Project restart – financial considerations for dentists

Michael Copeland covers some financial considerations for dental practices as project restart gets the green light.

Coronavirus is having a significant impact on businesses and individuals across the country. Dentists are no exception.

As practice owners attempt to balance restarting their operations with protecting and caring for staff and patients, financial considerations should be at the top of the to do list.

From mitigating cashflow issues to accessing NHS funding. It’s important that dentists have a clear picture of how to best combat the weeks and months ahead.

Below are four questions that dentists should ask their financial consultant to help them with a restart.

How do I manage cashflow for a restart?

With practice closures affecting revenue, particularly those with a predominantly private income, many owners will be looking at how they can support their cashflow during a restart.

Liquidity is the number one issue. Practices should undertake thorough cashflow forecasts as a matter of urgency, running them on a weekly basis. Extend the horizon from the usual 12 weeks to 26 weeks and explore them on a granular, receipts-and-payments basis.

Reviewing fixed costs to identify any non-essential overheads, as well as immediately issuing any invoices and following-up with debtors will help to paint a clearer picture of the money in the practice.

It’s useful to understand suppliers’ payment terms too and consider which are most critical.

From here, you can work to identify where you need further help during the restart, such as a short-term loans.

What government support is on offer?

As many practices closed their doors to patients during the lockdown, some, particularly those offering private services with little or no NHS funding, may consider how they can ease resulting cashflow pressures.

Support…