Our recent guide explored how UK manufacturers can unlock savings by taking a fresh look at how their payments and expenses processes work.
With 58% of the industry having to adjust their approach due to rising energy costs, looking inward for opportunities to cut costs and drive efficiency – how, when and where money leaves your business is an ideal place to start.
Do any of these red flags sound familiar?
The cost avalanche: Profit margins are under constant assault from a deluge of hidden or unexpected costs – transaction charges, deferred payments interest, unplanned stock purchases - it all adds up to a depressing whittling down of profit.
The payments maze: Projects are sometimes slowed down by decisions on spending; there’s no clear process and certain individuals become approval bottlenecks. Also, it’s hard to know if you’re getting the best deals because you have multiple ways to pay that are often used interchangeably, which makes accurate cost forecasting extremely difficult.
The resource swamp: Your finance team are constantly stressed because, like 89% of finance departments, your payments and expenses process is problematic and admin heavy. Processing takes longer than it should, and staff are constantly chasing paper. This inefficiency isn’t just bad for business - wasting time and resource that could be better spent driving value – it’s bad for people. Working with poor systems and processes means they’re more stressed, more likely to make mistakes, and more likely to quit.
In the busy world of manufacturing, it’s easy to miss these red flags, but they’re a clear warning sign that your payments process is in need of an overhaul.
So what does that overhaul look like? Here are six steps to boss your costs:
1 Consolidate
UK manufacturers are turning to all-in-one business credit cards like Allstar to bring all their payments process onto a single, easily managed platform. It’s the easiest way to get total spending control without resorting to expensive software implementation.
2 Be predictive
The information locked up in stacks of receipts or finance spreadsheets can’t do your business any good without significant effort. But when it’s made available through an easily accessible online dashboard like Allstar Online, it can enable accurate forecasting and quickly tell you where savings can be made.
3 Oil the wheels
When you have a flexible, interest free credit line*, you know that when the cost avalanche lands, you have the wriggle room to ensure continued operation without cutting staff or incurring sky-high borrowing costs.
4 Prevent leaks
One in 10 UK employees admit to submitting erroneous claims ‘all the time’, while a further one in five do so ‘irregularly’. Erroneous claims can cost employers if they don’t have a tight enough control of spending. With Allstar, you can create authorisation rules and spending limits for each employee, giving you full visibility over who’s spending what.
5 Flexibility to buy in bulk
An all-in-one credit solution gives manufacturers the ability to pay up front and buy in bulk, keeping suppliers happy, leveraging interest free credit, and negotiating the best deals in one go.
6 Attract talent
A clear, consolidated process removes the uncertainty from spending decisions, eliminating the delays that occur while employees seek approval for vital purchases. Giving your people the freedom to get the job done, without relinquishing spending control, creates a happier, more productive workforce.
Allstar’s total spending control means fewer cash leaks, smoother cash flow management, and better planning.
*Up to 44 days interest free credit. Subject to status and full credit check.
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