Prime Your Finances for Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Three Things You Can Do Now to Brush Up Your Corporate Card, Optimize Your Cash Flow, and Make the Most of Seasonality

Pre-holiday, e-commerce shopping trends—peaking on Black Friday and Cyber Monday—have exploded in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with November 2020 seeing the biggest online shopping day in U.S. history.

Needless to say, you want your finances to be ready this holiday season.

Failing to prepare for the pre-holiday shopping frenzy means your business could miss out on key opportunities to maximize your working capital and boost your revenue—especially as you invest in the resources you need to get through Q4.

Below, we suggest three actionable steps you can take now to optimize your cash flow and bring your finance team up to speed to meet surging seasonal demand. You’ll be extra thankful when late November rolls around.

Secure a high, stable credit limit.

The leadup to the holidays sees a huge increase in spending across channels, from inventory procurement and shipping costs to advertising on platforms like Facebook and Google.

One of the most dangerous variables you can experience during this critical time is a low or fluctuating credit limit. The holidays are busy enough without having to monitor and pay down your card balance every day or worry about having your ads shut off due to overshooting your limit.

Still, many card providers force your hand by underwriting your business with outdated operations and revenue data while neglecting to consider your continued growth. Others focus solely on cash balance, causing your credit limits to plunge during periods of heightened spending.

You need a credit limit that will support your holiday spend—not hamper it. Now is the time to find a card provider that understands your seasonal rhythms and gives you the confidence to spend during busier periods, when you most need a financial boost.

Rho, for instance, leverages advanced analytics to take a more holistic approach to underwriting. Using multiple data points, we find a company the highest possible and more stable credit limit that grows with them as they scale.

Flex your payment terms.

The holiday season can throw a wrench into even the stablest cash conversion cycle. As companies take on additional expenses to expand their inventory and kick ad campaigns into high gear, they should have the flexibility to set credit terms that make the most of their business patterns.

As you prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, get corporate cards that lets you adjust your credit terms regularly and optimize cash flow to meet shifting needs.

Going into Q4, that usually means extending your payment terms—from 30 to 45 or even 60 days—to stretch your float, amplify your working capital, and give your business room to breathe among escalating and unpredictable expenses.

But no two businesses are alike, especially during the holidays. You may be looking to take advantage of your greater spending instead and maximize cash back opportunities in lieu of float.

The Rho Card makes this possible, providing meaningful cash back on business purchases with the one-day settlement card—and it should serve as a benchmark as you find the card that’s right for your organization.

Whether you choose to extend days to pay or maximize cash back, the important thing is that your corporate card provider acknowledges your company’s unique cash flow needs and gives you the choice.

Get organized.

This one may seem obvious, but keeping your team aligned, productive, and organized during the busy holiday season is getting more difficult as the demand for e-commerce grows. However you decide to structure your payment terms, you still have to ensure the transactions themselves are accurately and effectively recorded and tracked.

Fortunately, many modern financial services are keeping pace.

Look for a smart corporate card that not only reports but categorizes your business expenses in real time on an integrated digital platform, giving you live visibility into what, where, and how your team is spending.

The Rho Card makes this especially easy by letting you assign virtual cards to recurring vendors and ad channels—as well as different team members and departments—and set customized limits and permissions to manage your spend.

At the end of each season, you’ll have a comprehensive breakdown of charges across different categories and can use these insights to analyze and improve on your financial planning and budgets year over year.

By streamlining finances with a smart corporate card, you’ll allow your managers and finance teams to ditch the spreadsheets and calculations and focus on more pressing and impactful tasks when the holidays come along.

Want to learn more?

Read up on Rho’s clever corporate cards and see how our high credit limits, flexible terms, and real-time reporting make business finance a breeze—even during the holidays.

Or, if you’re looking to get started, why not book some time with our helpful experts to get the ball rolling? Consider it an early holiday gift for your finance team.

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