Having positive free cash flow is a great advantage!

Anyone in business knows this.  Why then does it remain such a hot topic / pain point for so many businesses?  Why then is it so difficult to manage?

We have worked with some of the best minds, strongest entrepreneurs and greatest businesses over the years.  The one silver thread that you see across industry and geographies is the difficulty of ensuring consistency in managing and optimising cash flow.  Simply put, a business needs to ensure that inflows exceed outflows over a given period to generate positive cash flows.  That said, the business environment, product and pricing pressures businesses face and protection of their bottom line, to name just a few headwinds make navigating and optimising cash flow difficult.

In meeting businesses and interacting with their leadership we encounter so many organisations who use spread sheets which require hours of input, calculations, pivots, etc to manage their cash flow.  Imagine a world where this process could be automated, accurate, up to date and forward looking.  A place where you have a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly view of your cash flow.  This is possible!

At wauko, our vision is to empower every person and organisation everywhere with the cash flow management tools to optimise their return on investment.  We are a full-service cash flow solution provider that ensures that your business is managed holistically from a cash flow, financial management and performance perspective.

Our world-class cloud-based technology makes managing your entire treasury function in one place possible agnostic of bank (we pride ourselves in having relationships with 7 banks) and inclusive of local and offshore currency.   Cash flow forecasting and liquidity management in real time!

The quote from Richard Branson comes to mind, “Never take your eyes off the cash flow because it’s the life blood of the business”.

Needless to say, a businessperson able to focus on his/her core business is powerful when they have the space and ability to identify growth opportunities and withstand economic downturns.

Partnering with businesses across 23 industries, we have gained rich knowledge and valuable insights.  CEOs, CFOs, FMs often grapple with similar issues.

• The need for accurate, complete, valid and timeous data for decision making
• Labour intensive processes
• An effective cash flow strategy which optimises cash flow, minimises liquidity risk and ensures sufficient funds for operational needs
• The need for consistency in Foreign Exchange related results (swings from year to year in financials)
• Over-hedged/under-hedged Foreign Exchange positions
• Difficulty in linking Foreign Exchange positions to resultant cash flows
• Seasonality
• Difficulty in protecting the bottom line when dealing with cross-border exposure
• Ensuring that product pricing remains competitive
• The cost of their Foreign Exchange management program (large interest rate differentials result in high forward exchange premiums for importers)
• Managing the lead time from product sale to receipt of incoming funds
• Managing funding through working capital facilities and/or sourcing the best fit funding solution to suit the business needs
• Key man dependency / succession planning
• Adoption of improved systems and processes

Any of those feel familiar to you?  The good news is that you are not alone.

To quote the great Franklin D. Roosevelt, “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.”

Navigating cash flow may seem daunting but it is something that we are passionate about and take great pride in assisting with.  Conversations with our clients make us stronger and build our perspective and understanding.  It is through them, that we are where we are today.

If you would like to explore potential solutions, we are merely a call away. Contact Jacky Buys on 021 819 7829 or at jbuys@wauko.com to connect with us.