Dive Brief:

• Despite the prominence of the U.S. elections and concerns over the Brexit threatening to disrupt growth in the west, a recent survey by C2FO suggests small and medium enterprises are more concerned about the lack of financing options than politics. 
• Borrowing money is one of the biggest problems for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), with approximately 55% saying cash flow is their top concern and 29% saying they have little ability to borrow money.  Roughly 60% also said they are concerned about their long-term financing capabilities.
• SMEs are attempting to find a variety of sources to obtain financing, with alternative solutions like "asset-backed" loans becoming more popular for larger companies. Factoring, invoice discounting and supply chain financing fund almost 20% of the SMEs surveyed while another 18% using peer-to-peer lending. 

Dive Insight:

Financing and debt remain one of the biggest concerns for small and medium enterprises, and for good reason. Meeting the competition in the marketplace today is a major factor in surviving the ever-increasing online market, especially for SMEs. Higher interest rates for borrowing don’t make it any easier.

There's another lesson to be drawn from SME's expressed desire for better financing options: growing companies prefer faster, more secure methods of payment. More than 75% of respondents indicated they preferred to work with business partners that offered accelerated payments options.

Operations cash is usually the significant source of SME funding, with 76% of SMEs in Europe and the U.S. relying on their own profits to grow the business and survive. Getting paid quickly is always a goal in order to have working capital.

In addition, accelerated payment options signal that the partner company's accounts are always in order, and can provide much needed liquidity for rapid investments and other payments. The survey therefore suggests buyers and suppliers would do well to integrate these services into their accounts payable software and procurement practices.