Good riddance 2020 … Hello 2021!
This time last year no one could have predicted the year we would have in 2020.
As we’re now well into January, we’ve said good riddance to a year that has had the biggest negative impact economically, socially, and on health in a generation! We’ve started the year off with another lockdown, so with this in mind what does the financial landscape look like for businesses and what options will there be to help them navigate the next period of the pandemic?
Prediction 1- Government Support
We expected the government to extend their existing support for businesses which they have done until March 2021.
Prediction 2 – Alternative Funding
An extended scheme is all well and good, but a lot of businesses will have already taken the maximum amount of funding available on the scheme so accessing traditional financial support such as overdrafts and loans will be difficult. Facilities some businesses have never used before will become more prevalent such as invoice finance and trade finance giving businesses access to their cash sooner and easing cash flow worries. You can read more about Invoice Finance in one of my other articles: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-financial-support-available-my-business-during-pandemic-whyte/
Prediction 3 – Bespoke funding
As alternative funding becomes more widely used, the one size fits all approach of loans and overdrafts will give way to more bespoke facilities that are tailored to work effectively with a business’s core activities.
Businesses will be able to use bespoke to Invoice finance facilities flexibility to draw down on large invoices a couple of times a year or even choose the percentage of an invoice they want to draw down on.
Prediction 4 – Diversity and flexibility
Businesses installing or providing large assets such as air-con units or LED lighting will need to be more flexible or may struggle to win new business due to cost.
Working with a finance partner gives them the flexibility to offer the customer affordable monthly payments to close a sale.
The supplier will still receive their money upfront from the funder and additional revenue from a referral scheme with the finance partner.
Like everyone, we at real5 Finance hope that 2021 sees us return to some form of “normal” and allows businesses to diversify and grow as the year progresses.
We can provide guidance and access to all the funding options we have detailed so please get in touch on: Enquiries@real5finance.com or call 01925 918970