A VAT relief programme should be publicised more widely to make sure that more small firms take advantage of it.
In news which might be of interest to business insurance customers, the Forum of Private Business (FPB) is calling for more information to be made available about the Cash Accounting Scheme (CAS).
Any company with a turnover of less than £1.35 million, CAS allows people to pay VAT on actual payments, rather than outstanding invoices.
Phil Orford, chairman of the FPB, also called for the turnover level to be increased to £2 million.
He said: "The improvement to cash flow could be as much as £10,000. For some business owners, this could be the difference between survival or not."
Companies which are eligible for the scheme should implement it straight away, he added.
Yesterday, a survey by the body found that just 47 per cent of owners of small firms believe their bank manager to be a trusted source of financial advice.
