How can you anticipate working capital changes more effectively?
Achieving a balanced working capital position can be quite the balancing act. Excessive working capital does not generate returns, while insufficient working capital leads to payment problems. If you’re faced with unexpected costs or you expect future cash planning shortages, working capital financing can help you maintain a balanced working capital at all times.
What is working capital financing?
Your working capital needs are dynamic. Sometimes your working capital is a credit balance, at other times you’re in the red. If you experience expected or unexpected cash shortfalls, you can fund this temporary lack of working capital with business credit.
Why choose a business credit line?
As the name suggests, a business credit line ensures smooth business operations. You can use it to:
- Cover your day-to-day operating expenses, such as wages, suppliers, raw materials, etc.
- Bridge the gap between your cash inflows and cash outflows
- Cover expected or unexpected cash shortfalls
How can you draw down a business credit line?
There are two ways to draw down a business credit line. Depending on your financial planning and operational requirements, you can flexibly overdraw your business account or you can draw down one or more fixed amounts for a specific period.
Going overdrawn
An advance in current account allows you to overdraw your business account. This option is recommended if you:
- Want to quickly cover unexpected liquidity shortfalls
- Want the flexibility to choose when you’ll go overdrawn
A fixed amount with a fixed term
If you know precisely how much working capital you need and for how long, you can use a straight loan to draw down one or more fixed amounts for a specific period.
A straight loan is a suitable option:
- If you want to anticipate expected shortfalls
- If you can make an estimate of the amount of credit you’ll need and for how long
- For working capital needs starting from 25 000 euros
You can choose to combine a straight loan with an advance in current account.
Commercial benefits of a business credit line
When you order goods or services, you generally pay your purchase invoices in one of these two ways:
- Cash (immediately): you pay the amount at once on delivery or within the agreed payment term. In most cases, you’ll get an additional supplier discount as a reward for your fast payment
- Using supplier credit (later): you receive your order with deferment of payment. Your supplier will temporarily be a lender and will charge interest on the outstanding amount
In other words, the faster you pay, the lower the amount on your purchase invoice. Obviously, this requires that you have the amount available. A business credit line provides you with a financial buffer to pay your suppliers on time, at any time.
If you want to give your customers more time to pay your sales invoices, you can use a business credit line to easily bridge the gap between sale and payment.
Compare your working capital financing options
Would you like an advance in current account, a straight loan, or both? Compare our business credit lines you can use to finance your working capital.