You're struggling with cash flow issues in your business. How do you decide which vendors to pay first?

A payment system is supported by multiple applications like core banking, user interfaces, reporting applications, invoicing/advices applications, sanction/fraud check, forex exchange applications, infra providers. Most of the banks have vendor products for these modules. Knowing the criticality of each module will help to prioritise the vendor list. E.g. core banking , user interfaces , infra providers are critical applications and should be in high priority list and vendors should be paid first. Reporting/invoicing applications can be managed operationally also, so can pause these applications till cash flow issue is resolved. Sanction/fraud check can be disabled for low value payments to reduce vendor cost.

When struggling with cash flow issues, prioritize paying vendors critical to your business operations first to avoid disruptions. Review contractual obligations and ensure compliance with legal terms to prevent breaches and penalties. Assess the impact of delayed payments on your vendor relationships, focusing on those with flexible terms or long-standing partnerships. Communicate transparently with vendors about your situation, seeking possible extensions or payment plans. Balancing legal obligations and operational priorities allows you to manage cash flow effectively while maintaining essential business functions.

Review your current cash flow, outstanding invoices, and upcoming revenue. This will give you a clear picture of your financial situation. Categorize Vendors: • Critical Vendors: These are suppliers whose goods or services are essential to your core operations. Without them, your business might come to a halt (e.g., raw materials, utilities, key services). • Non-Critical Vendors: These are suppliers whose goods or services are not immediately essential to keep your business running. • Flexible Vendors: These are suppliers who may offer more lenient payment terms or who you have a strong relationship with and might be willing to negotiate.

Identify vendors who provide essential goods or services that are crucial for your business operations and Prioritize payments to these vendors to avoid disruptions.

Consider the history and strength of your relationships with each vendor. Long-term, reliable vendors may be more understanding and flexible. Assess the potential impact on your business if the relationship with a specific vendor is damaged due to delayed payments.

Be transparent with vendors about cash flow issues. Communicate openly to negotiate payment terms. Honesty often gets you the furthest in life, it can secure payment extensions or payment plans and is crucial to preserve valuable business relationships.

Understand the legal risks of late payments to vendors. Some may charge interest or take legal action. Prioritize payments to those posing legal risks to protect your business from lawsuits and complications.

Paying small vendors on time demonstrates strong ethics and boosts your industry reputation. Large sums of delayed payments can lead to crucial budgeting problems for small vendors. Avoiding this helps you sleep well, knowing you are not part of the reason small businesses are struggling.

Continuously monitor your cash flow situation and adjust your payment strategy as needed. Keep track of your agreements with vendors and ensure you adhere to any new terms negotiated. Implement better cash flow management practices, such as tightening credit terms with customers, incentivizing early payments, and controlling expenses more strictly.

Use BI-tool to implement a dashboard for scoring each invoice to prioritize it in the payment queue. Your scoring formula should consider these components: 1) value of the invoice; 2) potential damage to the business; 3) likelihood of that damage. Use this dashboard to prioritize payments whenever you see a projected cash flow shortage.