Improving cash flow is the top priority for small businesses over the next year, it has been claimed.
A report by Bibby Financial Services states that 58% of small business owners were planning to devote more time to company finances and minimising the threats of bad debt and late payments.
“Getting customers to pay on time and making the most of early settlement discounts, vowing to improve cash flow management is one New Year’s resolution that they would be wise to keep,” said David Robertson, chief executive of Bibby.
However, a further third of business owners said they also intended to work fewer hours over the next year, and over half of those surveyed vowed to spend more time with family.
Skills training for staff featured much lower on the list of priorities this year, with a 10% reduction of the number of business owners planning to develop the skills of their workforces.
“Although many owners and managers have expressed good intentions to spend more time with their families and work shorter hours, it looks as if next year will be another very busy one from a business perspective and I suspect such noble gestures will be pushed aside as 2007 progresses,” added Robertson.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2006
