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The aims of the paper are three‐fold: first, to analyse how small and micro firms finance themselves; second, to investigate what their financing preferences are; and third, to explore their opinions on how they evaluate the financing sources and the various obstacles they face in accessing those sources.

The paper uses a sample of Greek small and micro firms, which cover 99.6 per cent of the total number of firms operating in Greece. The data are derived from the answers in a structured questionnaire.

The main conclusions are as follows. Regarding equity financing, firms rely heavily on their own funds and would not raise new equity from sources outside the family; thus, there is a reluctance to use new outside equity (venture capital, business angels, etc.). Regarding debt financing, firms denoted that they would use more debt, specifically long‐term debt, than they currently do. Thus, there are limitations in accessing long‐term debt financing. Regarding grant financing, micro and small firms should be better informed and encouraged more to participate in state grants and co‐financed programs; thus, there is an informational gap in grant financing.

The paper uses a sample of Greek micro and small firms and a survey methodology to tackle the lack of quantitative published data for most small firms in Greece. It incorporates distinct sources of funds that are very important for small firms (family funds, grants provided by the state and micro‐loans). It investigates preferences, not just practices.

This paper aims to explore the reasons for the apparent failure of many UK firms to achieve the competitive advantages indicated in largely positivist literature through the management of their trade credit positions.

The paper utilises data from a set of semi-structured interviews with trade credit managers in firms and is the first substantial qualitative study of the intra-firm aspects of trade credit management in the UK. Through this approach, we explore the reasons why the theoretical promise of trade credit may or may not be realised.

The principal findings relate to the importance of three organisational attributes (skills/awareness, communication and structural position of the activity in the firm). That is, trade credit management should be regarded as a relational activity and not merely a narrow technical function. The paper finds that there is no generic formulation of these attributes that can deliver on the promise of trade credit identified in the extant literature. Rather, individual firms must adapt themselves to suit their circumstances.

This paper will be of interest to and is relevant for companies, accounting professionals and policymakers. Trade credit represents a significant area of commercial risk, and the problems experienced with its effective management have previously proved somewhat intractable.

This paper reports on the first substantial piece of UK work to look at the actualities of how trade credit is managed within firms and what the implications of this are.