UAE SMEs can now build a 90-day cash flow plan with invoice financing

Let’s talk about your cash flow. Not your revenue. Not your “booked deals.”

We mean actual cash in the bank—the kind you can pay salaries with, buy inventory with, or use to grab that new business opportunity.

Because here’s the thing: revenue looks good on paper. But unpaid invoices don’t pay your bills.

If you’ve been in business in the UAE for longer than a quarter, you know this reality intimately. Clients take 60–90 days to pay. Government entities and large corporates might be solid buyers—but they often have long internal approval cycles. Meanwhile, your staff, suppliers, and rent can’t wait that long.

That’s where a 90-day cash flow plan comes in. And invoice financing? It’s the rocket fuel.

Let’s walk through how to build one—step-by-step.

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1. Take Inventory of Your Receivables (And Be Brutally Honest)

Start by asking:
What cash is actually coming in—and when?

Open your books. List every pending invoice that’s still unpaid. Then assign a “likely-to-be-paid” date. Be real about it. If your buyer says “net 60” but usually pays on day 90, use 90.

Now map this over the next 90 days. You'll likely see gaps—periods where expenses are higher than inflows.

And those gaps? That’s where most businesses stumble—not because they’re not profitable, but because they’re not liquid.

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2. Map Your Must-Pay Expenses

This isn’t about nice-to-haves. This is your bare minimum to stay in business:

• Salaries and wages
• Rent and utilities
• Supplier payments (especially ones that affect production or delivery)
• Tax payments or VAT settlements
• Marketing or lead generation expenses (if they bring you future business)

Stack them week by week. Put them side-by-side with your projected receivables.

Notice a gap in Week 4? Or a crunch in Week 8 when you’ve got payroll and a supplier payment back-to-back?

That’s your red flag.

You don’t need more revenue—you need faster cash.

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3. Plug the Gaps with Invoice Financing

Here’s where Zelo comes in.

We help businesses like yours get cash today on invoices you’ve already raised—as long as they’re to approved, creditworthy buyers (like ADNOC, Dubai Municipality, NMDC, Amazon, Daman Insurance…you get the idea).

Here’s how it works:

You raise an invoice to a qualified buyer

You register with Zelo and onboard yourself to our platform

Request financing on Zelo against your approved invoices, and within 24–48 hours, you get up to 90% of its value

When your buyer pays, we square it off automatically

This means you can plan your cash flow around when you need money, not when someone feels like paying you.

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4. Build Out Your Cash Flow Sheet

Now that you know which invoices you can finance, do this:

• Add “Zelo Advance” entries into your cash inflow column
  
  
• Match them to the week when you’ll actually receive the financing
  
  
• Push the original buyer payment into a “repayment” line

This gives you visibility:
“I need AED 150K for payroll in Week 5—good news, I can finance this AED 200K invoice I just raised with a large customer and get that money in Week 4.”

Just like that, your runway clears up.

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5. Add a Strategic Buffer

Look, even the best plans hit bumps.

So once your critical expenses are covered, use invoice financing to create a safety net.

• Got a major marketing opportunity coming up?
  
  
• Need to stock up on fast-moving SKUs before Eid or Back-to-School?
  
  
• Want to hire a new resource for that project you just landed?

Don’t wait for cash. Use the capital you’ve already earned—but haven’t been paid for.

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Real Talk: Why This Works in the UAE

Most SMEs here operate in sectors like:

• Contracting and construction
• Oil & gas services
• Professional services
• Retail and F&B
• Logistics and last-mile delivery

All of them rely on large buyers. All of them wait months for payments.

With Zelo, you turn those “waiting periods” into “growth windows.”

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Final Thought

A business that plans its cash flow well doesn’t just survive—it scales.

Invoice financing isn’t just about plugging gaps. It’s about building momentum.

So whether you’re a general contractor waiting on a 1M AED invoice from a government project, or an eCommerce merchant waiting on Amazon’s next payout—Zelo has your back.

Plan smart. Move fast. Get financed.

Let’s build your next 90 days together.

Apply Now in 10 minutes