Using Cash Flow Tracker

Transcription

1 Using Cash Flow Tracker About this guide This guide helps you understand the information provided in the Cash Flow Tracker. Important information This data is available to all CommBiz services, but user permissions has to be enabled by the Administrator of your service. The reporting is based only on business transaction and lending accounts linked to your CommBiz service and includes Direct Entry, BPAY, credit card and debit EFTPOS payments. The information is not intended to be used for reconciliation purposes and is provided as a research tool only. It is published as is and may contain errors and omissions. Your reporting will be updated every month. Enabling access to the Cash Flow Tracker 1. Open your internet browser and log into CommBiz. 2. On the top menu, click Admin > Users. Page 1 of 9

2 3. On the Find User page, locate the user who needs Insights permission enabled and select Edit. 4. Select the Permission Mode tab and check Assign Custom Permission then select Change Mode button. Note: Administrators will automatically receive access to the cash flow tracker. To assign administrator permissions, select the a CommBiz Defined Role radio button, then select Admin and follow the prompts. Page 2 of 9

3 5. Select the Reports tab, check the Insights tick box then click Save and follow the prompts. Page 3 of 9

4 Accessing the Cash Flow Tracker 6. On the top menu, click Insights. You will be directed to the cash flow tracker. Note: This report provides a summary of the total payments paid into and paid out of business accounts linked to your CommBiz service for the last 12 months and incoming and outgoing payments for the previous month. Page 4 of 9

5 Using the Cash Flow Tracker main page 7. Move your mouse over relevant points on the chart and a tool tip box will appear with further detail about the relevant cash point e.g. payment type, month, year, value or volume of payments, percentage change from the previous month, average transaction size or daily volumes. The detail provided by the tool tip will vary for different charts. 8. To view data for another month or year, select the relevant month and year from the drop down menu above the chart. On launch, initially only 12 months data will be available for viewing. 9. The information on this page will help you assess your cash flow situation and your available options. Assessment Cash out is growing faster than cash in Not enough reserve in your accounts to meet upcoming obligations Surplus funds in your accounts Options to consider Consolidate your business with fewer suppliers to improve bargaining power and improve terms of trade. Cut paperwork and simplify expense management with electronic payment solutions such as Bpay or direct entry. Give your customers easier ways to pay you on time offer your customers a range of options. Ask for better payment terms or a discount. Make sure you re not paying your bills too fast while your customers pay you slowly. Invoice quickly and actively manage unpaid accounts. Use CommBiz to create templates and schedule payment files, simplifying or automating recurring payments. Use CommBiz to keep track of cash inflows across all of your Commonwealth Bank accounts and download daily electronic reconciliation files to your preferred accounting package. Save cash for slow periods, such as after Christmas. Obtain increased financing from the Bank to grow your business. Make sure your bank knows how fast you re growing. Negotiate your payments to suppliers carefully. Speak to your business banker before a cash flow crisis hits. Depending on the needs of your business, obtain a business overdraft, receivables finance or trade finance to help with short-term cash flow. Consider putting surplus funds into a high interest account such as an online saver or term deposit to obtain a higher return. Page 5 of 9

6 Using the Payment Summary pages 10. To drill down into the detail on your cash in or cash out payments, click on any cash point along the Cash in/cash Out line in the Cash Flow Tracker or the Summary Yearly View link. This will provide you with further information on the mix of payments received and made from your accounts. Note: You can also access the detail on your cash in or cash out payments by selecting Cash In or Cash Out from the menu on the left. 11. These reports provide information on your customers preferred payment method, the approximate value and volumes of each payment used, changes from the previous month (payments increased or contracted) and drill down by payment type. Note: On launch, 12 months of data will be displayed. To view a month s worth of data, un-tick the 12-month view tick box. Page 6 of 9

7 12. The information in these reports will help you assess how you receive and make payments and if you need to optimise this mix, as well as identify emerging trends in your payments. Assessment Mix of payments not optimal for your business Transaction volumes increasing but transaction turnover decreasing Marketing campaign not providing expected lift in sales Downward trend in sales Upward trend in payments you make from your accounts Options to consider Speak to your business banker to work out an optimal mix of payments. Understand what you re really selling and what its worth to your customers. Cover all of your costs when pricing. Focus on your most profitable customers. Make every sale profitable. Do your sums before discounting. Identify your key customers and focus on keeping them. Take advantage of the research produced by the Bank on current economic conditions and future trends that may affect your business and your customers. Ask your Relationship Manager to provide you with access to the research most relevant to you. Consider ways to make your marketing campaign more effective. Carefully track the average number of days your accounts receivable are owed, and then try to reduce that number. Negotiate shorter terms of trade with key customers, and make sure they understand your terms. Ask to be paid by credit card or electronic funds transfer, so that you don t spend time waiting for cheques to clear. Work with your marketing team to identify your key customers and focus on keeping them. Work with your marketing team to identify customer segments that are having the highest growth or decline in dollar terms and percentage terms. Consolidate your business with fewer suppliers to improve bargaining power and improve terms of trade. Cut paperwork and simplify expense management with electronic payment solutions such as Bpay or direct entry. Ask for better payments terms or a discount. Make sure you re not paying your bills too fast while your customers pay you slowly. Invoice quickly and actively manage unpaid accounts. Use CommBiz to create templates and scheduled payment files, simplifying or automating recurring payments. Use CommBiz to keep track of cash inflows across all of your Commonwealth Bank accounts and download daily electronic reconciliation files to your preferred accounting package. Page 7 of 9

8 Using the Payment Average pages 13. On the navigation tab within the page, click Average. You can access this data for both Cash In and Cash Out. Note: On launch, 12 months of data will be displayed. To view a month s worth of data, un-tick the 12-month view tick box. 14. This report provides information about your monthly average transaction size and average daily transaction volumes across all payments data captured by this report. This data is available for both your incoming and outgoing payments. Note: The information in these reports will help you assess how much your customers spend on each payment and the number of payments received or made per day. Page 8 of 9

9 Using the Payment Type pages 15. On the navigation tab, click on Payment Types. You can access this data for both Cash In and Cash Out. 16. This report provides a monthly breakdown of your payment value and volumes by specific payment and percentage change from the previous month. This will help you spot trends in your payments. This data is available for both your incoming and outgoing payments. Note: On launch, 12 months of data will be displayed. To view a month s worth of data, un-tick the 12-month view tick box. Page 9 of 9