A valuable money tip for freelancers
November 30th, 2018 by Bob Bly
Unlike employees with salaries, who know what they’re making each
month, freelancers and small business owners often face
unpredictable cash flow.
Even if business is good, payment promptness varies among your
clients.
As a result, your bank account may be flush and full one month,
while another month, there’s barely enough money to pay the rent.
If you don’t keep careful track of your cash flow when funds are
scarce, you risk writing a bad check without realizing it.
You never want a check to bounce, especially with certain payees.
These include the bank that holds your mortgage, the gas and
electric utility, and especially the IRS.
So here’s a simple tip that can keep you solvent when cash flow
is lean: take out a line of credit at the bank where you have
your business account.
Because life is expensive today, I recommend a credit line of at
least $25,000 — and $50,000 would be even better.
Have the bank connect your line of credit to your business
account to give you overdraft protection.
Meaning if you write a check, and there are insufficient funds to
cover it, the check automatically draws from your line of credit.
No bounced checks. No worrying about low account balances or a
temporary lull in your cash flow. No pissing off valued vendors.
With overdraft protection, your service providers are paid, you
don’t risk shut-off of a vital service such as the gas or
internet access — and you don’t get black marks on your credit
report.
I have such a line of credit and overdraft protection on my
business account.
I’ve never had to draw on it — so far.
But you never know.
And it’s better to be safe than sorry.
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