Financial institution Citizens has introduced Citizens Cash Flow Forecasting, a digital solution created to help small business owners forecast their cash for up to 12 months. The application offers tips and insights as well as competitive benchmarking that enables business owners to compare their company to similar businesses based on geography, revenue and employee count.
It will be available to customers who use Citizens Cash Flow Essentials the online and mobile cash management platform that launched in 2023. Cash Flow Forecasting joins Citizens’ suite of digital resources for small business owners, including Digital Account Opening, Zelle® for small businesses and mobile deposit.
The new solution meets a key need highlighted in the recently released Citizens 2024 Business Outlook Survey, which found that more than half of small and mid-size business owners (55%) view improving insight into company cash flow as a top priority in 2024.
“We work closely with our business customers to identify critical needs. Then, we provide digital tools that offer an exceptional customer experience and empower them to make confident financial decisions,” said Mark Valentino, head of Business Banking, Citizens. “Cash flow forecasting is designed to help clients consolidate their financial applications and optimize their financial performance, so that they can spend more time running the businesses they love.”
Citizens’ survey of 600 principals at small and mid-size businesses in the United States (up to $25 million in annual revenue) reveals several advantages to consolidating cash flow tools. In fact, respondents who have consolidated their cash flow applications reported benefits including increased profitability (44%), increased productivity (43%) and lower costs (42%).
The survey, conducted in February, found that companies leaning heavily on insights and advice expect to have a competitive edge over their peers. In fact, 87% of “insight-driven” businesses – respondents with more than $500,000 in annual revenue that tap into financial tools and expert advice at least weekly – anticipate fast expansion in the year ahead and 72% have growth-focused five-year plans. Eighty-eight percent of these businesses also report having an “extremely or very good” understanding of company cash flow.
The survey uncovered several specific tactics that may help small and mid-size business owners achieve success. These include:
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