‘A sale ain’t a sale ‘till the money hits the bank!’
In business, we’re all sales-orientated, right? The problems come later, when your invoices are not paid on time.
How do you tackle this awkward situation?
Truth is, you don’t want to risk upsetting your customers by having to ask for payment.
So you wait.
And you wait.
And you hope, that some day soon, you’re gonna get paid!
In the meantime, your cash flow is put under more pressure. Your bank balance starts to attract charges. You can’t pay your suppliers . . . and guess what? They have no hesitation in putting your account ‘on stop,’ sending you letters (for which, they no doubt will charge you!) and eventually, you get irate telephone calls off them, threatening legal action against you, if you don’t cough up!
There IS an alternative!
Good credit control begins at point of sale. Discuss your terms of business BEFORE taking the order. Make sure your invoices clearly define WHEN you expect to get paid. Add a footnote to all invoices, that if not paid on time, penalty charges under The Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act (1998) will be applied, and that ALL unpaid-when-due invoices will be automatically passed to your agents for more formal recovery action.
And if they’re still late paying you, don’t delay, get the experts in! Look for specialised commercial debt collectors on thebestof Newport!