Keeping track of business expenses as well as wages, PAYE, GST and other tax requirements is a challenging aspect of owning a business. Understanding and controlling your business costs is important for business sustainability and can be the difference between success and failure for many small businesses.
Business News Daily have an article “5 Secrets to Improving Your Small Business Profits” in which they suggest that business should try to gain more buying power by joining a “co-op to pool resources with others and buy things at lower cost”. In New Zealand, n3 operates the largest buying group for businesses where we leverage the total spend of our 15,000 members to negotiate special pricing with over 60 leading suppliers.
n3 members not only gain access to discounted goods and services, they can also choosehow to trade with suppliers.
On Account:
For regular business purchases, members set up a trading account with n3 suppliers and receive n3 pricing. They receive a convenient, monthly, consolidated invoice and statement that also shows their savings.
Trade Card:
For cash, EFTPOS and credit card purchases in store, there’s the n3 Trade Card. The n3 Trade Card identifies you as an n3 member and entitles you and your staff to n3 pricing in-store for those last minute purchases.
Trading Account - or as we refer to it, “On Account”
Trading accounts really are the most convenient and practical option when purchasing products and services your business or organisation uses every day. When your business is making regular purchases of a reasonable volume with suppliers, it’s worth setting up a trading account with them.
• n3 pricing is loaded into the back of your account so you get great pricing every time.
• A trading, or credit, account is a facility where suppliers offer special trading terms to qualifying customers.
• Rather than paying in full on receipt of goods, you receive the benefit of consolidated monthly billing on your purchases, with payment due 20th of the month following invoicing or as arranged.
• As suppliers provide goods in good faith that they will receive prompt payment, one of the conditions for receiving trading terms, is a good credit rating.
To minimise the risks of potentially losing money, suppliers often look for added protection of personal guarantees from their customers. Each supplier will have their own risk review and policy process, which may well vary depending on whether the customer is in the private sector, public sector, or a not for profit. Risk protection may therefore appear in one of many forms, such as personal guarantee, bank guarantor, upfront payment, or holding deposit.
Benefits of On Account transactions:
Convenient: Purchase in-store or online with the same account.Saves time: Helps speed up reconciliation of accounts. All your purchases are consolidated into one invoice, billed monthly to you by the supplier, at n3 pricing.
Saves money: Allows you to budget what and when you spend so you control your finances, and helps reduce impulse purchases. Some suppliers provide discounts for early or prompt payments
Secure: Control who and what can be purchased.
The n3 Trade Card - the ID card for cash savings
Purchasing “on account” is not always possible with some suppliers. Whether it’s infrequency of purchase or simply an unforeseen business requirement, ad hoc purchases require payment in full on receipt of goods. This is usually in cash or credit card.
Rather paying consumer prices on your cash purchases, n3 has created the n3 Trade Card. This card identifies you as an n3 member, so you can get special n3 pricing whenever you shop in-store and online with many of n3’s most popular suppliers.
• The n3 Trade Card identifies you as an n3 member whenever you pay by cash, EFTPOS, credit or debit cards, in-store or online, at participating n3 suppliers
• Available in a handy wallet size card or smartphone App. Simply show the cashier or sales person before your goods are scanned, and n3 pricing will be applied to your purchase.
• No trading account required so you can access n3’s everyday low pricing when you need it.
Benefits of Trade Card transactions:
• It's part of the n3 membership – there is no additional cost involved in using this feature.
• There’s no credit facility so there’s no risk, just instant discounts
• No volume commitments
• No forms to complete
• Handy for one-off purchases or where you don’t have regular, ongoing purchase requirements for your business
