3 posts tagged “late”

Medium to small businesses are at risk of being paid slowly by larger clients. Really bad late payment can even lead to insolvency in the worst cases. It has come to the point that after many years that the  chasing of late payment and managing debtors is a day-to-day task for many small businesses.

In an attempt to help businesses overcome the threat of late payment the Government introduced the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. This gives small firms with 50 or less employees a statutory right to interest for the late payment of commercial debts. This statutory right to interest and other new entitlements are available to all businesses and public sector bodies from 7 August 2002.

You can many things to avoid the dangers of late payment:-

1. The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 allows small businesses to claim interest on overdue payments from other companies. Originally drawn up to help small businesses claim against larger businesses, the law now extends this rule to claim debt recovery against other small businesses. Even if you did not state a payment period in the initial agreement with a client, the Act states that a payment becomes 'late' after 30 days. You are entitled to claim interest at 8% above the prevailing Bank of England base rate. It is worth quoting the Act on any invoices sent to clients.

2. Clearly many small businesses feel vulnerable in demanding payment from larger companies, this is very understandable. For this reason, it is essential to follow the initial steps mentioned above when doing business with clients. If late payment occurs, always try to politely obtain settlement for overdue invoices before taking further action.

3. If a client has not paid on time, it is essential to follow up on the invoice. Always try to obtain a point of contact in the accounts department since this will save time. Politely ask for the payment to be made and if the problem persists, you can consider charging interest on the overdue amount, or in the worst case, threaten the late payer with legal action with Business Debt Collection agencies

4. Clearly print your terms and conditions for payment on any contracts (or order confirmations) signed with an end-client. These terms should clearly state the payment period for any invoice - quite often you would expect payment within 30 days, but this could be shorter or longer depending on your type of business. Company Credit Checks are a way of checking your new customers and existing customers

5. You could offer an early payment discount, or a discount for upfront payment of several installments. For example, you could charge £500 + VAT for a service/product if the amount is settled within your agreed payment period, and £475 + VAT if payment is made within 10 days. This is likely to encourage many clients to pay early, although you will of course make less money on each deal.

There are many ways to use the internet to help combat late payment. One of the newest is a name and shame web site offering membership services.

Tips for getting late payments paid earlier or on time

Don’t listen to the excuses
You already know most of them, “Can you resend the invoice”,  “it’s passed for payment” and  ‘the cheque is in the post’. Get invoices paid directly into your account. Your customer can not themn use the excuse that the cheque may be lost or that it is waiting for signature. You can also list a late payer on sites  which offer business debt collection services, websites which are cheap and cost effective.

Work  at it
Don’t think that businesses will pay you on time. You need to build relationships with people who hold the purse strings in companies which are slow in paying. Phone them, talk to them, smile on the phone to them, get them on your side. Be like a rat up a drain pipe and pester them in a nice way. Before you know it you will be the first to be paid.  A phone call in advance of the payment date confirming that you will receive payment puts your contact on the spot and he might not want to let you down. Paying direct into your bank is good, meet with your customers and press them into this

Ask for interest and ask for prompt payment
It is possible and legal  to ask for interest on late paid invoices.
Encourage prompt payment, if your pricing allows , hard in today’s climate, offer a prompt payment discount and link it in with Bacs electronic payment. You will see a positive cash flow with money going into your account quickly. Not waiting for money to clear means that you can use it immediately and don’t have to rely on costly loans.   

Do as you ask
Don’t get a bad reputation yourself as a bad payer news travels fast so pay your suppliers on time.  

Is a business a bad risk ?
Check them out through  debt recovery companies or associations they may be in, check out Companies House which can provide reports on line to you. Prevent risk by doing a credit risk check on all new potential customers.  risk by performing a credit check on all new customers.  Beware of companies which give may give referees which provide a big proportion of their supplies, ask what percentage they are responsible for. That supplier may be paid on time every month because not to do so could influence deliveries. Business debt collection is hard, one needs to be tough to make it work.

Internal Cost of Late Payment

Some companies are paying for dedicated staff to chase late payment others are not so fortunate. On average the internal cost for those not able to afford dedicated staff can be up to 20 lost working days per year.

DUE2PAY is a web site aimed at bringing common sense back to the problem of late invoice payments, by tackling debt recovery in a new way. Late invoice payment is now regarded as an acceptable practice for late payers and an addition to business debt collection . In some cases the practice is an effort save a business from closing, for other companies the philosophy is to dot it as and acceptable to fund an already profitable business. Consider www.due2pay.co.uk as an early warning system, an alarm which if triggered can save you a lot of money for a fraction of the cost of the interest you are paying in funding your customers' businesses. Or a fraction of the cost of phone calls to chase payment and of solicitor's letters.
The Forum of Private Business in the UK says that late payments of invoices are having a serious impact on 70% of firms, with nearly 60% reporting that the situation had worsened over the past year. It is apparent that this scenario of late payment is being used as a form of free credit for businesses. Delaying payment to many customers funds a business and reduces bank borrowings. Any surplus cash held by a customer will in turn earn interest. Depending on the size of firm, late payments can have a major impact with a third of firms losing between £1,000 and £5,000 a year as a result and 15% losing between £5,000 and £50,000. On a daily basis we are hearing of companies forcing firms to accept mandatory discounts, longer payment times, and payment delays.
You can use www.due2pay.co.uk along side a company credit check. In fact it can work well alongside other traditional methods such as business debt collection and company recovery of debts through outside agencies which take a more hands on approach. UK government introduced the right to charge interest on late payments but this rarely happens in practice. www.due2pay.co.uk has two interesting powerful strings to its bow.
1) Where the website sends an email and fax to a customer asking them to pay an invoice within 14 days. If it remains unpaid, then the supplier is revealed on the site as a late payer. A nice addition which shows it is not all one sided is that the late payer is given the opportunity to 'dispute an invoice' and potential suppliers can enter into discussions with them and also the aggrieved supplier.
2) The 'Watch List'. Put a company on your Watch List and when it is listed as a late payer you will be informed by email.Large companies are using various methods to keep more money in their accounts. For example increasing the time it takes to settle suppliers' bills from 30 days to 75 days and imposing a 2.5% ' settlement' charge on payments. Cutting payments to suppliers by two per cent, despite one company almost doubling its annual profits.
The FPB says that it wants to see the Government 'leading by example' by committing to paying its suppliers on time, as well as introducing a code of conduct for itself and big companies. Chief Executive of the FPB, Phil Orford, said: 'Protecting cash flow, which is the lifeblood of any small business, has become even more important because of the credit crunch. We would like to see non-statutory measures implemented to enable businesses to hold late-payers to account without fear of losing customers and contracts.' Join www.due2pay.co.uk now and take advantage of the free trial