Get the down-low on cash flow at Xerocon London

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We all know that cash is king – and having more of it flowing in than flowing out is key to helping business owners sleep at night. In fact, according to Xero’s business insights analysis, on a month to month basis, barely half of businesses are cash flow positive.

So what better place than Xerocon London 2019 to meet some of the top apps helping businesses – yours included – improve cash flow?

We’re so pleased to welcome our gold sponsors to Xerocon, each vital members of the fintech community. Together with Xero, these seven apps support the improvement of business cash flow for partners and clients.

But first, who are our gold sponsors?

GoCardless – an easy way to collect recurring payments
iwoca – finance solutions and business funding
MarketInvoice – invoice finance and business loans
Practice Ignition – client engagement, proposals and payments
Receipt Bank – capture, process and share financial documents
Soldo – prepaid company cards that automate expense reports
Stripe – online payment processing

Read on to learn how our Xerocon London 2019 gold sponsors can help you and your clients keep the cash flowing.

Start by getting your house in order

Making sure your firm’s cash is flowing is vital to supporting your clients with theirs. Why not start by taking a look at Practice Ignition, which lets you create a flawless process from proposal to getting paid.

“Debtors and late payments don’t exist because of bad clients, they exist because of broken processes,” says Trent McLaren, Head of Accounting & Partnerships at Practice Ignition. “Lock in your payments process at the point your client officially becomes a customer and you’ll eliminate the heartache that would normally follow.”

Make it easy to get paid

Both Stripe for card payments and GoCardless for direct debits aren’t just great solutions for your clients, they’re also excellent tools to help your practice take control of when you get paid. Both integrating beautifully with Xero, they’re two apps well-worth checking out at Xerocon.

“All too often, businesses focus on just whether they got paid or not, rather than questioning whether the payment methods they employ are a good fit for their business model,” says Colin Price, Partnerships Marketing Manager at GoCardless.

“Aligning the way you get paid to your business model, rather than letting your customers dictate how they want to pay you, is a rapid way of getting visibility, predictability and crucially control of your cash flow,” he says.

Getting the right data in

“The first step to improving your clients’ cash flow is providing an accurate and timely insight into their finances,” says Oliver Smith, Director of Partnerships at Receipt Bank. “And the key to doing that is getting the right data in.”

Data capture tools like Receipt Bank make it simple to capture, process and share all financial information instantly. Automate the manual data entry of bills and expenses, but also provide a more accurate platform of data which can act as the foundation for offering proactive cash flow related support to businesses.

“We pull the data you need with market-leading accuracy, so you have more time to focus on consulting,” Damien says.

Monitor the money going out

A popular exhibitor from Xerocon London 2018, Soldo helps make client spending simpler with prepaid cards that automate expense reports. The cards come with limits and budgets for complete control, and prompt users to snap receipts and complete expense reporting whenever the card is used.

Darren Upson, VP of Small Business at Soldo, says accountants need to support their clients with cash flow by providing instant access to insights on their cash position.

“Whilst cash collection is critical for a business to survive, understanding more about the money leaving the business is fundamental to long-term success. It’s simple arithmetic – if the money going out is more than the money coming in, you’re going to have problems,” Darren says.

Accessing finance when it’s needed

Businesses trust their accountant to support their cash flow and growth. That’s why staying up to date on the latest news and trends in the lending space is vital for industry professionals.

“By knowing about the different alternative lenders that offer finance, accountants are in a perfect position to help businesses improve their cash flow,” says Richard Sutton, Head of Accountant Relationships at iwoca.

Anil Stocker, CEO at MarketInvoice, says almost all businesses face long payment terms from their customers.

“This creates cash flow pressures that stall businesses from growing, taking on new projects or just having the ability to pay their staff. As key advisors, accountants will know their clients cash flow position at any given time, placing them in the driving seat to help boost working capital – whether that be a business loan or invoice finance,” Anil says.

“Without a cash flow buffer – or access to credit when needed – small businesses are restricted by their ability to take advantage of new opportunities and grow,” iwoca’s Richard adds.

Want to learn more about supporting your clients with their cash flow needs and getting it right for your firm? Be sure to visit our gold sponsor stands at Xerocon London 2019.

And if you haven’t got your ticket yet, you can get 20% off yours at checkout using the promo code XC20. Visit xerocon.london for more.

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