Every business has its own unique needs and challenges. However, all small businesses share the same imperative: rigorous cash flow management. Indeed, maintaining financial equilibrium is vital to guaranteeing your company's survival and growth.
Online pro accounts offer you a range of significant advantages for effectively managing your finances.
Cash management for small businesses
Cash flow is your company's lifeblood. It's where the cash is, in the till or in the bank account. In accounting terms, every movement of this liquidity is a cash flow, whether it's money coming in (receipts) or money going out (disbursements).
For your small business to thrive and grow, your revenues must exceed your expenses, ensuring that you can meet your financial commitments on time, despite customer payment delays and tax deadlines.
The key is to set up a forward-looking financial plan, combined with meticulous cash flow monitoring. This enables you to maintain total control over your budget.
Opting for a financial management solution tailored to the needs of small businesses saves you precious time in the day-to-day management of your cash flow. So you can concentrate fully on what's important: your core business.
Digital financial management platforms offer a host of innovative features that simplify accounting for small businesses, the self-employed and micro-entrepreneurs.
Is opening a pro account compulsory for your small business?
When you set up your business, you need to choose one of several legal forms. In some cases, opening a business account is an essential step in registering the company.
This is a legal requirement if you decide to set up a company. If you choose SAS, SASU, EURL or SARL status, you'll need to open a business bank account before you start trading. The reason is simple: you need to be able to deposit your share capital in a dedicated account in order toobtain a certificate of deposit of funds. This document will be required by INPI to accept your application.
For other legal forms, this step is optional, notably for sole proprietorships with no commercial activity, or for micro-enterprises with sales of less than €10,000. However, even when it's not a matter of regulatory compliance, opening a pro account is still strongly recommended.
Having an account dedicated to your business allows you to separate your personal finances from your business cash flow. Isolating your company's financial movements simplifies accounting and avoids confusion between assets and liabilities. This financial transparency is a real asset in the event of a tax audit.
4 advantages of online pro accounts for optimized cash management
1. An all-inclusive savings package
An online business account is different from a current account at a traditional bank. Establishments offering online accounts have no physical branches. As a result, their operating costs are lower, enabling them to offer much lower rates than traditional banks.
Our offers for small businesses and the self-employed are scalable to suit every need. The various formulas include basic banking services and complementary tools to facilitate cash management and bookkeeping.
Our flat-rate pricing limits bank charges and optional costs. For example, one or more bank cards are directly included in the price. Outgoing transfers and direct debits are not subject to transaction fees...
2. Real-time access and simplified monitoring of your cash flow
From the creation of your business account to the day-to-day monitoring of your cash flows, all your procedures are accessible online, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can carry out all formalities completely independently, from a computer, smartphone or tablet, without having to wait for an advisor to be available.
Notifications let you track transactions in real time. Create your own nomenclature rules to automatically categorize your different transactions. Each payment received can be associated with an invoice to ensure justified sales. You can also opt for dematerialized expense management, reducing the time spent filing your receipts.
3. Optimize your collection process
Managing cash receipts is an integral part of your financial monitoring. The online pro account integrates an invoicing tool to manage the entire process from a single interface.
From the customer area of your business bank account, you can create quotations and transform them into invoices. You can not only track payments, but also program automatic reminders to avoid as far as possible late payments, which can unbalance your small company's cash flow.
You can offer your customers a range of payment methods:
- credit card payment terminal,
- mobile payment terminal,
- online payment link,
- payment button,
- customer direct debit...
4. Anticipating your fixed costs and controlling your variable costs
When it comes to cash flow management, it's important not to forget your small business' cash outflows. Your current expenses will include fixed charges (rent, taxes, etc.) and variable charges (supplier invoices, expense accounts, etc.).
The online business account provides you with solutions to better plan your expenses:
- The creation of sub-accounts allows you to create budget envelopes in anticipation of your fixed costs.
- Configurable bank cards give you control over your teams' variable expenses.