New research by Hitachi Capital Business Finance has found that small businesses are looking to improve cash flow and get stricter on late payments.
Their latest ‘Business Barometer’ survey was conducted by YouGov in July 2020 and consisted of 1,266 small business decision makers from various industry sectors. Compared to the previous quarter, more small businesses are now planning to keep costs down (61%), improve their cash flow (32%) and get firmer on late payments (27%).
Interestingly, the number of business owners predicating growth in the three months to 30th September, doubled from 14% last quarter to 27%. More than four in five small businesses (83%) are putting specific action plans in place to attempt to secure growth as the lockdown restrictions are eased.
In the last quarter, the hospitality and leisure (96%), manufacturing (94%) and retail (91%) were most likely to perceive barriers to the growth. However, in the new figures, these sectors are working the hardest to bounce back, with four in five businesses putting plans in place to grow over the next three months.
Director of My Debt Recovery, Sean Husband, commented:
“The sheer determination of small business owners is fantastic to see. There’s a real sense of not going down without a fight and these new figures reflect that. SMEs account for 99.9% of the business population, so it’s great to see their confidence is bouncing back at such an impressive rate.
We’ve seen so many businesses adapting to the current climate, including businesses moving their offering online or completely reinventing their business. As a business that helps others with cash flow and late payments, it’s refreshing to see these important issues are now becoming top priorities.”
If you are looking for help with your cash flow and late payments, contact our specialist team today to see how we can help.