Locked capital could turn any good business venture sour. Whether there are issues with receiving payments, supply chain hurdles or a lack of general transparency, a stunted in-flow could snuff even the brightest businesses out.
In light of the kill-switch, the UK’s newest fintech, Bristol-based Saltare, has brought its solution to market in an effort to help businesses across the country improve cash flow, strengthen supply chain relationships and give more certainty to payments.
Eighty-two per cent of businesses fail not because of a lack of profit, but due to a lack of cash. Recent studies suggest how small businesses in the UK are currently waiting on almost £200billion tied up in unpaid invoices, with each business chasing an average of five invoices at any one time; valuing around £8,500 per invoice.
Saltare believes that the key to unlocking those payments could rest in incentivising larger organisations to pay early, and in giving them the tools and reasons for doing so.
The fintech is looking to change how business payments are made and received, developing digitally-based tools to encourage larger organisations to get money into the hands of their smaller suppliers quickly and benefit directly by doing so through discounts and other preferential terms.
In re-examining the relationship between the customer and the supplier, Anthony Persse, the founder and chief executive of Saltare, believes that his company has the potential to turn the late payment conversation on its head: “British business needs to be much more disruptive in its thinking if we are to make real, meaningful change,” Persse explains.
“By shifting the debate away from the negative commentary around ‘late payment’ and moving it towards a more positive conversation about ‘early payment’, we will do much more than simply improve payment performance,” he continues. “We will help create more jobs, deliver greater levels of investment and generate deeper social value with long-term sustainability at a time when the country needs it most.”
Saltare is to release a suite of mobile-led products that will enable buyers to manage their supply chain in a way that works for them and their key suppliers – giving all parties greater choice, convenience, certainty and transparency.
The tools currently being developed by Saltare will seek to address the needs of some of the more challenging sectors and industries, where big businesses or organisations have an extended supply chain. These range from the public sector and local authority bodies through to retail and construction.
Persse says that a good business can easily fail if they don’t have cash: “Our mission is to develop a series of tools that bring the certainty of payment, and the certainty of cashflow, that support both ends of the supply chain.
“Bigger than this, our mission is to change the mindset of businesses once and for all, to embrace a new approach that is simple to make, and yet will have positive consequences for future generations.”
To support the launch, Saltare is expected to announce a number of senior appointments across its sales and marketing teams in the coming weeks.
