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Small business owners can relieve a lot of their own cash flow problems, according to Caroline Jordan, small business advisor and author. “

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

Small business owners have more control over their cash flow than they realize.” says Jordan.

To help you get a jumpstart on solving your

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

wn cash flow woes, Jordan offers a free, “Cash Flow Master checklist” that you can get by sending a blank email to TheJordanResult-110571@a

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

tocontactor.com. Jordan also suggests the following tips to help you understand why cash flow problems plague 66% of small businesses.

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

1. Avoid the dreaded “Fly by the Seat of Your Pants” accounting method.--Businesses need to systematically track income, expenses, accounts

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

receivable, and accounts payable. If you only know how your business is doing once a year at tax time, you’re bound to end up deeply mired

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

n the Cash Flow Swamp.

2. Developing “Strength in Numbers”—Once you have your accounting system in place you need to learn what the num

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

ers are telling you and how to use those numbers to manage and grow your business.

3. Keep tight control of credit—Business owners can

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

et themselves in credit trouble two different ways; poor credit granting practices and shortsighted use of credit from banks, credit cards,

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

and vendors.

4. Be sure your Receivables and Payables “play nice” together—The money owed to you by your customers should arrive in

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

ime for you to pay your vendors and your employees. When your customers take 60 days to pay and your vendors want to be paid in 30 days, yo

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

u can quickly end up with a Cash Flow Crunch.

5. Make decisions based on Cash Flow not Profit—Many businesses that fail are profitab

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

e when the doors close. What those businesses don’t have is CASH. When you pursue that big, juicy contract or think about hiring another em

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

loyee, always ask yourself “What will this do to my cash flow?”

6. Don’t forget your debt to society— Some bills are easy to forget.

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

Bills like sales tax, payroll taxes, and estimated taxes. Ignoring them doesn’t make them go away. Planning ahead makes the bite easier to

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

ake and keeps your from suffering Tax Day sticker shock. Scrambling to find money for taxes causes major cash flow problems.

7. Don’t s

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

end your company’s future on a speed boat—Everybody loves toys. Don’t make the mistake of thinking all the profits of your business are

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

fun money”. You’ve heard it many times from personal financial planners that you should have enough cash put aside for six months of expens

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

s. This is true for your business, too. Sales ebb and flow. Expenses rise. Customers leave. Vehicles break down. Computers fry. The number

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

ne rule of small business is “Stuff Happens”. Having a reserve of cash keeps your cash flow from tanking every time a new challenge appears

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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E-Folder - Beating the Small Business Cash Flow Blues

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