If you manage finances, you know that staying on top of cash flow is a key to success. With economic downturns and global events, cash flow management is still a significant battle for many agencies and businesses.
We’ve put together some tips for riding out a cash flow slump to keep you in the green and ready for any event.
Use your credit card strategically
You have probably heard about the “up to 55 day interest free period” your credit card offers. But what exactly does this mean and how do you take advantage? It is “up to” because the amount of interest free days available depends on what day of your billing cycle you complete the purchase. For example, you would get 55 days interest-free on purchases made on the first day of the billing cycle, 54 on the second day and only 1-day interest free if you purchase the day before the statement for that billing period.
To be eligible to receive interest free days, you must repay your account’s outstanding balance in full by the due date on your statement.
How do you know your billing cycle to take full advantage? You can find your Statement Period on your Credit Card Statement – each statement period runs for about 30 days with 25 days from when your statement period finishes to the payment due date (hence 55 days).
Here’s an example of a statement period that runs from 15 June.
- 15th June – The statement period begins.
- 16th June – Purchase for 55 days interest free.
- 30 June – Make another purchase for 40 days interest free.
- 15th July – The statement period ends.
- 9 August – Payment due date. Pay the closing balance in full.
- 30-day Statement Period
- 25 more days to pay
- 55 Days in total
Eligible Purchases – Don’t forget interest free days may only apply to eligible purchases. Exclusions typically apply for government payments (e.g. paying the ATO) and other bill payments. Best to check the T&Cs or use a payment platform like B2Bpay that allows credit card payments and point earning on all types of payments.
Reduce your expenses
Reducing your everday agency expenses is a great way to balance finances when facing unexpected issues, for example, delayed tenant payments, excessive building repairs or urgent maintenance.
Take a deep look at all agency expenses. Print it out if you can and analyse each expense. Look for anything you could cut out or renegotiate. The process can be lengthy but the benefits can equal significant savings over time.
Open more payment options
Don’t let limited payment options available to tenants and landlords hinder your cash flow.
Ensuring individuals can pay via various payment methods like Credit Card, PayID, BPay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PropertyPay Later can speed up the receipt of payments owed.
Stay on top of your receivables
To stay cash flow positive means you need to keep cash coming in as quickly as possible while holding back on expenses for as long as possible.
A great way to do this is to ensure tenants pay rent fast and on time. Payment platforms like Rental Rewards can help you stay on top of rental payments via automatic direct debit, auto-retry and SMS/Email reminders to help you keep cash available for expenses like property repairs and maintenance.
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Rental Rewards: Revolutionising the rental payments
Rental Rewards offers a payment portal that empowers agents to accept various payment options like credit cards effortlessly. With zero setup costs, useful rent collection features and tenant rewards, agents will find a lot to like.
- A complete and proven solution – Simplify payment processing, edit tenant details, action rent increases, collect payments and reconcile statements in ONE platform.
- The BEST credit card solution – accepts all card types with the lowest credit card fees in the market, plus a no charge back guarantee and faster clearance times.
- You and your tenants get rewarded – Agents and tenants can both enjoy bonus Qantas Points and Ambassador Club offers.
- Never miss an opportunity to get paid – Offer payment flexibility to tenants by allowing them to pay via Credit Cards, Bank Account, Diners Club, PayID, PayTo, PropertyPayLater, Google Pay, Apple Pay and BPay.
- Get the tools to help you get paid faster – Set up automatic direct debit payments through Set & Forget or remind tenants to pay using SMS or email via YesPay.
