Cost of living crisis: How Tide products can help small business owners

Our recent Cost of Doing Business survey revealed that four in five business owners are determined to stay open amidst the rising cost of living, and Tide is here to help. Not only are we campaigning for government action, but our products aim to save you time and money so you can focus your energy on nurturing and growing your business.  

Fuel and energy prices

Rising fuel and energy prices were the most significant concern amongst business owners, with more than half listing it as their biggest financial concern. While these costs are here to stay for the moment, you can manage your finances in a simpler way. Make sure that every business expense, no matter how big or small, goes on your books. According to Gov.uk, ‘you can reclaim the VAT on fuel you use for business trips’ as long as you keep a detailed record of mileage. You can also claim expenses for heating your premises, even if you work from a room in your home.

So how can Tide help?

Remember to use your Tide card for every payment you make for work. Whether you’re buying a coffee or investing in new equipment, you can deduct any business costs from your profits before tax. When you use your Tide card, we’ll automatically sort every transaction into sections that directly match up with HMRC’s tax categories. So when the time comes to file your tax return, everything you need will already be available in your Tide app. You’ll get sorted in a few taps, and there’s no extra charge for using our auto-categories – just the knowledge that you’ve saved yourself time and money. All you need to do is use your Tide card. 

Inflation

Inflation was another concern for almost a quarter of business owners, but there are ways to combat this. Tide’s Cashflow Expert Philip King says: “Don’t be afraid to raise prices to ensure you don’t incur a loss on products you sell or services you provide”. However, raising your prices doesn’t tackle unpaid invoices or late payments, which can have a costly impact on your cash flow if left for too long. Philip added: “Making sure you get paid promptly and chasing payment for unpaid invoices is vital.” 

So how can Tide help? 

We designed Invoice Assistant for exactly this purpose. It automatically sends out chasers to your customers so they don’t fall behind on their payments and your cash flow doesn’t drop below that all-important level. On average, Tide members who use Invoice Assistant get paid four or more days earlier than those who don’t. For just £10+VAT per month, chasing and matching invoices to payments could be a thing of the past. Just open your app and Tap Invoice > Manage > Add-on > Get Invoice Assistant. That’s one less thing to worry about. 

Supply chain issues

For the 8% of members who listed supply chain issues as one of their biggest concerns, there are ways to reduce the impact this might have on a business. Some business owners may find it helpful to bridge the gap between stock shortages with Tide’s business loans – or use us to help understand when they might be approaching a cash shortage. 

So how can Tide help?

Tide’s free Cashflow Insights tool can intuitively predict your balance and offers real-time insights to predict your balance up to 30 days ahead offering advance warning of any cash flow shortages before they arise. Then, if needed, you can select a financing option from your app that will suit your business needs and your situation. All the business loans you are eligible for will be waiting for you in the Tide app*, so you won’t need to spend time unpicking loans that don’t suit your needs. 

*Additional eligibility checks may be run when applying for Tide’s partner products.

Increase of working hours 

70% of business owners were considering increasing their own working hours to cope with the rising cost of doing business. However, your working hours don’t necessarily need to increase to get everything done, just used in a different way. Once your back office tasks are automated, you can reallocate time reserved for admin tasks to focus your energy on earning money rather than processing it.

So how can Tide help? 

Lots of these business-critical admin tasks can be performed intelligently and automatically from your Tide app. All you need to do is provide the app with the information you already have. For example, lengthy expense reports which take time out of your and your employees’ days can be replaced with Expense Cards. All your team needs to do is use their Expense Card – linked to the company account – to pay, snap a picture of their receipt, upload it to the platform, and their expense report is ready to view in your app with all the receipts to match. 

Wrapping up

Time spent on each of these individual tasks can add up in the long run and may leave you wondering why you never have the time to finish the job you set out to do in the first place. By automating admin tasks with Tide, energy spent on paperwork and spreadsheets can be reallocated to doing what you love again, ensuring you continue to thrive and not become one in five. 

Image by Brooke Cagle, published on Unsplash