Aug 29
adminUncategorized Business, Business Owners, Cash Flow Problem, Climate, COMPANY, Company Insolvency, Current Account, Debts, Economic Times, Economy, England And Wales, First Quarter, Five, Flow 2, Foreseeable Future, Insolvency, Insolvency Service, Liquidation, Overdraft, Realistic Deadlines, Senior Managers, Signs, Urgent Action, Warning, Warning Signs, Year Given That
The first quarter of 2009 saw difficult trading conditions for many businesses across the UK. The official Insolvency Service figures showed that in the first quarter of 2009, the number of companies being put into liquidation in England and Wales increased by over 50% compared to the same quarter in 2008. Many analysts are predicting that the economy is not likely to improve until the end of the year.
Given that the pressure on business seems likely to continue for the foreseeable future, it is vital that directors and business owners make sure that they are vigilant about the trading status of their companies. One of the duties of directors is to ensure that the company that they are running does not trade if it is insolvent. If directors allow their company to trade while knowing that it is insolvent, they may be held liable for the business’s debts which are generated from that time onward.
If you are busy with the day to day running of a business, it is all too easy to overlook the signs which would indicate that the company is at risk of trading while insolvent.
However, this situation can be avoided if you ensure that you have good and regular information about specific areas of your business. I would suggest that during these difficult economic times, directors and senior managers take special notice in the following areas:
1. Make sure that you receive regular reports regarding the status of the company’s current account. If the account is permanently at the limit of the overdraft then urgent action needs to be taken to improve cash flow.
2. Is the business holding on for one more sale, contract or big customer to solve the cash flow problem? In the current climate, you must realistically forecast the possibility that this event will not happen.
Give yourself realistic deadlines after which alternative action must be taken.
3. Have your accounts and annual returns been posted late? If so, you need to understand why this is and take appropriate action. It may be a simple mistake. However, in times of financial difficulty, the accounts department will often be distracted by other pressures and overlook accounts filing deadlines.
4. Often when a business is getting into financial difficulty, VAT and PAYE/NIC payments are regularly made late as available cash is being used to pay suppliers to keep the business running. This situation can not be allowed to continue. HMRC will apply for a business to be wound up if crown debts are continually left unpaid.
5. Are you unable to secure new credit or extend existing lines of credit for the business? This situation has become more and more common with the onset of the credit crunch and banks reluctance to lend and expose themselves to further risk. If you find yourself in this situation, you may have to consider other options such as cost cutting.
If any of the situations highlighted above are identified, it does not necessarily mean that your business is heading for failure. Once the underlying reasons for the problems are investigated and understood, it may be possible to resolve them quickly through a change in business processes. If this is not possible and the situation is more serious, then it is important to act quickly.
If you have been putting off difficult business decisions such as a redundancy programme to reduce cost, then a realistic view must be taken as to when this should be implemented. However, before making radical change to your business, my suggestion would be to first take advice from a business advisor with specialist insolvency knowledge. There may be different ways of looking at and resolving the problem which you had not thought about or were not aware of which may better safeguard your business for the long term.
Jul 06
adminUncategorized Agricultural Products, Co Ops, Crunch, Economies Of Scale, Food Service Establishments, Gap, Large Scale, Liquidity, Local Grocery Stores, Middlemen, Natural Food Stores, Profit Margin, Profit Margins, Time Gap, Wholesale Channels, Wholesale Industries, Wholesale Market, Wholesale Marketing, Wholesaler, Wholesalers
In the US most of the agricultural products are sold through wholesale channels. In such a system, small farmers either sell their products in wholesale directly to local grocery stores, food service establishments, natural food stores, or food buying co-ops or to buyers who then resell those products, functioning as middlemen in the marketing chain. So, when we say ‘wholesale’ what do we mean by it or simply what is a wholesale market?
Well, a wholesale market can be defined as a market where the customers buy products in bulk or in huge quantities, but need not be the final customers. They are actually middlemen between the manufacturers and retailers or are retailers themselves who buy the manufactured products in large lots to achieve economies of scale. These products are then sold either to the retailers or to the final consumers directly. These middlemen are integral for wholesale marketing, since not every manufacturer has the network or ability to reach the final buyers to sell their products. The most advantageous aspect of wholesale marketing is that the profit margin in this type of business is generally higher than the small scale markets or the retailers who are the ultimate source from whom the final buyers buy their product.
The working of wholesale marketing is a completely ‘buy’ and ‘sell’ process, where there is no scope of stocking the goods and then selling it though in some markets. It is done where the wholesaler is directly intending to sell his product to the final buyer. As discussed earlier, profit margins of wholesalers are normally higher than the small scale industries because of their economies of large scale buying and selling. They also sell their products to the retailers without much time gap because of which there is immediate flow of cash, which avoids any event of liquidity crunch for the wholesalers. As a result, they can keep on rolling money and make profits. On the other hand, small scale industries are not efficient enough to sell their products in a short period of time from the date of manufacturing because of their inadequate networking. This increases inventory level and heightens operating costs, which ultimately affects their bottom line adversely. Therefore, it makes a lot of sense for the small scale Industries to seek the expertise of the middlemen, as discussed above, to reach their target buyers.
There is another advantage that wholesale marketing has over the small scale industries and that is dependence on raw materials. All these small scale industries, depending on what products they are manufacturing, are dependent on some or the other raw material. Moreover, most of them do not have any captive source for such raw material instead they source it from other small and medium-scale industries. In this way, they are exposed to fluctuations in raw material prices, which take its toll on their margins if they are unable to pass these price hikes to the end customers. A wholesaler, being an intermediary only, does not have to worry about any bottom line hit. At the most he can experience some margin contraction, but definitely minimal losses.
Jun 09
adminUncategorized Green Tea, Gunpowder Tea, Natural Lifestyle
Interested in setting up a home business selling teas? Buying wholesale tea from a distributor is easier than you’d think and you could save a huge amount as opposed to the retail price. This article is a guide to tea, buying your merchandise and finding suppliers for the product.
Tea comes in thousands of varieties and has been drunk since ancient times. It is the second most popular drink in the world (second only to water!) It has, in its various kinds, however, never been more popular than now in the West. Health food fads and an enthusiasm for a more natural lifestyle has led many people to put down their coffees and take up green or herbal teas. This is an opportunity for anyone looking to retail!
Even tea from the same plant as black tea (Camellia Sinensis) can come in a huge variety of forms. Green tea is steamed, rather than fermented. Gunpowder tea comes in the form of rolled-up pellets of green tea. Oolong tea lies somewhere in between green and black. White tea is the least processed of all. Some teas are flavoured, for example with chopped jasmine flowers mixed in with the tea leaves. Aside from all these, there are a multitude of herbal and natural teas (most of which contain no actual “tea”) available – from ginseng to chamomile. Most teas that are sold in the West are actually blends of different kinds of tea, often teas from different parts of the world. Different blending according to the tastes of that country accounts for the differing flavours of black tea found in any given country.
May 04
adminUncategorized
Using search engines like Google and Yahoo have become second nature to most consumers today. Their ability to give us thousands of choices from countless merchants is a convenience never before experienced. For entrepreneurs and small businesses, using these search engines is the first step to finding the right products at the right price. People getting into jewelry retail have a plethora of wholesale and import jewelry suppliers to choose from. This article focuses on how to find wholesale and import jewelry suppliers using search engines.
Which Search Engines to Use
Start your search with Google, as it will bring back the most results to get you started, followed by yahoo which will also bring back a large selection for you to look through. You should find enough leads using just these two search engines; you can try the smaller search engines, such as MSN, Ask, and AOL, if you still haven’t gathered enough wholesale jewelry suppliers to sort through.
How to Search and Get the Best Results
While typing “wholesale jewelry” may be the most obvious way to begin your search, these two terms pull up between 3-4 million hits in Google and will likely have you spending hours going through and evaluating sources that don’t meet your needs. You can save yourself time by being more specific and searching for the certain types of jewelry you’re looking for. So instead of just “wholesale jewelry” you could go with “wholesale sterling silver jewelry” if you are interested in sterling silver, or “wholesale pearl jewelry” if you’re interested in pearl. This tactic gives you a much higher chance of finding wholesale jewelry suppliers that specialize in the particular type of jewelry you’re looking for, and chances are they will have a wider selection at a lower cost than a general wholesale jewelry supplier that carries all types.
Apr 25
adminUncategorized Attribute, Wedding Dresses, Wholesale Women
Dressing aloft for whatever opportunity makes you feel lucky and for ladies having an exclusive attire is their dream come true. The demand is flooded by stylish dresses for ladies and you could find a number of deals that are appealing. Getting women’s dresses is the unparalleled way in which retailers may preserve their store loose with clients.
Buying wholesale dresses is the unequaled channel in which resellers could comprehend a range of ladies garment at discounted costs. Even consumers are delighted to purchase the wholesale dresses by reason of of the wide variety that they provide and likewise the cheap costs that they are ready at. With pleasant quality and reasonable prices at which the wholesale women’s dresses are made available, there is not reason why consumers would not prefer for them.
The similar dress when ordered at an inner showroom might price you a fortune, yet whether you buy them at shops that propose wholesale women’s dresses you can not only save sufficient money, yet also could have a ample range to select away. These wholesale women’s dresses are obtainable for complete the occasions and in distinct materials, patterns and colors. They beautify the latest patterns and fashions hence you could be guaranteed that you’re getting the unequaled deal in the market.
Manufacturers possess the truth that buyers are looking for volume attribute items and so they are making wholesale women’s dresses ready in the market. The target is on the way to evening grown and prom dresses as these market similar newest cakes. Not to forget wedding dresses and dresses for bridesmaid also. The makers try their unequaled to make the women’s dresses accessible according to the requirements of the clients. Apart out of the mass quantity consumers also discern out for the proper attribute of fabric and the color. It is so important for makers of wholesale women’s dresses to preserve the fashion living and fabricate dresses according to the in fashion trends.
Apart from the wholesale women’s dresses just being made available through retail outlets, consumers can directly store for these dresses on the cyberspace. With a number of manufacturers creating it possible for end users to store directly, it has turn into easy for people to purchase wholesale women’s dresses. However, when you store on the cyberspace it is vital that you assess for the payment gateway that is being used beside the website and make certain that it is safe. Also leave through the cargo guidelines hence that whether whatever impairment is seen in the dress, it could be exchanged.
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