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ing Black Friday, it will feel Executives interviewed in this article agree that holiday planning, like pay-
more like a year, and losses in ments, is more of a continuous process than a once-and-done proposition. Plans
revenue can be astronomical." that incorporate advanced technologies to manage time-consuming tasks and
deliver timely insights can help merchants achieve revenue goals and deliver a
Manage cash flow great customer experience.
BigCommerce researchers urge mer-
chants to beef up inventories. "Place Dale S. Laszig, senior staff writer at The Green Sheet and managing director at DSL
your orders now, so you're well Direct LLC, is a payments industry journalist and content provider. She can be reached at
stocked for the holiday rush," they dale@dsldirectllc.com and on Twitter at @DSLdirect.
wrote. "Also make sure that each of
your warehouses is appropriately
stocked, or that you have shipping
and fulfillment rules in place to
switch warehouses if a minimum
threshold is hit." Cash flow manage-
ment can challenge small business
owners, Capoccia pointed out. Ob-
stacles may include variable revenue
patterns, inadequate accounts receiv-
able programs and lack of forecasting
tools that would help them be proac-
tive and anticipate needs. Womply's
optional cash management program
links to a merchant's bank account to
provide additional insights and tools
to analyze banking transactions, ex-
penses and key areas of focus, he
said.

Darren Schulman, president of 6th
Avenue Capital, said preplanning
typically involves getting rid of old
stock to make room for new invento-
ry, hiring and training seasonal em-
ployees, updating websites and plan-
ning holiday marketing campaigns.
"All that takes money," he said. "The
time to talk about holiday planning is
now, not next week." Merchant cash
advances use tech-driven underwrit-
ing to provide fast access to working
capital, which can be beneficial to
business owners if they have a plan
for the money, Schulman noted. This
could mean buying a large amount
of inventory at a quantity discount.
"The only reason to take an advance
is to make more money," he said.
"You don't do it to pay old bills."

Schulman advised MLSs to part-
ner with funders who respect their
merchants and take the time to un-
derstand their needs. "No merchant
wants to be defined only by num-
bers," he said. "How well do your
funders listen to their needs and
structure a deal that is right for their
business?"

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