8 Proven Ways to Improve Working Capital Management Today

In the fast-paced business world, working capital is essential for maintaining financial health and operational agility. Think of it as the fuel that keeps the engine of your business running smoothly, providing you with the necessary resources to fulfil obligations, seize opportunities, and drive growth.

Are you ready to unlock untapped potential and propel your business toward unparalleled success? If yes, then you need to learn about key strategies to maximize working capital. Improving working capital involves strategically managing your assets and liabilities to maximize your financial potential. It’s not just about having enough cash in hand; it’s about making every dollar and decision count. 

In this blog, we will understand the key challenges that result in negative working capital and the eight essential strategies that will empower you to improve working capital.

What Is Working Capital?

Working capital is a financial metric that showcases a business’s liquidity by measuring the difference between a business’s current liabilities and current assets. It ensures that a business has enough cash and cash equivalents in hand to meet its short-term financial obligations. 

Before we dive into understanding the intricacies of working capital, let us understand how it is calculated.

Current assets include cash, accounts receivable, inventory, and other assets that can be easily converted into cash. Current liabilities include accounts payable, short-term loans, and other debts that are due within a year.

Why Is Working Capital Important?

Working capital is crucial to businesses’ financial health and operational efficiency. It is an important metric that affects many parts of a business, such as paying employees and suppliers and planning for long-term growth. Here’s why working capital is important:

• Incremental changes in working capital ensure improved liquidity coverage

  • Optimal working capital levels ensure a company has enough liquidity to cover its short-term obligations and fund its day-to-day operations.
  • An increase in working capital signifies improved financial stability and the ability to seize growth opportunities without relying heavily on external financing. 

• Working capital optimization maximizes operational efficiency

  • Efficient working capital management involves optimizing the balance between current assets and liabilities to maximize operational efficiency and profitability.
  • Businesses can enhance working capital optimization by streamlining processes, reducing unnecessary inventory, and improving receivables collection.

• Working capital management enables seamless cash flow 

  • Proper working capital management enables businesses to maintain smooth cash flows, meet financial obligations on time, and avoid liquidity crises.
  • It also allows companies to invest in growth initiatives, manage seasonal fluctuations, and respond effectively to market changes.

Working Capital Optimization: Analyzing for Gaps and Opportunities

Working capital optimization is the process of managing a company’s current assets and liabilities to maximize its liquidity and cash flow. To achieve this, businesses need to identify gaps and opportunities for working capital improvement. By measuring key performance ratios, businesses can effectively improve liquidity and profitability and efficiently optimize their working capital Here are the three key ratios used to analyze working capital:

1. Working capital ratio 

This ratio measures a company’s ability to meet its short-term financial obligations. It is calculated as follows:

A high working capital ratio indicates that a company has enough liquid assets to cover its short-term obligations, while a low working capital ratio may suggest that a company is facing liquidity issues.

2. Inventory turnover ratio

This ratio measures how quickly a company’s inventory is sold and replaced. It is calculated as

A high inventory turnover ratio indicates that a company is efficiently managing its inventory, while a low inventory turnover ratio may suggest that a company is holding too much inventory or facing difficulties in selling its products.

3. Collection ratio 

This ratio measures how quickly a company collects its accounts receivable. It is calculated as

The collection ratio is also known as the average collection period or accounts receivable turnover ratio. A high collection ratio indicates that a company is efficiently collecting its receivables, while a low collection ratio may suggest that a company is experiencing difficulties in collecting payments from its customers.

By analyzing these ratios, businesses can identify opportunities for improvement in their working capital management. For example, a company with a low working capital ratio may need to take steps to improve its liquidity by increasing its cash reserves or reducing its short-term debt. Similarly, a company with a low collection ratio may need to implement more efficient billing and collection processes to improve its cash flow.

4 Factors Contributing to Negative Working Capital

Negative working capital commonly occurs when current liabilities exceed current assets, potentially indicating liquidity issues. It is a significant problem that many companies face, and it can be caused by a variety of factors. Here are some common factors that contribute to low working capital in companies:

1. Poor cash flow forecasting:

Inaccurate cash flow forecasting can lead to maintaining large cash buffers, resulting in lower business investment or higher borrowing costs. Inaccurate cash forecasts can also negatively impact the forecast team’s internal credibility, leading to a lack of confidence in the company’s financial management.

2. Manual operations 

Many businesses still rely on manual processes for their day-to-day operations, such as gathering data from different sources, collaborating between departments, and using spreadsheets to consolidate data. These manual tasks are time-consuming, error-prone, and lead to low cash flow visibility, which can result in poor financial decision-making.

3. Lack of systems to track receivables 

Companies that do not have suitable systems to analyze customer payment patterns are unable to track and manage their receivables effectively. This often leads to a high DSO (Days Sales Outstanding)  indicating that a business takes more days to collect its dues. A business with a high DSO often fails to convert orders to cash, and in some cases, it writes off the payment as a bad debt. As a result, this could lead to unstable financial health.

4. Dead-on-arrival reports 

Manual methods often result in “dead-on-arrival” reports, which are reports that are outdated or irrelevant by the time they are generated. This results in high turnaround time and low bandwidth, obstructing timely decision-making and preventing teams from focusing on high-value tasks.

By identifying and addressing these common factors, companies can take steps towards working capital improvement. In the next section, we will explore some strategies for boosting working capital and improving financial performance.

How to Improve Working Capital?

Improving working capital is crucial for businesses to maintain their financial health and achieve long-term success. By implementing effective working capital management strategies, companies can optimize cash flow and minimize the impact of managing cash flow shortages. 

Here are eight working capital strategies that can help businesses improve their working capital management:

1. Improve cash visibility

Companies can improve their cash visibility by automating their cash forecasting processes. This creates a single source of truth by gathering data from different systems and providing a more accurate view of their cash flows.

2. Improve forecasting accuracy 

Incorporating AI and machine learning technologies can help companies improve their cash forecasting accuracy. This allows treasury teams to shift their focus from manual tasks to strategic duties like team and task management, reporting, and decision-making.

3. Improve A/R management 

Accurately forecasting accounts receivable is critical for managing working capital. By automating data capturing, accurately forecasting payment dates, and identifying customer behavior variables, companies can improve their A/R cash forecasting accuracy.

4. Run scenario analysis 

Cash flow forecasting software allows treasury teams to track various scenarios and stress-test potential situations. This enables them to identify their potential impact on cash flows and come up with solutions to potential financial problems.

5. Perform variance analysis 

Most companies neglect variance analysis due to bandwidth limitations. This leads to their forecasts being inaccurate. Hence, organizations should perform regular variance analysis. Regular variance analysis helps companies understand deviations between forecasts and actuals, identify variance drivers, and make adjustments to their forecasts to improve forecast accuracy.

6. Cut unnecessary expenses 

To overcome the shortage of working capital, cash-deficit companies can reduce expenses by cutting production and supply costs, reducing inventory levels, automating tasks, using cloud storage, tracking tax write-offs, and avoiding interest fees.

7. Shorten operating cycles 

Shorter operating cycles suggest that a company has enough cash to maintain operations. It also means that companies can recover investments and meet their obligations. Longer operating cycles reflect potential cash flow issues. Companies can shorten their operating cycles by speeding up the sale of their inventory, reducing the time needed to collect receivables, and extending the time to disburse payables.

8. Track balance in the revolver

Revolving credit is good for companies that have unanticipated expenses. Cash-deficit businesses can overdraw from their credit facility based on the revolver balance. Companies should track their revolver balance by keeping track of the available credit, using a debt module to monitor borrowing activity, and making short-term forecasts to avoid overborrowing.

By implementing these strategies, businesses can improve their working capital management and achieve their financial goals. 

Maximizing Working Capital Efficiency Through Capital Forecasting Solutions

Cash forecasting solutions involve predicting future cash flows and liquidity needs based on historical data and financial projections. Technologies like AI and ML enhance these solutions by analyzing large datasets more efficiently, improving accuracy in forecasting and decision-making processes. A forecasting solution for managing working capital aids businesses by:

1. Optimizing Asset Management: Increase assets strategically while managing inventory efficiently through just-in-time practices and optimizing accounts receivable collections.
2. Debt Management: Reduce reliance on debt to improve current liabilities and enhance overall working capital health.
3. Supplier Relationship Enhancement: Foster better relationships with suppliers and vendors to negotiate favorable payment terms and improve cash flow management.
4. Cost Control Measures: Implement disciplined spending practices, identify and eliminate unnecessary costs, and maintain a focus on efficient resource allocation to support working capital growth.

How Can HighRadius Cash Forecasting Solution Help Manage Working Capital?

HighRadius Cash Forecasting Software is a powerful tool that helps companies manage their working capital more effectively. By using actual data from the past and analyzing disparities between predictions and actuals, this software can generate accurate cash forecasts and improve financial decision-making. It leverages advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) and integrates with banks and ERPs to get AR/AP data, improve ML prediction rates, and enable treasurers to achieve accurate, real-time cash forecasting. Businesses can forecast cash into any category or entity on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis with up to 95% accuracy, perform what-if scenarios, and compare actuals vs. forecasted cash. 

One of the key benefits of HighRadius’ cash forecasting solution is its ability to integrate with ERP systems, bank portals, and TMS, which improves visibility and reduces errors. The software also provides real-time data, enabling accurate reporting and decision-making with ML-powered category forecasts. By using this solution, companies can make confident working capital decisions, reduce borrowing costs, and increase investment returns. 

FAQs

1) What causes a cash shortage in a company?

Cash shortages in companies can be caused by various factors, such as poor cash flow management, excessive spending, unexpected expenses like emergencies or legal fees, delayed receivables, or overestimation of cash reserves. These issues can lead to liquidity problems, affecting day-to-day operations and financial stability.

2) What are the factors affecting working capital management?

The factors affecting working capital management include the nature of the business, the business cycle, the company’s financial policies, the availability of credit, inventory management, accounts receivable and payable management, and the overall economic environment.

3) How to increase the working capital balance?

There are several ways to increase the working capital balance, including improving inventory management, negotiating better payment terms with suppliers, accelerating accounts receivable collections, increasing sales, reducing expenses, and obtaining additional financing.

4) What is working capital management?

Working capital management is strategically managing a company’s short-term assets and liabilities to ensure smooth operations. It involves balancing cash flow, accounts receivable, inventory, and accounts payable effectively to support daily business activities and maintain financial stability.

5) How can you minimize working capital?

Minimizing working capital involves optimizing inventory via just-in-time practices, improving AR collections with efficient invoicing and credit policies, negotiating favorable payment terms with suppliers, and implementing cost-effective cash management techniques to enhance liquidity without affecting operations.

6) What are the challenges in minimizing working capital?

Minimizing working capital faces challenges like optimizing inventory levels without affecting production, managing accounts receivable to ensure timely payments, negotiating favorable payment terms with suppliers, and balancing cash flow for operational needs while maintaining financial health and meeting business goals.

7) What is net working capital?

Net working capital is an important metric that measures the liquidity of a company. It is calculated by subtracting current liabilities from current assets. The net working capital provides a more accurate picture of a company’s financial health, as it takes into account the company’s short-term obligations.

8) What does improved working capital mean?

Improved working capital refers to a state where a company efficiently manages its current assets and liabilities, resulting in better liquidity and operational efficiency. It indicates an enhanced ability to meet short-term obligations and fund daily operations without relying heavily on external financing.

9) How can a company improve its working capital?

A company can improve its working capital by optimizing inventory levels, accelerating accounts receivable collections, extending accounts payable judiciously, and managing cash flow effectively. Implementing these strategies enhances liquidity, reduces reliance on external financing, and strengthens overall financial health.

10) What factors increase working capital?

Factors that increase working capital include efficient management of accounts receivable, a reduction in inventory TAT, strategic negotiation of payment terms with suppliers to extend accounts payable, and improved profitability leading to higher retained earnings. 

11) What is considered good working capital?

Good working capital typically means having enough current assets to cover short-term liabilities comfortably. A positive working capital ratio (current assets exceeding current liabilities) indicates financial health and the ability to meet obligations, fund growth, and withstand economic uncertainties.