Beat the crunch: more tips to ride the recession
To help restaurants survive the recession, Restaurant magazine has compiled the Thrifty 50 - money-saving tips from industry experts.
Following the tips on how to get the most from staff, here are some on the subject of Finance
- Talk to your suppliers. It may be a time to renegotiate your credit terms. HMR&C and landlords will not be so accommodating but if you can pull a further 30 days of credit it will create additional breathing space. Deliver more business to suppliers in exchange for them lowering prices.
- Try to negotiate rent-free periods on your property. It won’t be easy, but some landlords may show leniency in the current climate.
- Make friends with your bank manager. They are all highly nervous and will be watching the figures closely. Ensure that your book-keeping is accurate and kept up-to-date and that full management accounts are produced by the 15th of the following month. That way you can react to any adverse numbers as early as possible. Above all make sure that your bank sees that these disciplines are important to you.
- Incentivise customers to use cash or debit cards instead of cheques to avoid those irritating bank charges.
- Calculate your break-even point. A decent accountancy website will have an online calculator that makes it easy to work out your break-even point and give you a better understanding of how your business works.
- Take advantage of the supermarket price wars. The retailers will become embroiled in a price war this year. While this is great for the consumer it can also be used to your advantage if you keep your eyes open. This Christmas Tesco was selling Baileys at £7 a bottle, cheaper than the majority of wholesalers, so it pays to jump on these deals when they come around.
For tips on Business log onto the site on Friday.
Contributors: Sara Stewart, partner at Jeffreys Henry, Chris Galvin, Ashley de Safrin, client services manager for tourism and hospitality at Business Link in London, Ken Hogg of Davis Coffer Lyons, Peter Backman, managing director at Horizons, Richard Corrigan, Daren Bale, head chef, The Elms Hotel, Worcestershire, Rob Lucy, restaurant negotiator at Christie & Co, Mitch Tonks, David Gibson, chief executive Gibson Business Infrastructures, Martin Austin, director at Tenon Recovery, Iqbal Wahhab, Roast founder, Ben Hood, managing director Fourth Hospitality.
Beat the crunch:†tips to ride the recession
