I have clients who are deferring all of the bills that they can and paying only those that they absolutely are required to pay.
I can’t blame them I am doing a bit of the same myself. All of my insurances come due in April and May, I had them moved from an annual basis to a monthly basis, because of slow or no pay clients. Then I found out that Travelers has a 15% credit for all April and May payments on auto insurance. So, I had my insurance broker switch the Auto insurance, back to annual. How can I pass up a deal like that?
The importance of knowing our cash flow has never been more critical for our businesses. We all need to be talking to clients about our receivables and when payments can be expected. But we also need to be talking to vendors to see what flexibility they have with payment options.
Surprisingly my bank allowed me to defer for two months payments on my LOC, while not a lot of money every little bit helps.
I am unwilling to do the same call with the credit cards, because they will charge me interest at their rates of 20% or so. Which is not a good value for me or my business.
I encourage everyone to keep the lines of communication open with clients and vendors. Transparency and communication will be key to managing your cash flow, and possibly your businesses survival.