Skip to content

How many readers like change?  Do you remember the constant barrage of doom and gloom surrounding the Millennium Bug or what about GDPR?  Let us face it, in general we all fear changes that may interfere with our comfort zone.

The “B” word has been with us for 2 years and, personally, I have adopted the position of why write about it?  After all, nobody knows what post EC departure means so anything written pre-Brexit surely must be rhetoric or simple guesswork.  Admittedly, the older generations know what it was like before we joined but times have moved on since then and the economic World is vastly different.

So, let us focus on what we do know.

I bet when asked about your salary you cite your gross earnings.  However, gross earnings cannot be taken into account when it comes to paying the bills; you have to look at your take home pay and hopefully it is sufficient to meet your domestic needs.  Similarly, in business there seems to be a heavy focus on the level of turnover rather than the net profit or, more importantly, cash flow and the ability to meet debts as they fall due.

Through 2018 the average amount owed to a company was £80,141 rising to £82,000 for professional services.  Late payments are the most significant threat to SMEs and the longer they remain unpaid, the higher the risk of an inability to collect.  If your business had to write off £80,000 how much additional business would you need to secure in order to recover that loss?  Going back to the salary scenario if your employer paid you late could you still meet your debts as they fell due?  There is little difference.

At PBC we would say most of our clients have suffered from poor cash flow.  Some are due to poor credit control, some through a slow burn as the business suffers for one of many reasons, while others fall victim to a one-off catastrophic write off.  In one particular case PBC are handling the company suffered a 7-figure debt as their customer went into liquidation, bringing the company to its financial knees.  Thankfully, the director took early advice and we had time to restructure his company via a company voluntary arrangement, safeguarding all of the employees and the company going forward.

So, our message to you is Brexit is currently uncertain whereas cash is king.  Look after your cash controls and let Brexit unwind in whatever format it is destined to take.

Should you have an insolvency-related issue or a corporate dispute then please contact Gary Pettit and PBC Business Recovery & Insolvency on (01604) 212150 or email to garypettit@pbcbusinessrecovery.co.uk