With Tata’s announcement of the loss of more than 750 jobs in South Wales, and reports around the loss of £1m per day at the Port Talbot steelworks, cash flow management is the ever-apparent key to surviving.

With cheap imported steel providing competition, Tata is struggling to compete with, along with high salary costs, the job losses may just be the beginning.

With the knock-on effect of Tata’s announcement on smaller business such as suppliers and contractors to the steel plant, it is important to remember that all SMEs and micro-businesses need to ensure that their finances and cash flow are in a healthy state should a key client experience problems.

Steve Adams, of Newport-based brokerage Simply Factoring Brokers, which is based in The Estates Office, Gold Tops, has these five top tips for managing cash flow:

Do your homework

For new businesses, it’s important you establish when you'll break even. When you start off a business it's so easy to just dive straight in and not monitor your outgoings and your profits properly. Making sure you set a breakeven point means that you'll have a target to work to, increasing your drive to hit that goal. Not only should you use your breakeven point to determine your sales targets, but also to help you determine your cash flow targets, giving you a better understanding of when, and how quickly, you need to collect payment from your customers.

Invoice quickly

Again, this sounds like it's something everyone would naturally do, but it's fairly uncommon. It's easy to get caught up in delivering, customer service and everything else to do with running your business, especially if you're a bit averse to numbers. Invoicing quickly and using software to automate regular invoices really takes the pressure off and can help you avoid those awkward conversations.

Use software

Simple, secure, cloud software like Xero, FreeAgent or FreshBooks are all reasonably-priced, straightforward, online subscription services allowing you to automate regular monthly invoices.They also track your bank feeds securely so you can reconcile your books easily. These systems are perfect for helping you see your profit and loss easily. Some will even send your clients automated polite reminders when they are late paying you, eliminating the need for that scary phone call and chasing people for money.

Alter your payment terms

Altering your payment terms seems nerve-wracking to a lot of people, but at the end of the day you have to choose something that works for you. Payment terms of 60 or 90 days can really stretch your cash flow, so depending on your industry, consider whether you can invoice upfront or at least with a deposit. All this needs is a little expectation setting to your new clients, and a quick conversation checking when your current clients tend to make their regular payments.

Get paid as soon as you raise an invoice

Invoice Factoring matches you with a reputable funder. They then pay you up to 90 per cent of every invoice as soon as you raise it. So no matter your payment terms, or how late your main payer can be, you'll have money in the bank, letting you concentrate on delivering your services and growing your business.It's a perfect way to free up the cash you're already earning, because you're only borrowing against your own sales ledger.