Launching funding as a service can feel daunting, it’s not familiar territory and the thought of having to search through lenders and products to make a recommendation can seem risky.
At Fluidly, we handle all the hard work for you. Our FCA-regulated funding specialists search our extensive panel of over 45+ lenders to find your clients the best funding for them.
But what’s more, we don’t just help with sourcing funding, we also identify clients to start a funding conversation with. Fluidly’s funding insights are like a readymade list of clients who might need help. We look at factors like transactions, industry sector and borrowing history, then highlight why a business might benefit from a conversation around cashflow.
Managing Director at Cornish Accounting Paul Miller has found our insights invaluable for saving time and starting conversations.
Here, he talks to us about how he used our Bounce Back Loan insight to reach out to a number of his clients.
Reaching out to clients with useful information
Cornish Accounting Solutions is an advice-led practice in Cornwall, which has a close, hands-on relationship with its clients.
During the third national lockdown, it was looking for new ways to help clients who had taken out government loans.
“A lot of our clients really needed the reserves, so they were sitting tight,” Paul Miller, Managing Director at Cornish Accounting Solutions said.
At Fluidly, we’re constantly improving our insights to take into account seasonality, or trends in the lending market or particular business sectors. We want them to provide a proactive way for you to show your clients you’re thinking of them.
With Bounce Back Loans having a cap of £50,000, we noticed lots of businesses needing access to additional finance as restrictions continued on for much longer than anyone anticipated.
Uncovering clients who could benefit from refinancing
Fluidly analysed Cornish Accounting’s portfolio to look for clients with Bounce Back funding, as they might benefit from transferring to a CBILS loan (where the limit was much higher and there was the possibility to delay repayments further).
“Accountants don’t have a lot of time,” Paul said. “If you give me a readymade list of clients to target and I don’t have to trawl through my records, I’m very happy.”
“Fluidly helps me get a few rungs higher up the ladder.”
After Paul reviewed the list which Fluidly had pulled for him, he contacted the clients he thought were most likely to be approved. He stressed that he wanted to “act as a filtering mechanism” and “do a sanity check”.
Our insights rely on your clients’ data, so they work best when you add your knowledge from your relationships with the businesses too. You really understand your client base, so by working together we can really help you deliver more value to your clients.
Happy clients and an enhanced reputation for advisory
Almost half of the clients Paul spoke to decided to refinance their Bounce Back loans: “I just picked up the phone and told them, ‘I’ve been thinking about your business. If you’re interested in deferring your loan repayments, let me introduce you to Fluidly.’”
One particular client, a roofing company with low margins and high up-front costs, used a £250k CBILS loan to top-up its original funding, buy more materials and grow its business.
“If I didn’t think a business was fundable, I wouldn’t offer it to them,” Paul said. “I always sense-check things first and tailor what I’m saying to each client.”
“After that initial conversation I’ve got no problem handing my client over to Fluidly,” Paul said. “They can talk the talk like me.”
