increase your productivity

Keep an organized inbox and improve your productivity

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Feeling overwhelmed by your inbox? Falling behind with your to-do list? Being strategic with your email can improve your productivity and help you get more done.  

increase your productivity

This year has brought many changes to where we work and how we communicate with co-workers, clients and prospective clients. In the new virtual workplace, staying productive and connected with your team has become even more vital. But one thing that isn’t going away is email.

Prior to COVID, having an overloaded inbox and receiving countless unwanted messages every day was already a top concern. Now, email communication has become even more frequent and can pose a real roadblock for those trying to remain resilient in an uncertain market.

Fortunately, there are a variety of tools and strategies available to help busy professionals declutter their inboxes and get more done throughout the workday. With a clean inbox, you’ll spend less time checking emails and more time working on the things that really matter to you and your business. Ready to improve your productivity? Keep reading!

Check your email regularly — but on a schedule

When your inbox is full, it’s easy to avoid checking your email and dealing with the long list of messages you haven’t seen yet. On the other hand, the first step toward a better email experience is simply making this a regular part of your workday.

Try checking your email roughly three times each day — once in the morning, once at night and once during the day. Give yourself ten or fifteen minutes to respond to any urgent messages or any that you can reply to quickly.

Limiting yourself to a series of quick email sessions makes it easy to notice when unwanted content is taking time out of your busy schedule. It also allows you to turn off notifications and stop being preoccupied with emails throughout the rest of the day.

Mass unsubscribe

As mentioned above, one of the most frustrating parts of having a crowded email inbox is not being able to unsubscribe from all your newsletters at the same time. These messages cause unnecessary clutter and make it more difficult to access the content you’re actually interested in.

Luckily, there are now free and low-cost options available to facilitate mass unsubscribing. The Clean Email tool includes a feature that makes it easy to view all of your email subscriptions in one place and remove yourself from any newsletters you no longer want to receive.

Schedule in-depth replies

While you can typically manage to respond to most emails in a couple of ten to fifteen-minute sessions each day, some messages require a more thoughtful reply. Setting aside time to respond immediately will cut into your workday, so consider adding time to your weekly schedule just for long-form emails.

Two or three days each week should be enough to get to all outstanding emails without feeling overwhelmed. Take time at the beginning or end of these workdays to think carefully and write the perfect reply. Finishing this task all at once at a scheduled time will prevent it from interfering with the rest of your routine.

organized inbox

Set up filters and use folders to stay organized

Organizing incoming content by category is one of the best ways to make managing your inbox easier — and it’s easy to personalize this process based on your own unique needs. A number of inbox management tools provide features to automatically filter future emails, taking this tedious work out of your hands.

Start by designing your own rules for incoming emails, then apply them to future content. From there, you’ll be able to quickly scan each category without having to dig through unrelated or unwanted content.

Have a plan for each email

With these strategies in mind, you should be able to categorize each email as soon as it comes in. The longer you leave incoming messages without a response or filter, the harder it gets to come back to those messages later in the week.

Instead, group each email into one of three categories. First are the unimportant emails you can archive or delete immediately — this includes anything you don’t need to respond to right now (or ever). Next are those that you can manage with a quick reply, which you should always do immediately. Finally, the more in-depth messages mentioned earlier should be moved to a separate folder with a firm response deadline. This gives you a plan for each email as soon as you receive it.

Managing your inbox can be confusing and time-consuming, but cleaning up your email can be surprisingly simple. Just remember that having a strategy for managing emails will help to improve your productivity and is worth the investment. 

 Ready to take the next steps towards re-engaging your contacts in the new virtual world? Read these top tips.

At Liquid Capital, we understand what it takes for small, medium, and emerging mid-market businesses to succeed – because we’re business people ourselves. Our company is built on a network of locally owned and operated Principal Offices, so whenever you’re talking to Liquid Capital, you’re talking directly to your funding source and a fellow business person. Learn more about the Liquid Capital Difference.

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Bankers and alternative lending referral partners are a winning combination

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Working with alternative lending referral partners can have many long-term benefits for banks and their commercial customers. 

Bankers and alternative lending referral partners

As a commercial bank lender, you know that your referral network — and the relationships behind it — drives your success. With many banks making recent changes to their lending criteria you may have already noticed current customers and prospects coming to you with urgent funding needs — including requests that might not fit into the regular lending box.

With a strong network of lending partners, you’ll not only be able to maintain your bank’s book of business, but also fuel its growth.

As part of that network, aiming to develop referral connections with trusted alternative lending partners can have many benefits. If your prospective customers run into a challenge of not being able to meet your bank’s lending criteria, but are otherwise financially healthy, your alternative lending partner could be another option.

How can you get started building a referral network to help you build strong customer relationships? Keep reading for four ways you can lay the groundwork for long-term success:

1. Start the conversation internally

Many traditional banks may shy away from forming referral partnerships with alternative lenders because of bad experiences or news stories about deals gone wrong. If you’re a banker looking to branch out, it’s worth starting the conversation with your management team to see if they’d be open to the idea. Investigate whether there are any internal guidelines that prevent you from forming the relationships in the first place.

2. Make it easy to communicate

As a banker, you’re probably hidden behind a few layers of protection in the form of branch receptionists, telephone extension numbers and bank sub-brands. This can make it difficult for alternative lenders to reach out to you, whether it’s the first contact or even a regular email touchpoint. (Cue those corporate firewalls!)

Instead, make sure your alternative lender contact has your direct phone number wherever possible. Let them know when your information changes so they can stay in touch — especially if you move companies. This will help everyone proactively get in touch and then act decisively when opportunities are referred in either direction.

Bankers and alternative lending partners — Client success

3. Stay involved in the funding process

While your bank may not be directly funding your client’s current needs, staying involved in the funding process is beneficial to your clients. It ensures they’ll continue to feel supported by their bank and, at the same time, the alternative lender gets better visibility into the relationship.

That visibility also keeps your bank top-of-mind with the alternative lender because it’s a positive conversion for them. An ongoing dialogue and reciprocity between you and the alternative lender allow for a cohesive approach in providing the customer with the highest level of service.

4. Stay in touch — even beyond business!

This classic piece of relationship advice applies to bankers too: stay in touch with your referral partners even when you don’t have anyone to send their way. Checking in on your lending network during a slow period can spark future lending opportunities, but also engages them in ways that make them feel valued and not just another name on your list.

Send them a quick note with some useful information, reach out to congratulate them on a recent success, or use the time to find out more about the lender since they may have introduced new products in the time you’ve known them.

For today’s bankers, it’s all about developing relationships — with potential customers and referral partners. These partners, including alternative lenders such as Liquid Capital, can step in and provide funding when your customer doesn’t currently meet your bank’s criteria. With these tips, you’ll be able to create and sustain relationships with alternative lenders such as Liquid Capital and continue to increase your customer base.

If you’re a banking professional that’s interested in extending your network to offer additional and augmented funding solutions to your customers, learn more about the Liquid Capital Bank Alliance Program

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Financiamientos recientes – Noviembre 2020

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invoice payment terms

Invoice payment terms: What are they and why are they important?

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Getting paid can be difficult for B2B businesses. Here’s what you need to know about invoice payment terms so you can maintain a consistent and healthy cash flow.

invoice payment terms

Fiscal needs vary from business to business. However, the need to get paid is consistent for every organization.

Invoice payment terms help ensure you get paid every time and on-time when you bill your clients. You can communicate when and how you expect to be paid for your product or service, indicate preferred payment methods and also outline policies for missed or late payments.

Why getting paid on time matters

Getting paid can be a challenge for many businesses in the B2B space. That’s because almost 63% of sales in the industry are made on credit.

This puts a lot of pressure on business owners and CFOs to come up with funding to run their business. That’s why they rely on invoice payment terms to create a predictable payment schedule that will allow them to calculate a precise cash flow.

Invoice payment terms are a crucial part of your billing as they can drastically reduce fiscal challenges and allow for better budgeting and financial forecasting.

What is the standard payment term on invoices?

Invoice payment terms indicate how you expect to get paid, and should include details such as:

  • the due date
  • accepted forms of payment (i.e. credit cards, check, electronic transfer, etc)
  • the preferred currency you deal in (when working with international clients)
  • charges for late-payment or missed-payment

You can customize payment terms based on the industry you operate in, and how your business is set up. However, here are 12 commonly used invoice payment term examples:

 

Invoice payment terms

Definition
Net 7 Payment is due seven days from the invoice date.
Net 21 Payment is due 21 days from the invoice date.
Net 30/60/90 Payment is due 30, 60 or 90 days from the invoice date.

Longer payment terms are common within certain industries. If customers require longer terms, the company could consider utilizing invoice factoring (see below) to accelerate needed cash flow into their business.
Upon Receipt Payment should be made immediately when the client receives the invoice.
PIA Payment in advance — the client must pay a certain amount upfront, before receiving the product/service. This can be a deposit or down payment.
COD Cash on delivery — also called “payable on receipt” is when clients are expected to pay at the time of product/service delivery.
Contra If your customer is also someone you do business with, you can use a contra invoice. A contra term offsets a sales invoice against a purchase invoice, or when a purchase invoice becomes a payment.
EOM Payment is due at the end of the month when the invoice is received.
CIA Cash in advance — the client must pay the full amount on the invoice before receiving a product or service.
15 MFI Payment must be made on the 15th of the following month of receiving the invoice. MFI means “month following invoice”.
2/10 Net 30 If a client is billed a Net 30 invoice, and they pay their balance in full within 10 days, they get a discount of two percent.
Interest Invoice Charge to clients for making a late payment or failing to make a payment.

Businesses apply this term if they want to encourage customers to make a one-time payment by the due date and to recover costs from an interruption in the payment schedule.

 

Invoice factoring is an alternative funding solution that allows you to sell an unpaid invoice to a third-party factoring company for a slight discount. Businesses that have to wait for one, two or three months to get paid often sell account receivables to inject and maintain cash flow. The business will get immediate working capital, not having to wait for the client to pay the invoice, and they will not incur any debt.

Using invoice terms to your advantage

Without proper invoice terms, your customers might fail to remember—or intentionally delay— paying you.

Choosing the right terms will not only protect you from payment negligence but can also make your clients take you seriously. Here are some best practices to remember when you’re setting up your terms or revamping your billing process:

  • Make sure the invoice is clear and easy to understand by the recipient. Using the standard invoice terms mentioned above will help you make it clear on your bill as to how your customers should pay you.
  • Your customers are business owners too, so be realistic and flexible about your terms and conditions.
  • Discuss late fees with your customers and come to a mutual understanding of what is acceptable and what’s not.
  • And lastly, don’t forget to thank your customers for their business!

At Liquid Capital, we understand what it takes for small, medium, and emerging mid-market businesses to succeed – because we’re business people ourselves. Our company is built on a network of locally owned and operated Principal Offices, so whenever you’re talking to Liquid Capital, you’re talking directly to your funding source and a fellow business person. Learn more about the Liquid Capital Difference.

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Cash flow tips from top-performing CFOs

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Every CFO knows that cash is king! So give your company’s coffers the royal treatment with these top cash flow tips.

Cash flow tips for CFOs

Your cash flow forecast will be the life force of your future business strategy. And as your company grows, you’re likely taking on more debt or wracking up expenses—making it more challenging to get additional financing.

Don’t get backed into a cash flow corner. Here are some great cash flow tips from five CFOs that have been there before and their advice on cash flow management.

1. Prepare cash flow projections

Jonathan Gass – Founder & CEO – Nomad Financial

“A well-run business should build a 13-week cash flow forecast that takes into account the exact week in which a payment is expected to be either received or sent out. It gives management the ability to understand their cash needs over the next quarter and make smart decisions about how to manage their working capital and when to make active decisions to stretch it out.”

2. Manage cash flow with separate accounts

Jody Grunden – CFO – Summit CPA Group

“Most small businesses manage cash flow by looking at one master bank account. With just one account, it can be hard to stow money away for taxes or for other projected expenses. It can also be hard to understand the health of your cash flow on a regular basis. What I’ve found to work well is to have three separate accounts, each with a different purpose.”

Gain better control over your cash flow by using an operating cash account for everyday expenses, a cash reserve account for emergencies and a tax reserve account to ensure you have enough money to pay the taxman at the end of the year.

 

3. Allocate resources strategically

Brad Halverson, CFO of Caterpillar

“An important responsibility of a CFO is resource allocation — where the company is investing its time and money. To do this well, the CFO needs to first get their hands dirty in the field by gaining an understanding of where and how the company is positioned to compete for business by adding value to customers.”

4. Benchmark operations

Ken Goldman, CFO of Yahoo

“For a number of years, we benchmarked best practices. By tapping into both internal and external knowledge, we were able to better map accounting and transactional functions and measure their competitiveness and effectiveness across operations. Benchmarking every operation allowed us to compare and analyze so we could align our structure over time.”

5. Improve cash flow management

Eliana Salazar – CFO of AWE

“These four steps will help you improve your cash flow: ask for the longest payment terms possible, monitor the account receivables, consider alternative terms of financing, and constant negotiations with your suppliers and contractors.”

Bonus cash flow tip:

Know how to communicate the numbers

Carol Tomé, former CFO of Home Depot

«It’s one thing to know your numbers, but it’s another to make sure your teams, including fellow C-levels, the Board and investors, pay attention to the right ones.

During my first presentation to investors as Home Depot’s CFO, an investor on the front row fell asleep. He wasn’t fighting nodding off… he didn’t close his eyes for just a second… he didn’t have a glazed look in his eyes. He fell asleep and fell off his chair.

After that, I understood immediately that you can know the numbers and the strategies behind them better than anyone, but if you can’t communicate well and tell your company’s story in a way that engages the investor and analyst community, you are toast.

I vowed from that moment on to become a master of connecting with my audience, and it’s something I push my direct reports to do as well.»

 

Up Next: Ready to put these cash flow tips into action? Use these 7 proven cash flow tactics to manage your cash flow.

At Liquid Capital, we understand what it takes for small, medium, and emerging mid-market businesses to succeed – because we’re business people ourselves. Our company is built on a network of locally owned and operated Principal Offices, so whenever you’re talking to Liquid Capital, you’re talking directly to your funding source and a fellow business person.