Small business initiatives welcomed

Business Central welcomes three new government initiatives to support small businesses.

"Prime among these is the target for government departments to pay as fast as they can the small businesses that deal with them," says Chief Executive John Milford.

"This has been an issue for a long time for many of these businesses, who tend to live hand to mouth on many of their contracts, so it’s great to see the Government taking the lead and setting targets for its own departments to pay 95 per cent of domestic invoices within 10 business days.

"Small businesses make up 97% of New Zealand enterprises, employ 29% of workers, and account for around 26% of GDP, so improving their cash flow in any way we can is good for the economy.

"The challenge is now for big companies to do the right thing and follow this lead.

"If government departments can do it I can’t see any reasons why most big companies, which often have the capacity, can’t do the same.

"It’s also good to see the Government has listened to the Small Business Council by also introducing new online resources to help small businesses access options for raising finance and strategic advice with their limited staffing resources.

"Often in small business, a few people have to have knowledge across a lot of areas, so anything that helps lift business performance is a good thing for us all."

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