6 Ways to Optimize Your Budget as Transportation Costs Rise

Freight costs are rising across the board, whether you are using trucking, rail, ocean shipping, air cargo or another option. Not only is shipping less reliable than it has been in the past, but the strapped supply chain is also asking for more in the way of rates and fees. 

If you’re facing increased freight costs then it is natural to turn to your budget to see how you can make it work. Here are our tips for optimizing your budget to better handle these costs and keep your margins stable.

Volume-Based Discounts

Shipping more may seem like a counter-intuitive solution to your problem, but it can work. Many carriers offer volume-based discounts. In fact, some will even offer free shipping if you’re over a certain minimum order. If you can ship more to get a better deal, it is worth looking into it. Note that you don’t have to necessarily have a larger inventory for this. If you work with multiple shippers, moving all of your product or materials to one may make it more affordable overall.

Focus Your Products

When volume won’t work, narrowing what you ship will. Many retailers are focusing on cutting out products that do not perform as well as their core products. Sometimes you may even need to consider whether your core products are performing as well as they should. Whatever is selling well, make it your priority to have it on the shelves or in stock. Cut whatever isn’t performing well (doesn’t sell more than five units per month or isn’t carried in at least half of the markets).

Introduce new products in this market very carefully. Track your data so that you know sooner if a new product is performing well enough to merit its shipping costs.

Self-Distribute

When you don’t have something in stock that a customer needs, you may lose them entirely to a place that does. That’s why we’re seeing some retailers end up buying their stock at the local Costco, just to deal with shipping instabilities. When you can self-distribute as a temporary measure, it can make sense to keep your customer base loyal.

New Suppliers

Finding local suppliers for your materials may reduce your shipping costs substantially. Even if you have previously looked into local options, you may find that their prices are now more competitive, and that their delivery will be more reliable in comparison to our current freight woes.

Increase Your Prices

Sometimes you should not absorb increased costs. If your shipping rates have raised substantially, this may be one of those costs you simply should pass onto your customer. However, you should focus on doing this with caution. Driving away customers with sudden spikes in prices is not wise.

Dispute Resolution

It is costly to have delayed and missed shipments. One way you can give your budget a break is to have a dispute resolution method worked out with your shipper, in your contact with them.

Do you need to make your business and budget more flexible? J D Factors can help with invoice factoring services. Find out more today.

Invoicing Innovations for SMEs

Are you looking to streamline your invoicing? Handling invoicing by hand is time-consuming and occasionally creates costly errors. Every year, new technologies and software are released to help SMEs with limited resources handle their invoicing more efficiently, avoid miscommunications, avoid accounting errors, and spend less time on paperwork. 

Here are a few we think you should know about:

Cloud-Based Invoicing

With the cloud, you can always have quick access to any invoices that you need to look over, even using an app on your phone to do so. You can get real-time updates about the status of your accounts receivables, too. Cloud-based invoicing eliminates the needs to have paper invoices as well as the cost to print, send and store them. It also makes sharing invoices across team members simple.

Online Payments

If you deliver invoices in person or send them through mail, online payments will be a significant upgrade for you. Online payments make things more convenient for your customer which can encourage them to pay you faster. With online payments, when your software detects that the payment has been made, your whole accounting system can be automatically updated.

Online payments are also ideal for international clients, especially because they are available 24/7.

Automation  

Many aspects of invoicing can be immediately performed by your software through automation. After your client’s appointment is completed, software can automatically send out their invoice without your input. Software can automatically remind clients about unpaid invoices, automatically update your accounting team about partial payments, and do so many more actions that otherwise you’d have to pay someone to perform.

Artificial Intelligence

You can take your invoicing to the next level with artificial intelligence. Some software offers predictive intelligence that can help you spot errors with invoicing, refine your estimating and billing processes, and even generate more revenue. Some artificial intelligence even offers tools to help you reconcile accounts, get payments from clients who are late, and encourage early or on-time payments. You may be surprised at all of the features invoicing software can offer through artificial intelligence.

Other Features

When you invest in invoicing software that offers any of the above, you will often also get access to other features that help your business be more successful. You may be able to track project completion, calculate customer lifetime value, see when your average customer pays and get better, up-to-date information about your cashflow. Chances are, invoicing software will help you see just how critical managing your invoices and accounts receivable is to the overall success of your enterprise.

Choose Invoice Factoring

Of course, you don’t have to do all of your invoicing yourself. At J D Factors, we can handle the more challenging aspects of managing your accounts receivables. You send your invoice to us instead of your client, we pay you within 24 hours, and we handle all of the further contact with your client. We follow-up, send reminders, collect payment, and even handle non-payment and bad debt. Reach out to us at J D Factors to make your invoicing simpler and more reliable than ever.

5 Easy Fixes for Common Payroll Errors

For most businesses, payroll is a huge expense. While businesses in the service industry generally have higher payroll costs, it's fair to assume that 20% to 30% of your gross revenue will be spent on payroll. It's important to be precise and accurate whenever you're dealing with such a huge chunk of money. Consequences for late payments, missed deductions, and more can add up and eat into your business' bottom line. Here are some common payroll errors and easy fixes to help you get the most out of your payroll.

1.      Remit Your Payroll on Time

Missing deadlines for payroll remittances to the CRA is a costly mistake that's commonly made. The CRA can fine you 10% of the total of the late remittance for a first offense and 20% for a second offense in the same calendar year. The later you are, the more interest you are charged.

Although it's costly, it's easy for a business to lose track or forget to file payroll remittances on time. Outsourcing payroll is one simple way to avoid these late penalties.

2.      Know if a Person is an Employee or a Contractor

You can get into trouble if you pay employees as if they are contractors, especially if you're audited by the CRA and they determine that the arrangement is more like an employer/employee relationship. If you classify the relationship incorrectly, you could end up being liable for the CPP and EI owing on whatever amount was paid to the person. Visit the CRA's Employers' Guide to learn more and ensure you're classifying the people who do work for you correctly.

3.      Deduct CPP, EI and Income Tax from Overtime Pay

If you're paying employees overtime, you still have to deduct CPP, EI and income tax from that overtime pay. The way you should pay overtime depends on the pay period. Whether the amount owed is paid in the same pay period it was earned or paid in a later pay period will depend on how you pay it and what deductions you make. Talk to your accountant of visit the CRA's Employers' Guide to ensure you're paying overtime correctly.

4.      Pay CPP on Commission

In some situations, you may pay an employee commission after they sell something, which can happen irregularly. In this case, to determine the maximum CPP contribution amount, you have to prorate the annual basic exemption amount for CPP for the number of days in the year between the commission payments. Otherwise, you may pay CPP incorrectly and be stuck making up the difference later on.

5.      Ensure You've Got the Cash for Payroll

Let's face it. Payroll can put a huge strain on your cash flow. Talk to J D Factors about invoice factoring, which is a great solution to ensure you always have the cash available to pay your people on time.

Correcting these costly payroll errors will help you avoid having to pay more than you need to. With your payroll under control your cash flow will be too, which is a critical part of a strong, healthy and growing business. Give the team at J D Factors a call for more cash flow tips! 

5 Tips to Reduce Your Operating Costs

What you pay for the day-to-day operations of your business is called your operating costs. Understanding these costs and working to reduce them where possible is important to have a more successful and financially stable business. 

Problems such as poor cash flow and small margins can be reduced if you focus on spending less money on running the business. However, you have to reduce operating costs carefully to be sure that you don’t sacrifice the quality that you deliver to your clients and customers. Otherwise, you’ll undermine your company’s reputation and growth. It's a tough balancing act, but here are five tips to help you reduce your operating costs without negatively impacting your business.

1. Start with Software

Many owners of small and medium sized enterprises do things by hand when there are software options that can do it for them. When you use software, you save yourself and other staff time, promoting efficiency and reducing your operating costs. There are many different software options to consider, including those for marketing, accounting, customer relationship management and more. Consider whether you’re spending a lot of time on something a computer could handle for you.

2. Outsourcing

Staffing is a huge cost, so you should also consider outsourcing where you can, not just to save on staffing costs but also to get better results than you might be able to achieve yourself. A specialist in a field may be able to get you better marketing results, better legal advice, and more. Their guidance can help you make better use of your resources, saving you in the long run.

3. Change Suppliers and Vendors

You likely have a strong relationship with your suppliers’ vendors, but it is simply good business practice to also look elsewhere to see if you can lower your costs. If you have ongoing orders at a supplier, then you may be able to negotiate a discount for your business. Or your supplier may be willing to match lower prices that you’ve found elsewhere.

Consider setting up a quoting process and getting at least two other quotes. This will help keep your vendors competitive even if you keep choosing them over other options. Be sure that you’re providing enough information that all of your quotes are accurate, or newcomers may underestimate the job and quote too low (which could cost you money in the long run).

4. Lose the Office Space

Do you really need to have office space, or at least as much as you do right now? By allowing employees to work remotely, you can significantly reduce your operating costs. You don’t need to sacrifice connectivity to do this. There are plenty of online tools to keep you in touch with your employees and monitor their progress on assigned tasks.

5. Energy-Efficiency

Perhaps you have to have an office space to meet customers or host employees? Then you can try to reduce your costs by making the office more energy-efficient and green. Better insulation or HVAC equipment can reduce your monthly utility costs.

While many of these tips may increase your up-front costs temporarily, you should find that they overall lower your operating costs enough to make up for this, and then benefit you, after several months. In the end you’ll have a healthier cash flow and stronger business overall. Invoice factoring can help with that too. Reach out to us at J D Factors to discuss how.

 

Cash Flow Mistakes SMEs Should Avoid & 4 Easy Solutions

You need to buy supplies, pay staff, and make investments. But suddenly you don’t have enough cash on hand for these necessities. Cash flow sputters like this can significantly impact your business, so much so that you miss out on contracts, are late to deliver, drive away your best staff and struggle with other problems. For many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), most cash flow issues are the result of a handful of common mistakes that are easy to correct. Here are four things your SME should do to avoid common cash flow problems.

1. Conduct Regular Cash Flow Projections

If you know that a cash flow problem is coming, you can change your decisions to get your business on the right track. The key to seeing problems coming is to conduct cash flow projections. Many different accounting programs include options to project your cash flow. You can also project it yourself with basic expenses and accounts receivables information.

2. Finance Major Purchases

If you need to invest in new equipment, property, or other major purchases, don’t dry up your cash reserves to do it. You need the flexibility of having cash on hand. Look into financing options for all of your major investments. It may cost a bit more, but it also enables your business to be more financially flexible and take advantage of opportunities.

3. Regularly Check Your Profitability

If your business isn’t profitable, then you will inevitably struggle with cash flow. Even if you were very profitable the last time that you looked, it's important to review your finances regularly because things can quickly change. Check how profitable you are and look for ways to boost your profitability. You may need to charge more for certain services or products, focus more on selling what’s most profitable to you, or reduce your expenses. Regularly checking your profitability is a wise idea to streamline your business and prevent major problems before they pop up.

4. Keeping Good Invoicing Practices

When you get paid will dramatically affect your cash flow. In order to get paid as quickly as possible, you have to have strong invoicing practices. That means making payment terms clear to customers from the outset, sending out invoices as soon as you can, demanding payment in 30 days or less, following up on invoices that are late, and using strong collections tactics. If you work with fewer, larger clients and can afford to be selective, it is wise to take on only the clients who pay well. Also, you can consider offering stricter terms (such as higher late fees) for clients who routinely pay late.

What If You Are Still Having Cash Flow Problems?

Some businesses have to wait a long time for payment, manage large projects, and deal with other inherent problems that make managing cash flow more problematic. Factoring can help you manage your cash flow better so you can build a more robust business. You’ll get your money within 24 hours of issuing your invoice and be able to use it immediately. This can also benefit you by reducing the time and resources you spend on invoicing and collecting. Contact J D Factors for more information on how invoicing can help your SME regain control of your cash flow.

Canadian Businesses Struggle to Access Financing Amid Covid-19 Response

The COVID-19 response continues to strain small and medium-sized businesses in Canada. The uncertainty makes buying supplies, paying for new safety features, and even paying staff a struggle for many. While the Ontario government stepped in to offer financial support to businesses, many are still waiting.

Delays in Government Funding

According to the CBC, as of this April, Magdi Bazara, owner of the 3 Cents² Coffee Shop and Eats to Go, was promised funding that never arrived. Both businesses were granted $10,000, but the money didn’t come through. In March, Bazara then learned that his application for the Coffee Shop was deemed ineligible after the fact, without any explanation as to why. Being out $10,000 that you had counted on is a struggle for any business.

The CBC has several examples of businesses that are still waiting for the bureaucratic machine to fulfill its promises. For example, Steve Quay, owner of Quay Communications, has been waiting for a government grant he was approved for since January. As many business owners are no doubt doing, Jones is pouring his personal money into his business to try to keep it afloat in the meantime.

The government admits that while 108,000 businesses received their first payment, 35,000 have not yet received their second. An informal survey conducted by NDP MPP Jessica Bell found that 85% of the business owners she spoke to have not received their funding yet.

Gaps in Government Grants

Government funding isn’t just slow--it also has strict eligibility criteria that leaves many struggling businesses in the lurch. For example, Ontario’s Main Street Relief Grant for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is only for very small businesses with 2 to 19 employees. Sole proprietors with no employees and small businesses with 20 or more employees don’t qualify for this support.

Other grants have minimum revenue loss as their metric for eligibility. For example, the now-closed Small Business Support Grant required businesses to demonstrate a 20% revenue drop in April 2021 specifically. However, this was in response to a lock-down measure starting in December. The government did not really offer support to businesses that struggled over Christmas, unless the effect was so severe it lasted into April.

An Alternative: Invoice Factoring

If you find yourself ineligible or still waiting for government financing for your business, we have the financial solutions you need. Invoice factoring is a strong alternative to government loans. When you send out an invoice to J D Factors, we make sure that you have access to the cash from that invoice in 24 hours. That response time means that you can be more flexible, make better decisions, and be certain that as long as you can invoice, the cash will keep coming in.

Our services are particularly valuable as these economically uncertain conditions continue. J D Factors offers non-recourse factoring, which means we handle collection efforts from your clients and don’t ask you to return your money to cover bad debt due to a client's bankruptcy. Reach out today to discuss how invoice factoring can help you manage risk and keep your business open.

What You Need to Know about the Emerging B2B Ecommerce Market

Some B2B companies already had ecommerce sites set up to serve their customers. However, with Covid-19 preventing most traditional in-person sales, even more B2B companies are adopting an ecommerce model that allows customers to order much in the same way as B2C consumers purchase items on sites like Amazon. According to Forbes, B2B ecommerce has become one of the fastest growing segments for both new and established companies. Forrester Research projects that B2B ecommerce will make up 17% of all B2B sales in the United States by 2023.

If you’re considering creating an ecommerce site for your company, there are a few things to consider. Making the move from a personal, face-to-face sales process to an online one can boost convenience, and works especially well for companies that need to connect with younger buyers, but it has its pitfalls too. Here is what you need to know about B2B ecommerce.

General benefits of moving to ecommerce

Larger customer base: Moving online allows you to access a much wider base of customers. So long as you can ship your product or offer your service in their area, you can reach them online. Ecommerce is a key tool to expand your business.

• Convenience for customers: Customers find ecommerce to be highly convenient. They can access the store at any time, see their past purchases to buy again more confidently, look through product specifications at their leisure, and use new payment options.
• Avoid credit card fees: The world of ecommerce provides access to other payment options that may charge you less in terms of fees than traditional credit card providers. Some of your customers may prefer to avoid using credit cards as well.
• Customer loyalty programs: It can be easier to implement a customer loyalty program through an ecommerce site. These programs provide their own benefits to you, like providing a wealth of customer data and intelligence.
• Competition: As ecommerce has not been adopted widely across all industries, it may be a great opportunity for you to get a leg up on the competition.

Potential issues when adopting ecommerce

Starting up an ecommerce site for your business can be rewarding but is expensive and also brings risk, like any business change. You can protect your business from these issues ahead of time if you consider them first.

One issue is meeting customer expectations. Delivery expectations for clients are higher when they are buying online. They compare the experience to consumer-facing ecommerce and expect quick shipping, fast updates on shipping progress and more.

Web development has its pitfalls as well. You’ll need a highly intuitive and functional website right from the start, or you could deter customers who have bad experiences using your website's new functionality. You’ll also need a platform that is secure to protect your customer’s information.

Creating a website that can meet these needs can be expensive. Invoice factoring can help you build up the cash reserves to afford a quality website right from the start, by giving you access to your revenue the moment you send out an invoice. Many businesses work with companies like J D Factors to fund their growth and development, too. With invoice factoring, the factoring company pays you what you invoice your customer, minus a fee, and collects from the customer on your behalf. In the meantime, you can use that cash to fund initiatives like developing an ecommerce website.

J D Factors offers factoring services that can help you grow your business with ecommerce solutions, or in other ways. Contact us today to learn more.