BRS Software

  Your Supplier Terms Are Set. But Are They the Right Terms for Your Business? Most businesses negotiate with a supplier once. They agree on a rate, a credit period, a minimum order quantity, and a delivery timeline. And then those terms never change — even as the business grows, the relationship deepens, and the situation on both sides evolves. The assumption is that supplier terms are fixed. Something you accept, not something you shape. But that assumption is costing you money. A supplier who trusts you — who knows you pay consistently and order regularly — will almost always be open to a better arrangement. Not out of generosity, but because a reliable customer is valuable to him too. The question is whether you are asking the right questions. Here are some situations worth thinking about.   If your inventory moves fast — negotiate rate, not days Suppose you are a trader dealing in a fast-moving product. Material comes in, gets sold within a week, c...

Your Supplier Is Giving You Free Money. Are You Using It? Most business owners spend a lot of energy thinking about one side of their working capital. How to collect from customers faster. How to reduce overdue receivables. How to chase payments without damaging relationships. All of that is important. But there is another side of working capital that most businesses do not think about carefully enough. The supplier side. Supplier credit is not just a payment term When your supplier says "30 days credit," he is not just telling you when to pay. He is offering you something valuable. For 30 days, you have his goods in your warehouse — or sold to your customers — while his money is still with you. That is free financing. No interest. No processing fee. No application required. Most businesses accept this credit, say thank you, and then proceed to pay on day 8. That is leaving 22 days of free money on the table. A simple example Let ...