Identify potential cashflow problems

You can benefit if you maintain good relationships with your bank and other lenders. They may be able to offer advice, or they may raise concerns that you need to address.

When looking for finance or reviewing your relationship with banks or other lenders, you should:

• Consider all the options available to you before accepting a loan, overdraft or other form of finance - see business financing options - an overview.
• Try and negotiate a satisfactory agreement at the outset. Most overdrafts are repayable on demand - this is rarely enforced, but that doesn't mean it won't happen.
• Try and build good personal relationships with the person responsible for your account with regular communication.
• Keep your bank or lender informed and tell them the bad as well as the good news. If you have a problem, explain what action you will take to solve it.
• Keep all your figures up-to-date and pass them to the bank - see keep business finance forecasts up to date.
• Consider alternative sources of funding to suit your business needs.
• Consider using services to reduce the time between expenses and income - such as factoring, invoice discounting, leasing, or equipment hire purchase - see factoring and invoice discounting.

MoneyHelper provides information about your rights in relation to loans and cards.

Better Business Finance provides information about the appeal process if you have been refused finance.

Short term finance providers

When cash is tight or if your bank has refused a loan, there may be a temptation to look for a quick loan to tide the business over. There are many loan providers that will provide cash quickly, but you should always consider the risks fully.

For more information, see non-bank finance.