http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html New Zealand business finance. Keeping up to date with the business financial sector. New Zealand perspective. en-us business finance Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:49:18 GMT Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:49:18 GMT new-zealand-business-finance.com http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#What-is-Invoice-Discounting Click the link for a brief and clear explanation of what The Interface Financial Group does and how invoice discounting works. Chris Reid, the New Zealand national director is being interviewedon NZI business. Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:07:16 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#New-Plymouth-Painter-Accesses-Cash-from-Invoices Our latest client is a New Plymouth based painter and decorator. He has not been in business long and is sub-contracting to a large company which has large government backed contracts. He had completed work for October but was going to have wait until jsut before Christmas to get paid. With a couple of workers to pay and his own commitments, he needed working capital. We were able to purchase 2 invoices at a discount from him and make sure he was able to keep current with his creditors whilst the business gains enough traction. Thu, 24 Nov 2011 01:34:47 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Time-for-Sound-Money-Discussions-in-New-Zealand-? Sound money - the Gold Standard. I attended one of those bank economist updates a few months ago in New Plymouth. ANZ I think - might have been Khoon Goh. (I attend these things often, so sometimes get them mixed up with one another). Anyway, the point is, after the update was over and we were in the questions, someone got up and asked about sound money. The reply was the least complete of the evening and seemed like quite a brush off (evidently the "we're all Keynsians now" assumption was holding sway!). Earlier in the evening, the economist had assured us that the US would sort out its' debt crisis in due course. Well, you'd have to say in the light of the present situation in Greece and Italy and the ever worsening state of affairs in the US, that the fiat money, endless debt mountain money system just isn't working is it ? If I'm not beaten to the punch by someone else I'll make a point of asking the 'sound money' question to the other economists as they troop through Taranaki and we'll see how long it takes before they decide they have to give some serious consideration to the matter. Click the above link for primer on sound money if you're not familiar with the idea. If, like me, you think the world's politicians and reserve bankers are starting look like the Wizard of OZ as Dorothy's dog pulls back the curtain to reveal the truth, you'll find this interesting. Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:41:44 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance.html New Zealand business finance dot com contact information. Fri, 14 Oct 2011 03:57:10 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Palmerston-North-Builder-Grows-Again A Palmerston North builder had grown very quickly in the building boom a few years ago. His business then shrank rapidly as the economy struggled. He is now growing again and picked up some good commercial work. Unfortunately, the customer changed the terms from 30 to 45 days without notice. We were able to come on board and provide short term finance against a couple of invoices, providing him with $20,000.00 just when he needed it as his outgoings increased as the business grew again. Thu, 22 Sep 2011 04:19:03 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/new-plymouth-wholesaler.html New Plymouth wholesaler funds business growth through smart use of invoice discounting. Mon, 27 Jun 2011 05:15:07 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#New-Plymouth-Wholesaler-Gets-Cash A New Plymouth wholesaler had expanded rapidly and run out of working capital. The business has simply grown too rapidly. They have good customers but have to wait 30 to 60 days for payment. As the business grows, the amount tied up in receivables grows too. We were able to fix this problem with our micro factoring product. They now have steady cash flow and can concentrate on growing their business. Tue, 05 Apr 2011 03:50:29 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/wanganui-couriers.html A Wanganui Courier company found the solution to their business finance problem with our Micro Factoring service. They had experienced rapid growth and had also invested in new premises. This had all put pressure on their working capital resources. Our Micro Factoring solution allowed them to accelerate their cash flow and keep on top of their creditors whilst they adjusted to their recent growth. Sun, 20 Feb 2011 21:55:08 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/wanganui-couriers.html Wanganui courier company use micro factoring as a business finance solution. Sun, 20 Feb 2011 20:49:32 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Invoice-Discounting-On-the-up-again After a very quiet 18 months or so, the invoice discounting market in New Zealand seems to be on the comeback trail. The phones have started ringing again and businesses seem to be figuring out that they need a product like invoice discounting to give them the extra financial flexibility to come with cash flow ups and downs. Sat, 05 Feb 2011 00:35:35 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/micro-factoring-contact.html Complete the form and we will send you a breakdown of the costs and benefits of micro factoring so you can see if it will fit with your business. Sun, 08 Aug 2010 02:28:13 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/tenancy-tribunal.html How to collect tenancy tribunal orders in New Zealand. Sun, 01 Aug 2010 03:00:16 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/micro-factoring.html The micro factoring product seems to be catching people's interest. We believe we can develop this into something really worthwhile for a lot of tradesmen and similar businesses. Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:32:20 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/debt-collection.html Good debt collection and credit control systems are essential for any business selling on credit. Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:50:08 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/micro-factoring.html Micro factoring combines the resources, knowledge, experience and skills of The Interface Financial Group and Total Debt Solutions. Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:24:59 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/alternative-dispute-resolution-methods.html Alternative disputes resolution is a means for businesses to settle trade disputes without costly legal action and hopefully retain better relationships as well. Sun, 18 Jul 2010 05:39:07 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/our-services.html Whilst New Zealand Business Finance is a general interest website, we provide services in Debt Collection and Invoice Discounting. Sun, 18 Jul 2010 04:35:00 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/invoice-discounting-for-tradesmen.html We can provide invoice discounting for New Zealand tradesmen at little or no cost. Sun, 18 Jul 2010 00:36:33 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/invoice-discounting.html One of the most common objections I hear from potential clients for invoice discounting is that 'it's expensive'. Normally, I respond to this by highlighting the benefits of the programme - such as being able to pay creditors on time, and perhaps receving a discount or rebate for this; being able to take advantage of an opportuntiy; not needing to sell equity in the business, etc, etc. All of the benefits above are real and can potentially add value to the business of my clients. But now, I'm really pleased to be able to go a step further and be able to say, quite genuinely, that for some businesses we can set up an invoice discounting system at little or no cost to the business. How can we do this ? Well, for some businesses, we can set up the system so that the customer pays the discount. We can do this for businesses like electricians, plumbers, car repair workshops, etc. Any business which is generating a number of invoices each week and meets some straightforward criteria can potentially come on board with us and have weekly cash flow from the invoices they are generating and have the customers pay the discount. Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:53:49 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#It's-a-Long,-Hard-Road We seem to be going through a period of stalling recovery at present. Everyone very reluctant to spend any money and businesses very keen to recover money owed to them. It seems that in the second half of last year and early this year, we wall breathed a sigh of relief and thought we'd dodged a bullet. The recession's not so bad in NZ, we thought. But now it seems our excess debt levels are starting to catch up with us. Folk trying to pay down debt and sitting on their hands in terms of property purhcases, business investment and borrowings. This seems to be slowing things down again in the economy. Could we be in for the dreaded 'double dip' recession. Even if we are, the medium to long term picture for New Zealand should still be strong. Mon, 05 Jul 2010 06:20:18 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/russia-trade-talks-resources.html Russia New Zealand Trade Talks Resources. New Zealand Business Finance. Thu, 01 Jul 2010 03:43:22 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/russia-trade-talks-links.html Russia New Zealand Trade Talks Resource page. Links, articles and information about New Zealand's Trade Talks with Russia. Thu, 01 Jul 2010 02:47:31 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/russia-new-zealand-trade-talks.html Russia and New Zealand agreed to commence discussions towards negotiating a Free Trade Agreement in May 2010. Mon, 28 Jun 2010 03:12:27 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#St-Petersburgh-Economic-Forum This annual economic forum took place June 17th to 19th. This BBC link provides a good summary. Russia is increasingly reaching out to the rest of the world and developing more interdependent economic links as she looks to diversify. Sat, 26 Jun 2010 18:20:15 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Factoring-and-debt-collection-for-tradesmen We are currently looking at ways to create synergies between our 2 core businesses of invoice discounting and debt collection. Follow the link to our sister site at Total Debt Solutions. Tradesmen can take advantage of the added value we can bring to an invoice disounting arrangement by providing credit control and debt collection services as well. Clients can have a raft of services provided with reduced overall fees. This kind of arrangement works really well for tradesmen such as electricians, plumbers and so on. Sat, 26 Jun 2010 03:49:12 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/basic-accounting-methods.html Basic business accounting methods. Vickey Boatright explains the two basic methods businesses can chose. Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:09:17 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Fair-Go-Appearance Your esteemed correspondence graced prime time TV on Wednesday night. With my Total Debt Solutions hat on, Fair Go interviewed me regarding collecting Disputes Tribunal monies. We also knocked a couple of doors in Auckland. Fri, 11 Jun 2010 03:42:26 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Russia-Free-Trade-Talks-Start So, New Zealand has commenced free trade talks with Russia. Good to see. Russia is a significant economic force and world power and will undoubtedly become more important in the coming years. A well educated people, vast resources and a determination to be a world power. Following on the successful free trade deal with China, New Zealand is playing a long term game which will help to cement our economic growth and stability in the future. We'll be following events as they develop. I'm picking a long and slow process, but worthwhile in the end. The geo-political significance of it all should not be under-estimated. Sun, 06 Jun 2010 10:55:48 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/new-plymouth-trucking-company.html New Plymouth trucking company needed cash to grow. Interface Financial were able to fund them through a rapid growth phase. Mon, 17 May 2010 02:37:02 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/nursing-recruitment-agency.html We have several staff placement agencies using invoice discounting to ensure payroll is met each week and avoid cash flow shortages. This form of financing is ideal for this kind of business. Providing the certainty of cash flow and the flexibility to move with the business. Tue, 11 May 2010 04:35:08 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Short-Term-Cash-Is-Everything-Now Cash has always been king. No different now, but access short term cash for working capital has never been more crucial. Businesses are really feeling the pinch as credit tightens and creditors slow. Fri, 26 Mar 2010 02:40:30 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#IFG-Network-Kicks-Off-in-New-Zealand IFG Network, the funding arm of the spot factoring franchise organisation, The Interface Financial Group, has commenced operations in New Zealand. IFG Network provides capital and transactional support to IFG's 150 international offices in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Canada, Singapore and the United Kingdom. Bringing IFG Network to New Zealand will significantly increase the capacity of the organisation here in terms of both business development and funding capacity. Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:51:27 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#New-Zealand-Connected-for-Invoice-Discounting The Interface Financial Group is expanding it's presence around the world. The boutique invoice discounter is now establishing itself in the UK, Australia and Singapore. Already, a strong force in the US, Canada and New Zealand, these latest moves will improve their ability to carry on international transactions. This is good news for New Zealand exporters wanting to access short term working capital through discounting accounts receivables. Thu, 18 Feb 2010 19:09:12 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/women-in-business.html Womens Business Resources. New Zealand Business Finance's Womens Business Resources section is building a library of resources for New Zealand women in business. Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:38:30 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/successful-women-worldwide.html Successful Women Worldwide. Dagmar Gatell of 101 Small Business Opportunity.com shares her story as she meets successful business women around the world. Thu, 28 Jan 2010 03:33:27 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/small-business-cash-flow.html Small business cash flow is put under pressure from all sides. Negotiating your way through this problem is one of the key skills of the business owner. Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:55:51 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Importers-Can-Take-Opportunities Importers can take advantage of short term working capital facilities to get great deals while the NZ dollar is up. The bargains that can be had in the current world environment will more than make up for the cost of this kind of finance. Follow the link for some case studies. Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:04:33 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#It's-All-About-Cash-Flow-Now 2010 is going to be all about cash flow for many businesses. If the cash is still flowing, businesses can continue to service their obligations and work through whatever their situation is. For many businesses in New Zealand, it's going to be about recovery after the recession. Activity levels will be increasing, order books filling up. The trick will be maintaining adequate cash flow until profits are realised. Tue, 19 Jan 2010 19:11:44 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Next-Year-? It's been a tough year. A lot of businesses have struggled. It seems like we'll probably come out of recession and start growing now. The fallout for businesses will likely continue for a few years to come though. The population here in Godzone is on the increase - watch out for the hosuing market picking up - it may not go out of control as credit will still be tight, but the basic laws of supply and demand will have to have an upward effect. Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:10:43 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#So-the-world-didn't-end-then-? A year ago you would have thought the world was going to end. Total economic meltdown ....... never mind about your assets or liabilities, just make sure you've got a couple of chickens in the back yard and know how rig up some solar power. Maybe it's still happening, but slower than we thought. Or maybe, people and the wrold economy are more resilian than we thought. Here in Godzone, whilst some have and are suffering, it really hasn't been as bad as we thought for most people. Maybe we're just cushioned these days and don't appreciate the meaning of all this debt we've taken on - as a country and as individuals. My take, though, is that the principles of business and life remain the same. My guess is that life will go on and we'll get through the current recession as we've got through all previous ones, and come out the other side older and wiser and hopefully stronger. Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:31:29 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Relationships-are-Currency In case you haven't noticed, we are in the middle of an extended period of banks being even more tight with credit than they usually are. Overdrafts pulled with no notice. Nit picking analysis to decide on the most modest of loans. So, alternative finance becomes the name of the game. Whether its tapping the family, vendor finance or connecting with private money in some arrangement or other. Whatever the details, somebody will need to trust you with their money. For someone to trust you with their money, they will need to trust you as an individual. (They will also need to believe in the likely success of what you are doing - but that's another story). For this trust to be present, you will need to have built some sort of relationship with them. It will help enormously if you are genuine, and sincerely want to build a relationship. It will also help if you sincerely understand that the lender/investor is entitled to their money back and it's up to you to make sure that happens. How does trust get built in a relationship ? - Slowly. Trust gets built up little by little. Every time you do what you say you will. Every time you act with integrity and honesty. Every time you keep a confidence or listen to someone. You build trust by doing any and all of these things. The other side of this coin, however, is loss of trust. Trust can be lost much more quickly than it can be gained. You might get away with one small integrity slip if you have a good history built up, but it won't take much for trust to be destroyed if you act dishonestly or without moral courage. So, building relationships, of all kinds and at all times - not just when you want something - is essential to success in life in every way. When you want money for business it is no different. Your access to funds and negotiability with creditors will be greatly effected by the level of trust and quality of relationships you have built. Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:43:36 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/women-in-business-succeed.html Women are well suited to business and often have much more potential to succceed than they realise. Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:13:57 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Credit-Control-Top-of-Priority-List Credit control is always important for businesses, but now the credit crunch is really starting to bite, it is super important. It is so much more difficult to access flexible financing to ride out the peaks and troughs of the business cycle and deal with unexpected cash flow shocks. Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:46:21 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/selling-a-business.html Selling A Business: Easier And With Less Stress. Selling a business is something that most business owners only do once. Like anything else done for the first time, and with no training or preparatio Thu, 14 May 2009 03:49:05 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Property-Fundamentals In the Dom Post today there was an update about net migration turning around. Likely to be 15,000 positive for the year. On top of that, bear in mind that births over deaths will be plus 35,000 or so. That'll make 50,000 or so population gain in New Zealand in 2009 - and they've all got to live somewhere. Next, consider the remarks about the home construction industry - we apparently need to build 22,000 new homes a year to keep up. We have been averaging 14,000. Bob Jones the other week, confirmed that there is no over-supply of property in this country as there is in some parts of the US etc. These are the property market fundamentals - supply and demand. Interest rates and other stuff do effect the market - but the real underlying drivers are immigration, births over deaths and the supply of stock. Eventually - perhaps sooner than we might think in the current doom and gloom - rents have to go up and then demand for property from buyers will soon follow, whether that be first home buyers faced with high rents and low interest rates, or property investors for whom the numbers stack up again. So, I'm picking that the property market could recover in 2010 and not be down for as long as some think. Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:41:33 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Risk-Multipliers I saw a business yesterday that operates in the horticultural sector. They also have exposure to international markets. The risks inherent in both have a multiplying effect on this business' current crisis. They have experienced various weather and MAF related dramas over the past few years, some quite costly. They have also experienced expensive problems in overseas markets (trading internationally is always several times more complicated that just trading domestically), and now the credit crunch has dried up their markets. It occurred to me that this industry is especially frought with risk and that to operate successfully a business needs a solid and diversified domestic market to support basic cash flow. From this platform they can they chance their arm internationally. Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:18:17 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#News-is-History So, financial Armegeddon is finally here. Reality is finally catching up with us in Godzone as credit dries up, unemployment starts to rise and everyone's scared about what's going to happen next. Well, guess what, cash is still cash, value is still value, people still need to live somewhere, eat, drink, travel and all the rest of it. So,for this year it'll be a case of the quick and the dead in business terms. You'll need to be on your toes, flexible and thinking with a clear head. Panic is not the order of the day. There's always ways round things. But things are changing so fast, that, really, news is history. What's the case today may not be the case tomorrow with regard to a whole host of stuff. Sat, 14 Mar 2009 00:05:24 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Whose-up-for-a-bargain-? There's going to be plenty of bargains around in the property arena in the next few months. My take is that there will be a floor on falling property prices based on the population figures holding up well in the coming months and the fact that there will be plenty of shrewd investors dusting off their cheque books right now. So, I doubt whether there will be a total crash of the market. Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:05:01 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Larger-NZ-businesses-now-struggling. We're starting to the recession really bite now, with some relatively large New Zealand companies having to re-size, re-structure or get taken over. A couple of examples in the week just gone are Stevenson Group in Whangarei, a concrete products outfit, being taken over by Fletchers; and Williams and Adams, the long established Wellington car dealership downsizing. If these sort of businesses are struggling, it's going to be a very tough ride for a lot of the very small businesses which abound here. Sun, 15 Feb 2009 03:10:01 GMT http://www.new-zealand-business-finance.com/business-finance-blog.html#Cash-in-Demand Adam Bennett in the Herald on Saturday highlighted the fact that there are plenty of bigger businesses having to get creative about raising cash now. The banks don't want to know about taking on new risks. Big name listed firms can go to the market and get funds like Fonterra did, but lesser lights may be struggling to repeat the excercise. Last week I was talking with a trucking firm who've been around for 35 years, a reasonably big outfit by NZ standards. They needed extra facilities having incurred major repair costs. It would have been a no-brainer only last year for the bank to help them out, given their track record. But the bank have said no. Sat, 07 Feb 2009 23:07:48 GMT