Swooping in to save you money

Whether your business thrived due to increased demand or needed to access some of the guaranteed funding made available through the various lending schemes, managing cash flow has been critical throughout the coronavirus pandemic. As we gradually emerge from the crisis, you will more than likely find yourself facing a new set of challenges, either retaining staff once the furlough scheme comes to an end or starting to make repayments on your loans.

So how can you start building cash reserves?

Here at Swoop Funding, we’ve identified three areas where you can save thousands of pounds per year, money that you can use to make sure your business weathers some of the most challenging trading conditions in recent memory.

Banking

According to the Current Account Switching Service, SME business accounts make up only 3% of overall switching [1]. But that trend might be about to change. Research published by compliance platform Encompass shows 41% of SMEs would like to move to a new banking provider due to the poor level of service they experienced over the last few months [2].

Swoop can help you explore your options. Our switching service calculates your annual savings by comparing your current costs against both traditional and challenger banks offering the same range of services. We recently saved one of our customers £2,000 a year due by moving his account to a new provider. And for added peace of mind, we also include each bank’s service ratings (assessed by the Financial Conduct Authority) in your personalised report.  

International payments

Many SMEs have to send money abroad, not just importers and exporters but also those who outsource services like web development. However, analysis by payments platform Money Mover shows they pay £4 billion in hidden fees, mostly due to the spread charged by their bank on the exchange rate [3].

If you’d like to avoid these extra costs, our FX savings analysis tool compares the fees charged by independent providers with your bank and calculates how much you could save. This tool helped one of our clients cut costs by £6,000 per year. HGV Ltd needed to borrow £25,000 but was struggling to convince the lender that they could afford it. After exploring the options with Swoop, HGV started using an alternative FX provider for international payments, and the savings covered the loan repayments.  

Utilities

62% of SMEs claim energy is a significant cost to their business, according to the Federation of Small Businesses [4]. However, you could drastically cut these costs, not to mention the rest of your utility bills, if you negotiate with your current provider or better yet, shop around.

The problem is, how many business owners have time to research the different options? That’s where Swoop comes in. Using our smart technology, we can figure out if you’re paying too much for your utilities and then help you to switch to providers that will save you money.

To find out more about how Swoop Funding can help your business build up cash reserves, click here.

[1] https://www.bacs.co.uk/documentlibrary/competitive_current_account_market.pdf

[2] https://www.encompasscorporation.com/blog/businesses-scrap-banking-provider-slow-support-COVID-19/

[3] https://www.moneymover.com/media/uploads/files/UK-SME-International-Payments-Analysis-Summary.pdf

[4] https://www.fsb.org.uk/resource-report/time-and-energy.html