Ways to recover late business debt payment

More and more businesses are finding that they are spending more on debt recovery collection than ever before. The cost of funding staff to chase late payment is spiralling. Those companies which don't chase late payment find themselves getting deeper into debt and possibly closing when they failed to pick up on the fact that a customer was on it's last legs

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

Is a business a bad risk ?
Check them out through any 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.

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. Threaten to put the matter in the hands of professional debt collection agencies. 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.

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.