With snap lockdowns continuing to disrupt your operations, it’s harder than ever to maintain positive cashflow. Here’s how hummpro can help.
Cafés play an important role in the daily lives of many Aussies and Kiwis. They’re not just places to order a takeaway latte on the way to work or hold a business meeting over lunch, they’re also community hubs where people catch up with their neighbours and feel welcome. This can be seen in the outpouring of local support that has kept many cafés going during COVID-19.
Almost five million Australians say they’ve missed their local café more than pubs and clubs during COVID-19, and nearly half of New Zealanders plan to eat more locally due to the pandemic. Kiwi small business owners in the hospitality industry say that building deeper relationships with customers is one of their biggest opportunities to grow in 2021.
But you still need to have a strong financial foundation in order to tap into this trend. Maintaining positive cashflow is more important than ever with snap lockdowns continuing to disrupt your operations. Here’s how a buy now, pay later solution like hummpro can help you deal with some of the leading causes of cashflow issues for cafés.
Payroll fluctuations
Between the high level of staff turnover in the hospitality sector and varying hourly rates based on the age and experience of your employees, payroll costs can fluctuate and make it hard to forecast cashflow. At the same time, good customer service is critical to your success, so you don’t want to skimp on the hiring front. Make sure you allocate a sufficient portion of your budget to payroll and account for the cost of new hires in your growth plan. And don’t forget to check your payroll costs against your turnover to see if you’re getting a good return on investment.
While you can’t use hummpro to pay your staff’s wages, you can use it to pay for job ad listings, employee training programs or even team-building activities like a visit to a ropes course or dinner out.
Cost of food
Unsurprisingly, the cost of food is one of the biggest expenses for café owners. Your ingredients need to be fresh and high quality in order to keep customers coming back, but if your prices are too high, they might never walk in.
You can keep costs in check by buying seasonal produce from local providers, and sourcing from several different vendors to get the best price for each item. This takes a little extra work, but it also means you’ll be less impacted if one of your vendors misses a delivery. Taking stock of your inventory regularly is also important, since any wasted food is money down the drain.
Paying your vendors with hummpro rather than cash is another good way to manage your food costs. You can use it anywhere that Mastercard® is accepted and you’ll get at least 30 days interest-free before your repayment is due.
Seasonal nature of sales
Taking seasonality into account in your cashflow forecast is crucial, since you may need to spend more on advertising during the slow season, and you don’t want to run the risk of not being able to cover your rent or payroll.
Even if you budget for the slow season, you could still run into cashflow issues if you need to replace or repair your refrigerator or other critical piece of equipment. Having access to up to $30,000 in finance and long-term repayment options with hummpro gives you peace of mind.
From the cost of food to seasonal sales, hummpro can help cafés handle some of the leading causes of cashflow issues.
