Confidence in the Australian business landscape has taken a positive turn. Dun and Bradstreet Australia's Business Expectations Index has increased for the fourth quarter of 2016, rebounding from falls in quarters two and three. For the three months to December 31, 2016, the Index sits at 17.9 points, which is up from the Q3 figure of 12.3 points. However, Q4 2015 had much higher sentiment, finishing at 21.8 points.
With sentiment up for the end of this year, there are some external factors that have caused the increase. The Brexit vote impacted global economies, and the stability that Australian markets have experienced since then is pushing the Index higher.
The Brexit vote impacted global economies, and the Australian markets have experienced stability since then.
Dun and Bradstreet Economic Advisor Stephen Koukoulas also suggests that the end of the Australian election campaign has brought some certainty back to selling prices of stocks.
"There has been an impressive and welcome surge in business expectations in the post-election period. Expected profits, employment and sales have all jumped sharply, which bodes well for the economy over the second half of 2016."
While the Index is up and confidence is high, is your business feeling the effects? It might be that you haven't seen profit margins increase or stock sales skyrocket, and while competitors are surging ahead, you're just trying to make ends meet. That's not the end, however, as invoice finance solutions from Earlypay can help.
Invoice finance working to boost consumer confidence
Other businesses in your sector may have rebounded well from the election, seeing increased turnover and having money to play with in terms of growth and development. If the same uptake in sales didn't happen for your business, then don't stress.
Debtor finance is on hand to help, and by taking control of the unpaid invoices in your company, Earlypay can provide your business with a cash injection up to a percentage of the total you're already owed. From that point, we collect the payments, take a fee from the total, and provide you with the remainder. That means you don't have to wait for other businesses to pay you, and can expand or buy new technology without restriction.
How is your business planning to invest?Dun and Bradstreet's Trade Payment Analysis from July 21, 2016, shows that after record-lows, businesses are taking longer to clear their invoices. In Q2 of 2015, the average payment time was 49.2 days. The corresponding figure for this year is 44.9 days, but is over the record-low from Q4 of 2015 (less than 44 days).
If you're being forced to wait for clients and customers to pay you for goods or services you've already provided, then growth opportunities might be slipping away. To avoid this, it's important that you have enough working capital to grab hold of opportunities as they come up, and implement them to keep your business growing.
Working capital for the digital age
Increasing investment in digital services will lead to an increase in return of $100,000.
There are so many advancements in technology that could be helping your business to keep pace with competitors, or even set the pace yourself. The Deloitte report, entitled SMBs in the digital race for the consumer, suggests that 50 per cent of all sales will involve digital technology in the next five years. Increasing investment in digital services by just 1 per cent will also lead to an increase of $100,000 in returns.
Unfortunately for some businesses, regardless of the general sentiment around the industry, implementing either of those things is not a possibility.
Turning to Earlypay will make it one. Having the required funding to achieve your business goals is vital, and that's exactly what we provide.
To learn more about how invoice finance can help your business to either keep up with competitors or pull ahead of the rest, get in touch today.
If you'd like to learn how Earlypay's Invoice Finance & Equipment Finance can help you boost your working capital to fund growth or keep on top of day-to-day operations of your business, contact Earlypay's helpful team today on 1300 760 205, visit our sign-up form or contact [email protected].