the lockdown pain says survey from ITC

SMEs feeling the brunt of the lockdown pain says survey from ITC

Many companies are looking at ways to survive that include streamlining their operation in order to become more profitable and agile. Ensuring that the business stays competitive and has adequate cash flow is key to coming through the crisis. The lockdown has given some business owners the opportunity to look at how their operations have been running and to see where they could make time and efficiency savings.

A survey published by the International Trade Centre (ITC) this week states that it is small and medium businesses who are being hit the hardest by the global lockdown caused by the COVID-19 crisis, with about a fifth voicing fears that they risk closing down completely within the next three months.

The 176-page report was released by the Geneva-based ITC, which is a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation and included findings from survey replies from thousands of businesses in 132 countries between April and June. It points to the large drops in revenue suffered by these companies as a result of the lockdown, and states that the survival of many is at stake.

The report states that while 43% of large firms said that they had been ‘strongly affected’ by the lockdown, this figure rose to two thirds for smaller and micro-businesses. With SMEs being the biggest employers, these figures could have a profound effect on global employment figures. The report goes on the say: “With the majority of global employment depending on the health of small and medium sized enterprises, the future of the global economy will very much depend on how SMEs manage to get through, and emerge from, the crisis. “

Many companies are looking at ways to survive that include streamlining their operation in order to become more profitable and agile. Ensuring that the business stays competitive and has adequate cash flow is key to coming through the crisis. The lockdown has given some business owners the opportunity to look at how their operations have been running and to see where they could make time and efficiency savings.

A key way of helping achieve savings in both time and efficiency is through the use of a credit control and management partner. Late payment of invoices adversely affects cash flow and can become a serious problem for SMEs. Business owners can spend valuable hours away from running the operational side of the business chasing late payment, or delegate the job to staff who are not trained. These late payments can even end up being written off as bad debt.

Partnering with an experienced and ethical company to manage your invoice collection saves time and ensures that your company is paid for the work that has been done.

Daniels Silverman offers a white label, outsourced credit control service which can improve your cash flow before problems arise. Working alongside you, as a part of your business, we are able to remove the time spent on chasing invoices and ensuring payment. We put our clients at the centre of everything we do and understand that both your reputation and relationships with your clients are of upmost importance and work hard to protect both. You get a professional service with a high level of success, and your client has an open line of communication to resolve any queries.

If you are spending time worrying about being paid by your suppliers, you’re spending time chasing invoices or you are struggling to effectively forecast your flow, then please do get in touch.
You can contact us via our website where we have friendly staff waiting to discuss your requirements, or you can call us on 0800 953 3632 to find out how we can help.

Get in touch with us today!

0800 953 3631