The Nation Newspaper

Tag: cash

  • Cash flow management

    Prompt issuance of invoice and immediate follow-up if payment is slow in coming.

    Ask customers to make deposit payments at the time orders are taken.

    Get rid of old, outdated inventory for whatever you can get.

    Track account receivable to identify and avoid slow-paying customers, by instituting a policy of cash on delivery as an alternative to do business with slow-paying customers.

    Managing Payables.

    When managing a growing company, expenses should be carefully watched in order to avoid complacency by simply expanding sales. Whenever expenses are growing faster than sales, examine cost carefully in order to cut or control them.

    Here are some more tips for using cash wisely:

    •Take full advantage of creditor payment terms.

    •Communicate with suppliers so they know your financial situation. If you ever need to delay a payment you will need their trust and understanding.

    •Carefully consider vendors offers of discounts for earlier payments.

    •Don’t always focus on the lowest price when choosing suppliers. Sometimes more flexible payment terms can improve your cash flow more than a bargain basement price.

    Surviving Shortfalls

    Situation occurs, where there will be lack of cash to pay bills. This does not mean failure as a business person. The future can’t be predicted perfectly.

    The key to manage cash shortfall is to become aware of the problem as early as possible.

    If you assume from the beginning that you will someday be short of cash, you can arrange for a loan of credit with your bank. This allows you to borrow money up to a limit any time you need it. Arranging a credit loan before shortfall is vital.

    If your bank won’t help turn next to your supplier they are interested in keeping you going and probably know more about your business. You can get extended terms from suppliers that amount to a hefty low-cost loan. This can be true if you have been a good customer in the past and kept them informed about your financial position.

    Consider using factors, these are financial service business that can pay you today for receivable you may not otherwise be able to collect, for weeks or months. A discount will be demanded by the factor and you will receive less than expected as receivable, but the hassle of collecting and be able to fund current operations without borrowing will be eliminated.

    Ask your best customer to accelerate payment, offer a reasonable percentage of discounts, persuade your worst customer and offer them discount if they pay early.

    Choose the bills to pay carefully, don’t just pay the smallest one and left the rest slide, pay the necessary bills, pay crucial suppliers next, ask the rest if you can skip a payment or make a partial payment.

    Concluded.

  • Custard powder processing for cash

    Custard powder is a powdery meal for Nigerians especially those in the urban areas. Due to its aesthetic look, good taste and short time of preparation, the product has found place on many breakfast tables. As a result of the continuous rural – urban drift and the eating habits of most urban dwellers in Nigeria, this product will continue to command high demand. An investment into this line of production is a step in the right direction that is definite to yield great returns.

    The raw materials for processing custard powder are – corn flour, arrow root starch, food colours and essence. The raw materials are available and can be obtained 100 per cent from our local market.

    A small scale plant envisaged for this project consist of the following machinery and equipment – electric oven, milling/ grinding machines, mixers, dryers, weighing instruments, etc. All the machines and equipment can be procured from our local fabricators.

    Production of custard powder takes the following stages: drying – the ingredients for the custard powder are dried in a drier. The electric oven is used for the drying process. The dried ingredients are then poured into the milling machine for grinding into powdered form as finished products. The products are measured and package in either a 450 gramme plastic / tin containers or packed into polythene bags of various sizes and sealed, before sending to the market.

    The project can be located in any part of the country where there are abundant supply of corn and the other raw materials. The required accommodation is a two bedroom flat for a start. The environment should be healthy and free from any form of pollution.

    Investment cost for setting up this project is estimated at about N700,000. This amount can be scaled down or increased, depending on the financial position of the promoters. The machinery in consideration has a capacity of producing 250,000 units of the 450 grams/ annum, working at 8 hours per shift of 250 working days. Assuming a wholesaler price of N35 per unit, this will give revenue of N8.75 million/ annum. A conservative pre-tax profit of 35 per cent or N3.06 million is realisable in the first year of operation. The viability of this project is not in doubt considering its high turnover and envisaged profit margin.

    Sales outlet for this product include supermarket, catering outfits, the open market and appointment of sales agents. A high standard of hygiene and good packaging makes the product sell fast.

    For more information contact krisedbrilliant@yahoo.com or call 08023381900.

  • Eagles in cash sharing crisis

    African champions Nigeria are sharply divided after skipper Joseph Yobo was axed by coach Stephen Keshi for the recent Kenya clash.

    MTNFootball.com has specially gathered that the Super Eagles players are divided with some behind snubbed Yobo and some particularly the new players in the team pitching tent with ‘Big Boss’ Keshi.

    Record-capped Yobo only played a bit role as Nigeria clinched a third Africa Cup of Nations title in South Africa last month.

    His first-team place was taken by the upcoming Kenneth Omeruo.

    Keshi, who himself was Nigeria skipper for many years, and Yobo have displayed a united front in public, but in private there is a festering personality clash between the two men.

    Yobo, for one, has complained to both players and officials that he is not regarded as team leader by the coach.

    The height of this cold war between coach and player was when the Fenerbache star defender was axed for the recent World Cup qualifier against Kenya in Calabar with not even a phone call from Keshi to his captain to explain the rationale behind this decision.

    “Yobo is very upset that Keshi did not bother to even let him know that he would not be involved in the match against Keshi. Like Emenike, who blasted the coach for not getting in touch with him after he returned to his Russian club injured from the AFCON, Yobo equally feels insulted by Keshi,” a reliable source informed MTNFootball.com.

    Keshi told the media Yobo was not needed for the 2014 World Cup qualifier against the Harambee Stars, which would have ended disastrously but for a last-gasp equaliser by the home team.

    One of the Eagles top stars said he was shocked that Yobo was dropped for the Kenya game.

    “Why was Yobo dropped? Could it be because he stood up to Keshi and his assistants as regards how some of the monies the team got for winning the AFCON were to be shared equally among all the squad members?” asked a team official.

    Keshi still enjoys the support of the players who only recently broke into his team, but the more established players are firmly behind their skipper, who is closing in on a century of international caps.

    Nigeria now face a daunting task to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Brazil after a 1-1 draw at home to Kenya. They have two games in Kenya and Malawi in June, while closest rivals Malawi have two home games with their only away tie being in Nigeria in September.

  • Property, cash gone in Onitsha market fire

    Property and cash estimated at billions of naira were lost to a fire that razed the Ogbosisi Market, Onitsha, Anambra State, on Wednesday night.

    The fire reportedly started around 1:30am.

    The traders yesterday protested to the government, accusing the security men at the market of causing the fire.

    They alleged that the vigilance group and former executives of the market conspired to raze the market.

    Their suspicion of the vigilance group was fuelled by the alleged absence of four of them when the traders arrived yesterday morning to assess the damage.

    Police spokesman Ralph Uzoigwe said an investigation was underway.

    Uzoigwe promised that the vigilance group members would be investigated.

    The President-General of the Onitsha Bridgehead Traders Association, Mr. Emeka Ilonze, ruled out an electrical fault as the cause of the fire.

    The businessman alleged that the vigilance group was suspect.

    He said: “I have been here since 3am, when I got information that the market was on fire. I called the police and the fire service; they responded on time. That was why the fire could not escalate to the entire bridgehead market. Several millions of naira and equipment have been lost to the inferno.”

    Ilonze conducted the Transition Committee Chairman of Onitsha South Local Government Area, Mr. Ugochukwu Ezeani, round the burnt market.

    The union leader dismissed the insinuation that the fire started from an electrical fault.

    Ilonze said: “There is no way it could be caused by a machine or electrical fault. But for now, only God and the security men know what caused the fire.”

    The traders were downcast.

    Their colleagues were consoling them.

    A trader, who reportedly lost over N100million goods, Mr. Michael Okoye, said he could not save anything from his shop.

    According to him, he kept cash in his shop.

    Okoye said: “I just got a contract yesterday and the money paid for it was among the cash that got burnt in the shop. Also, my goods that I offloaded yesterday are all gone with the fire. I had a giant machine that cuts wood into various sizes; it was also burnt. I lost over N100million to this fire.”

    Another victim, Mrs. Maria Olikeze, said the cause of the fire was a mystery.

    The trader said she lost everything in her shop to the fire.

    The businesswoman urged the state government and individuals to save her and her family from imminent starvation.

    Ezeani said he was saddened by the damage the fire caused.

    He, however, urged the traders to remain calm till investigation is concluded.

    The council chairman said the government would ensure that the security agencies apprehend the perpetrators.

    He added that the police would probe the vigilance group’s alleged complicity in the incident.

  • Court convicts man caught with $7.05m cash

    •To forfeit 25% of undeclared cash

     

    A Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday convicted a 25-year old man, Abubakar Tijjani Sheriff, charged with false declaration under the Money Laundering Law.

    Sheriff was arrested by security operatives on September 27 at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on his way to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for declaring less than the cash he had on him.

    He declared $4.500million to Customs officials, but he was found to possess $7.05million when he was searched.

    He was arraigned yesterday before Justice C. J. Anieke, on a one-count charge and was accused of violating the provisions of Section 12 of the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provision) Act Cap F34, laws of Nigeria, 2004 and 2(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act of 2011, offence punishable under Section 2(5) of the Money Laundering (prohibition) Act, 2011.

    Sheriff pleaded guilty to the charge and appealed to the court for leniency.

    Justice Anieke convicted Sheriff. He was not sentenced to any term of imprisonment, but was ordered to forfeit part of the money.

    The judge ordered that he forfeits 25 per cent of the excess of what he actually declared – estimated at $637, 631, – to the government.

    The judge, in considering his plea for clemency and the information that the funds were not proceeds of crime, ordered the prosecuting agency, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to release to the convict the rest of the money after the deduction.

    He said Sheriff was a first time offender and that his incarceration since his arrest was “enough eye opener.”

    Prosecution lawyer Aliyu Yusuf said after Sheriff’s arrest, the funds were deposited in a GT Bank account for safe-keeping.

    He urged the court to convict Sheriff as charged, having pleaded guilty.

    Sheriff’s lawyer Obafemi Ogundare prayed the court to be lenient with his client and temper justice with mercy.

    He told the court that the money found on his client was contributed by 20 traders, who wanted the convict to help them buy cheap goods from Dubai.

    He said the traders voluntarily went to EFCC office to claim ownership of the money on learning that Sheriff had been apprehended.

    Ogundare further told the court that the money involved was not proceed of crime and that there was no intention to deliberately commit crime.

    He urged the court to order the forfeiture of the 25 percent of undeclared amount as required by law.