What is Working Capital Management: Example, Types & Ratio (2024)

17 June, 2024

10 mins

Working capital is similar to the funds necessary to maintain a business’s operations with ease. Let us consider a business scenario where you have a lemonade stand. You need money to buy lemons, sugar, cups, and other stuff. You also need to have some money to give back to customers as change. Working capital is the funds required to purchase these necessary items and maintain daily operations without running short on resources.

In financial terms, working capital is an important metric that measures the difference between a company’s current assets and current liabilities. It plays an important role in sustaining daily business operations, ensuring that a business has sufficient short-term assets to cover its short-term liabilities. Efficient working capital management allows a company to maintain smooth operations, meet its obligations, and invest in growth.

By the end of this blog, you will be able to understand what working capital management is, its types and examples, along with some tips to improve and manage your working capital efficiently.

Working capital management involves managing a company’s short-term assets and liabilities to ensure sufficient cash flow for daily operations. This involves efficiently handling inventory, accounts receivables, and accounts payables. The goal is to balance these elements to maintain liquidity, minimize costs, and maximize profitability, ensuring the company can meet short-term obligations and invest in growth.

Working Capital = Current Assets – Current Liabilities.

Example of working capital management

Let’s consider a retail business, ABC Electronics. For working capital management, they monitor their inventory to make sure that they are able to meet customer demands, avoiding overstocking. They offer customers the option to buy on credit, ensuring timely collection by sending regular reminders and offering discounts for early payments. Additionally, ABC Electronics negotiates extended payment terms with suppliers, allowing them to pay invoices in 60 days instead of 30, preserving cash flow. By balancing inventory, receivables, and payables, ABC Electronics maintains sufficient cash flow to cover daily operations and invest in growth opportunities.

Working capital management involves managing the key components of current assets and current liabilities to ensure a company has sufficient liquidity to meet its short-term obligations and operate efficiently. The main components are:

• Inventory management

  This involves maintaining an optimal level of inventory to meet increasing customer demand without overstocking, which ties up cash, or understocking, which can lead to lost sales.

• Accounts receivable management

  This involves managing the credit extended to customers and ensuring the timely collection of payments. It includes setting credit policies, conducting credit checks, invoicing promptly, and following up on overdue accounts to minimize bad debts and maintain cash flow.

• Accounts payable management

  This involves managing the company’s obligations to its suppliers and creditors. It includes negotiating favourable payment terms, taking advantage of early payment discounts, and ensuring timely payments to avoid late fees and maintain good supplier relationships.

• Cash management

  This component focuses on managing the company’s cash inflows and outflows to ensure sufficient liquidity. It involves forecasting cash needs, maintaining an adequate cash reserve, investing surplus cash in short-term instruments, and efficiently managing day-to-day cash transactions.

Working capital can be categorized into several types based on different criteria. Here are the main types:

• Gross working capital

  This refers to the total current assets of a company. Current assets include cash, accounts receivable, inventory, and other assets that are expected to be converted into cash within a year.

• Net working capital

  This is the difference between current assets and current liabilities. It represents a company’s liquidity position, indicating whether it has enough short-term assets to cover its short-term liabilities.

• Permanent (or Fixed) working capital

  This is the minimum amount of working capital required by a company for smooth business operations. It remains in the business permanently, unaffected by seasonal or cyclical changes in production or sales.

• Temporary (or Variable) working capital

  This type of working capital is required to meet the short-term and seasonal needs of the business. It fluctuates with the level of business activity, such as increased inventory during peak seasons.

• Regular working capital

  This is the working capital required for the regular and routine functioning of the business, ensuring that all operational needs are consistently met.

• Reserve working capital

  This is the extra working capital maintained to deal with unexpected situations and emergencies, providing a buffer against unforeseen financial pressures.

Here are some of the main reasons why working capital management is crucial for businesses:

• Liquidity

  Effective working capital management ensures that a company has enough cash and readily available current assets to meet its short-term obligations, such as paying suppliers and employees. This liquidity provides financial support during economic downturns or unexpected expenses.

• Operational efficiency

  Working capital management helps streamline operations by optimizing inventory levels, accounts receivable, and accounts payable. It ensures that resources are allocated efficiently, reducing waste and improving overall productivity.

• Cost reduction

  Proper working capital management minimizes costs associated with holding excessive inventory or high debt levels. By reducing the capital tied up in non-income-generating assets, businesses can improve profitability and return on investment.

• Investment opportunities

  Maintaining healthy working capital levels enables companies to seize growth opportunities, such as expanding operations, investing in research and development, or acquiring new assets. Sufficient cash on hand allows businesses to capitalize on strategic initiatives without relying heavily on external financing.

• Risk management

  Effective working capital management mitigates financial risks associated with cash flow fluctuations, credit defaults, or supply chain disruptions. By closely monitoring and managing short-term assets and liabilities, companies can better withstand economic volatility and market uncertainties.

Given the obstacles and opportunities expected in 2024, treasurers and CFOs should prioritize working capital optimization. This will serve as a cost-efficient funding option for improving capital structure and aid in financing strategic initiatives such as digitization, sustainability, and capital spending. Here are some strategies you can implement to manage your working capital better:

• Use inventory management techniques such as just-in-time (JIT) and economic order quantity (EOQ) to maintain optimal inventory levels and avoid overstocking or stockouts.
• Conduct regular inventory audits to identify slow-moving or obsolete items and take necessary actions, such as discounts or returns, to free up capital.
• Ensure timely and accurate invoicing. Implement a structured collection process, including sending reminders and following up on overdue accounts.
• Avoid late payments to maintain good relationships with suppliers and prevent penalties or interest charges.
• Prepare regular cash flow forecasts to predict cash needs and plan accordingly. This helps in anticipating and addressing potential cash shortages.
• Keep an adequate cash reserve to handle unexpected expenses or opportunities without disrupting operations.
• Track inventory, accounts receivable, and accounts payable turnover ratios to monitor and optimize working capital.

HighRadius’ Cash Forecasting Software utilizes AI-driven algorithms to help businesses achieve up to 95% forecasting accuracy, enabling proactive management of liquidity and working capital. Businesses can run scenarios and record the outcomes to compare best and worst cases, making confident working capital decisions with accurate cash forecasts. Our solution easily integrates with multiple banks, ERPs, and financial data sources to gather data and automate the bank reconciliation process. This reduces manual effort and errors and ensures accurate cash balances. This further helps businesses manage their short-term investments effectively, reducing idle cash by 50% and optimizing returns on surplus while maintaining liquidity.

Additionally, HighRadius’ Cash Management Module provides real-time visibility into cash positions across multiple bank accounts, geographies, and currencies, allowing for better cash flow planning and management. This increases the cash management productivity by 70%. It leverages advanced analytics to support strategic financial decisions, such as investment opportunities and funding requirements, helping you with effective working capital management.

1) How do businesses that manage their working capital well stay healthy?

Businesses that manage their working capital well maintain optimal inventory levels, ensure timely collection of receivables, and negotiate favourable payment terms with suppliers. This enhances liquidity, reduces costs, and supports smooth operations, enabling them to meet obligations and seize growth opportunities.

2) How to calculate working capital management?

You can calculate working capital by using the formula:

Working Capital = Current Assets – Current Liabilities.

Identify current assets (cash, accounts receivable, inventory) and current liabilities (accounts payable, short-term debt). Positive working capital indicates good liquidity.

3) How to improve working capital management?

To improve working capital management, optimize inventory levels, accelerate accounts receivable collections, and extend accounts payable periods. Use cash flow forecasting, negotiate better payment terms, and leverage technology for automation and real-time monitoring. Maintain a healthy balance between assets and liabilities.

4) What is net working capital in financial management?

Net working capital in financial management is the difference between a company’s current assets and current liabilities. It measures the company’s liquidity and ability to cover short-term obligations. Positive net working capital indicates financial health and operational efficiency.

5) What is the goal of working capital management?

The objective of managing working capital is to guarantee that a company has enough liquidity to fulfil its immediate liabilities and to optimize the ratio of current assets to current liabilities. This boosts operational effectiveness, reduces expenses, and supports sustainable expansion and financial security.