Cashflow management is the monitoring, surveillance, and active management of the actual money coming in and going out of your business. It’s more than what you currently have in the bank, as it also considers the money you are owed by others, any unpaid debts, or scheduled payments you may have.
Additionally, it involves taking actions to maintain the financial health of your business, both now and in the future.
Cashflow management is important all year round, but at this time of the year with annual tax filing deadlines in mind, cashflow management is critical to all businesses. This can be a busy and potentially stressful time for many business owners, however effective financial forecasting, cashflow management, and early tax planning can help reduce and relieve the stress.
By managing cashflow effectively, you will be able to keep your business secure and profitable, while providing the opportunity to forecast investment opportunities, establish company spending and build up an emergency cash fund. Being prepared for all scenarios that may occur throughout the year for your business is vital.
AIB’s Cashflow Solution for your Business: PromptPay Finance
Paying significant annual bills requires planning, and AIB's cashflow solution, PromptPay can support your company to conserve cash for expected and unexpected expenses. With PromptPay, your business can spread large one-off expenses, such as your annual tax bill or pension payments across six to eleven months.
To gain a better understanding of PromptPay, we posed a few questions to AIB’s David Cotter, Business Advisor, on why he recommends PromptPay to his business customers.
Can you tell us a little bit about PromptPay?
PromptPay is an effective and cost-efficient way to help businesses and SME customers to spread large annual bills into manageable monthly repayments. By availing of the facility, it protects cashflow and provides certainty for our customers on repayments over an 11-month period. It also ensures customers can plan/budget for the year ahead without the added requirement to have significant cash reserves available to pay large annual bills in one payment.
Why do you recommend PromptPay to your customers?
PromptPay helps our customers in protecting cashflow and budgeting for their other offerings. It helps to ensure that they have a manageable monthly repayment at a fixed rate. It is especially beneficial to businesses who operate on a seasonal basis. The pressure on cashflow for these businesses can be quite evident, who without PromptPay, may see cash reserves quickly diminished due to paying out large one-off bills in a lump sum payment. PromptPay enables these one-off payments to be spread across six to eleven months.
What are the benefits of using PromptPay?
PromptPay is quick and easy to set-up and the ability to sign via DocuSign is a major plus for customers. We regularly get feedback on the how quick the turnaround is and how easy the draw down process has become. This has ensured our PromptPay facility has become one of our top products for SME customers.
AIB Business Banking Customer Deerpark Haulage speak on their experience managing cashflow with PromptPay
Deerpark Haulage Ltd is a family run business, which was set up in 2006 by Joe and Priscilla Dolan. Deepark is a specialised transportation company with extensive knowledge and expertise in their area. Since being established, their aim has always been to provide transportation services to a loyal customer base. With a fleet of modern, well-maintained trucks, they have developed a reputation for ensuring safe and timely transportation for businesses nationwide.
Running a family business brings significant responsibilities specifically in managing finances, profit, and loss and cashflow. In the dynamic and ever-evolving landscape of modern business, the optimisation of working capital is critical in ensuring growth and maintaining financial stability. Managing Director, Joe Dolan emphasised the important role that AIB has played over the years when it comes to managing cashflow.
“We have had a strong banking relationship with AIB for several years. It was our Finance and Leasing Representative Peter Muldoon who first introduced us to PromptPay, explaining its benefits and ease of use. PromptPay allows us to have short term financing so we can have flexibility and liquidity, helping us stay operational during every season, handle cashflow fluctuations, and seize growth opportunities without being locked into long-term debt”.
When asked about their experience with PromptPay, Joe spoke positively about the process. “We will continue to use PromptPay going forward. It is an easy product to use, and it allows us some flexibility to make larger purchases with a short-term repayment, that has a clear fixed rate. Peter helped us initially, and now it is a very simple process that we use frequently. We would highly recommend PromptPay to other businesses.
Allied Irish Banks, p.l.c. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.