Visa Finds Small Businesses Want Greater Cash Management Efficiencies; Survey notes small...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Small business owners' attitudes and opinions toward cash management and cash flow indicates a desire for greater efficiency throughout the entire process, according to a new Visa USA survey. These small business priorities mirror the

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The survey of several hundred small business owners and individuals with financial authority within a small business found broad cash flow trends and challenges, even though specific attitudes vary based on the size of the business.

According to respondents, the cash management issue most challenging for small businesses, regardless of size, is receiving and collecting payments (50 percent). Small business owners' ability to manage and move funds is the second highest ranked issue at 22 percent, followed by their concern around making payments.

"These findings indicate that small businesses have similar goals as their large-market counterparts - efficiency, integration and information handling - in their cash flow management," said David Cramer, senior vice president, commercial solutions, Visa USA. "Like larger enterprises, many of these smaller businesses are still accepting and making payments using what they readily admit are inefficient payment methods, like checks. Migrating to payment cards helps business owners better predict the timing of payments and manage their cash position."

The largest factor driving small business owners' cash management issues is sluggish cash flow, particularly not being able to always accurately estimate the timing of payables and receivables (36 percent). Another 26 percent noted that the cash management process is labor intensive work, followed by observations of a cumbersome administrative process (14 percent).

Efficiency is Key Area for Improvement

Improving efficiency was identified as a top priority for all respondents. Nearly half (48 percent) expressed a desire to improve payments efficiency, particularly receiving and collecting payments, while 42 percent seek to reduce administrative work.

"Historically, many small businesses have generated paper invoices for goods or services performed, taking 30, 60, 90 days or more to collect payment," said Cramer. "Accepting payment cards accelerates receivables by eliminating the time and costs associated with preparing and sending an invoice to a customer. Using cards to make payment eliminates the time and costs associated with writing checks. So, instead of pushing paper all day, small business owners can now maximize their time, energy and financial resources to focus their efforts on growing their business and delighting their customers."