Attention to Cash Flow Will Prolong Service Sector Boom

26th February 2018.

The services sector shrugged off the impact of high inflation and made a positive start to the year, with volumes and profits up, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).

Amid the interest rates moaning and the business rates whining, there is some good news in the economy. Not only is the job boom leading employers to struggle to fill vacancies, but the services sector is experiencing a boost. In recent data released by the CBI, consumer business and professional sectors have enjoyed a rise in quarterly profits for the first time since November 2015, while their volume has risen to its highest in almost 3 years. While restaurants are struggling to keep their doors open amid rising ‘popup’ modern eateries, the overall customer services sector is growing steadily. This boom cannot be taken for granted, however, and keeping a keen eye on cash flow is essential to ensuring business does not falter.

At the Credit Protection Association, we not only help business owners out of financial distress but also prevent them from getting there in the first place. Our CPA credit reporting system allows our members to keep an eye on their customers, and ensure their success is not marred by someone else’s mistakes.

The services sector is comfortably the biggest contributor to the economy and accounts for 80 percent of GDP. It is, therefore, essential that all areas of the sector are working to the best of their ability. Any bad payers or late payers should be eradicated as soon as possible and preventative measures put in place to avoid further disruptions.

As with every sector in the UK, Brexit continues to remain a major hindrance for the services sector. According to Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI’s chief economist, various investment and expansion plans have been scared away by the prolonged uncertainty of the economy.

Success can be just as much a concern for a company, as a failure. If your business is booming, and your capital and morale are comfortably high, you have far more to lose. With political and economic uncertainty prolonged it is essential that every business prepares for the worst.

At the Credit Protection Association, our debt recovery services fight off bad payers and late payers and satisfy those overdue invoices. This is not all we offer, however, as our credit management products also keep businesses protected from future impediments. Our credit reports prevent our members from conducting business with anyone who will not pay their debts, while our monitoring software will alarm them if good payers suddenly become bad payers.