MEDIA RELEASE 18 August 2008
Small businesses should focus more on cash flow
The recent credit market tightness and slowing economy represents a number of
challenges for small businesses. To stay healthy small businesses must look at
ways to improve their cash flow.
Tim Creasy, a Chartered Accountant t and a director of BBX, a business to
business reciprocal trade system, says managing cash flow is crucial for small
businesses to survive in these tough times.
"As well as looking for ways to reduce costs, small businesses should look at
ways to increase their business and keep their cash flow healthy. " said Creasy.
"The advantage of business to business reciprocal trade, like BBX, is a business
can use BBX dollars to pay for products and services they would normally pay
cash for. For example, a restaurant could use BBX dollars to pay for wine,
printing services, signage and cleaning. By taking BBX payment for meals, the
restaurant attracts additional customers they wouldn't otherwise have had and at
the end of the day, the restaurant can end up with an improved cash flow," said
Creasy.
"Businesses can also manage cash flow by monitoring their cash cycle, knowing
what's coming in and what's going out, managing debtor's accounts effectively
and reassessing overheads. If business slows down or in times of market
uncertainty, it pays to streamline the business and look for new ways to get
additional business" said Creasy.
In addition to business to business trading, BBX also offers members a range of
value added services to further utilise their BBX income. These include BBX
Insurance, where members can pay up to 30 per cent of premiums using BBX
dollars. BBX Money offers home loans to members where they can use BBX dollars
as a deposit and members can even use BBX dollars to buy shares for their
self-managed superannuation fund.
BBX CEO, Michael Touma said BBX is about helping businesses grow by thinking
outside the square.
"We've really tried to build BBX in a way that benefits members. It's all about
creating additional income and utilising it in a way that builds a stronger and
healthier business," said Touma.
BBX is a membership based trading program whose primary role is to generate new
opportunities for all types of businesses and to show business owners how to
offset many current cash expenses by utilising the down time and idle inventory
in their business.
The trade exchange uses BBX dollars, a currency unit having equivalent value to
Australian currency, to assign value to the transactions that take place between
member businesses. In essence, the exchange acts as the third party record
keeper, similar to a bank, and provides a sophisticated market where thousands
of transactions take place on a cashless basis.
BBX Holdings Limited listed on the ASX in August 2005, becoming the only
exchange in the world to be publicly listed on a main board.
BBX has offices throughout Australia and operates in New Zealand through a
master franchise. Through their BBX accounts, member businesses in these
countries traded in excess of $192 million in the financial year ending 30 June
2008, averaging over $33,000 per member.
BBX has recently expanded to Costa Rica, India and China through master
franchise arrangements and further international expansion is being pursued.
BBX and BBX Insurance can be contacted by phoning 1800 222 229 or visiting
www.ebbx.com.
Released for BBX by Dennis Rutzou Public Relations (www.drpr.com.au)
For further information please call Joanna Gitsham or Nicola Rutzou on (02) 9413
4244.
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