Category Archive: Debt Recovery

1. Did you know the ‘A’ Team now has a ‘B’ Team too ?

   April 25, 2018 11:20 am Leave a Comment

   Finally the Government are listening to us….!

    

   

   For those of you that know us well, you will know that our editorials are always packed full of advice and guidance about :

   -how to try to avoid a bad debt occurring in the first instance, then

   -secondly should you sadly have the mis-fortune of experiencing a delayed invoice payment, how best to attempt to recover your debt thereafter.

    

    

   Well it now seems that our publications are reaching higher plains ? The essential advice and guidance that we’ve been passing on to our valued contacts over the last few years has reached the corridors of power in Government.

    

   It is clear that our wise words have been both read and understood in Parliamentary circles, as the very same steps, hints and tips we’ve been preaching for some time can now all be found on the website of the recently created Small Business Commissioner https://www.smallbusinesscommissioner.gov.uk

    

   This Business Commissioner role is to act as a national champion for small businesses and support them in payment disputes with their larger customers.

    

   The role was established in response to the discovery that nearly half of the UK’s small businesses experience late payment.

   Payment processor, Bacs estimated that a total of £26.3bn was owed to these businesses and given that we all rely on the UK’s 5.5 million small and medium sized businesses for jobs, goods and services, an unfair payment culture that hurts these firms has no place in our economy.

    

   “There is simply no excuse for a business culture where supply chain bullying or poor payment practice are acceptable. FSB research shows that poor payment practice is on the rise, causing 50,000 business deaths each year.” Mike Cherry, national chairman at the Federation of Small Businesses commented

    

   Our advice is to keep the above link handy and use the information as a reference, to help you create a strong and robust credit control process.

    

   We see our role in industry to be there for comment and to reflect both sides of any argument. As a result, we are often drawn into discussions on public forums such as LinkedIn and Twitter about the need of some people to name and shame the companies who purposely delay payments.

    

   Although there used to be such forums as ‘Credit Circles’ in the past where like-minded similar industries shared knowledge on bad payers, this practice has fallen out of favour given the rise in credit compliance and data protection regulations.

    

   Well now one of the Commissioner’s roles is to be that point of reference when it comes to naming. The Commissioner actively encourages that people who have suffered through unfair practices at the hands of late payers contact them and complain.

    

   The naming part of the process may prove cathartic to some but sadly the likelihood of these companies being shamed will probably not materialize.

    

   That being said, the creation and potential evolution of the Commissioner is a step in the right direction to resolving issues of late payment and we for one advocate the best practice the Commissioner’s office encourages… even if they have straightforwardly stolen from the industry experts… 😊

    

   To read more of hints & tips check out our blogs

    

2. Are you using the Best Accounts Package for your Business?

   August 17, 2017 12:12 pm Leave a Comment

    

   

    

   Every day, as we run our client’s credit control functions, we remotely access many different accounts systems. As a result, we feel that we’re well suited to pass on our opinions about which accounts systems work best and why. There are many different accounting systems in the marketplace such as Harvest, Kashflow, Wave etc and all are unique and all fulfil a purpose. However for the sake of ease and security in your business, we would recommend you look at one of the big three providers Sage, Quickbooks and Xero.

    

   In our opinion, a good accounts package should complete the minimum of 3 things :

    

   * Allow the process of raising invoices on a daily basis, to either one individual client or a number of clients in a run, with furthermore the ability to be able to email both the original invoices and copies thereafter at any given time.

    

   * Allow you to create a statement of accounts for an individual client, with no barriers as to the dates, values or numbers of transactions to be listed within that statement, which again can be emailed at any given time.

    

   * Have the ability to raise management information reports, to highlight what monies are owed to you by a particular client and from where, with a view to creating a process for the pursuit and recovery of your outstanding monies.There are many other functions that a business owner could deem equally as important to them, this is for the purpose of successful credit control.

    

   Sage is the oldest player in the market and has a well established name within the accounting industry but this may well be its only downfall. Although Sage are working constantly to improve its ‘user friendliness’, in our opinion Sage is great if you have a good grasp of accounts, if you are a complete novice then Sage may not be the best introduction to accounting software.

    

   Quickbooks has also been around for a while but was a little slow in developing the on-line element of accounting. They are more than making up for this now and their advertising presence has increased dramatically over the last few years. However in our opinion although Quickbooks are nearly there with the customer ‘interface experience’ there is still work to be done.

    

   In our opinion Xero is the best starter package for a business looking to gain control of its accounts and its credit control function. Whereas we think Sage suits accounts people with a grasp of business, we think the opposite with Xero, it suits business people who need to gain a better understanding of accounts. Because of this we think it suits the ‘masses’ more.

    

   Furthermore Gavin McBride Director of Smith McBride Chartered Accountants and Tax Consultants share our view:

    

    

   

    “As a practice we have had experience with most if not all of the bookkeeping software on the market. Xero is our preferred choice for our clients to use. The main reason being that they find it easy and logical to use. Xero can really help a business owner to run a much more efficient business and keep track of who owes them money! It can also help them to keep a handle on how much money they are or are not make day to day”.

    

    

3. Why are People Choosing to Outsource Credit Control & Debt Recovery?

   August 4, 2017 4:59 pm Leave a Comment

    

   Last week our final article in a series of three, that looked at the key reasons to outsource your Credit Control and Debt Recovery was published by BBP Media, in The North West Business Post.

    

   Previously we had focused on ‘Time’ and ‘Team’, this article looked at ‘Money’. It was particularly well timed as just before we submitted our final article,  I had a very timely reminder from a valued client about exactly why successful Credit Control is important.

    

   …Upon hearing that we had successfully recovered several thousand pounds in outstanding debt as part of their overall Credit Control  he said,

   “I can’t thank you enough, I can take the family on holiday now.”…

    

   That is the very real and life effecting impact that outstanding debt or unsuccessful Credit Control has on Small Business.

    

   So I really hope that our Articles, Blogs or services can help you to have a Successful Credit Control Process.

   

   You can find our other articles in this series on our Blog :

    

   Links to published articles below:

   Article 1 -Time      – (Mar. 2017) Page 14 
   Article 2 -Team     – (May 2017) Page 7    
   Article 3 – Money  –  (July 2017) Page 6    

    

4. The Ten Commandments of Successful Credit Control

   July 13, 2017 12:24 pm Leave a Comment

    

   The Ten Commandments:

   Our aim with this blog is to provide a series of easy to remember rules, within a common sense process that will enable you to successfully manage your Credit Control and ultimately improve Cash-Flow.

    

   1. Treat Every Customer as a potential Debtor

   Like you, we like to think the best about people and none of us want to turn potential business away. All we are advising is, be aware of who you are dealing with, people and businesses are not always what they first seem. Remember this guy? Arnie, a nice all American college kid………then he morphed into a wolf..!

    

   

    

   Sadly we have seen this play out many times for clients, ” He was really nice, we had a great professional relationship but then when we sought final payment he was like a different person”..

    

   It’s not always obvious either, big names are often enticing as we strive to grow. Who would have predicted the fall of household names like

   

    

    

   2. Get an Account Opening Form

   The more information you have, the more you can react with if needed. Take time to ensure you have captured the individual and business names, addresses, contact and account numbers etc. That way if you find yourself in a payment dispute situation at least you will have the information needed to move forward.

    

   Here is an example of an account opening form for your reference:-

   

   3. Do your due Diligence

   Not just on your new customers but check your existing customers too on a regular basis (at least,quarterly).

   Access tools to help such as:

   • Experian
   • Equifax
   • Creditsafe

   Do your background checks using websites e.g:

   – www.companieshouse.gov.uk/beta

   – www.biz.gov.uk/insolvency

   – www.thegazette.co.uk

   Example:

   

    

   4.Check the purchase order

   Always check any purchase order, to make sure they match the company you have an account for. Make sure the dates, volumes, costs etc are accurate to avoid misunderstandings and a reason to delay payment.

    

   5. Send an order acknowledgement

   After receiving an order, send your own acknowledgement confirming the particulars of the sale. Again this allows clarification for all parties and avoids an reason for delayed payment.

    

   6. Invoice promptly and correctly

   Invoices must be sent on time with :

   •         Today’s date,
   •         Due date,
   •         Invoice details,
   •         Amount
   •         Bank account listed.

    

   7. Send a pre due email

   Send a gentle reminder email a few days before the invoice is due, to identify any issues. This way if issues exist you still have time to address them ahead of the payment date.

    

   8.Be prepared

   The customer may ring to discuss, don’t be put off by the debtor it’s your money, ask for it !

   Here are our suggestions for being P.E.R.F.E.C.T when asking for what you are owed:

   • PREPARATION
     • Have your call script to hand so to be both concise and professional.
   • ENTHUSIASM
     • Be bright and alert. Nobody wants to talk to a grump.
   • REALISM
     • Ask yourself if the debtor can meet your request or will you need to negotiate.
   • FOCUS
     • Don’t go off track. You’ve called to ask for your money so ASK FOR IT !.
   • EMPATHY
     • Although you need to be firm, you must also understand the debtor’s position.
   • CONNECT
     • Try to form a bond with the customer, they’ll be more likely to resolve your claim.
   • THE OUTCOME.
     • Always remember why you’ve rung, you need your money so make this your goal.

    

   9. Have a letter of claim

   In order to chase an overdue account further, you must have sent a letter of claim that adheres to Court Pre-Action Protocol.

   Your letter of claim must include :

   • Reference to contract
   • Breakdown of the account
   • Details of claim
   • Date for payment

   Check out our Pre Action Protocol Blog>>>

   10. Have an exit strategy

   Have a clear plan as to what to do next…how are you going to recover your monies and who is going to do it ?

    

   Our Philosophy      

   A Pound of Prevention  

   is Worth an Ounce of any Cure.

    

   If you would like to discuss your current Credit Control process with a view to understanding how you can improve it or if you should be outsourcing it please get in touch.01535 654 594 or info@corpandcomm.com

    

    

5. Uneasy Asking for Payment? – Here is our Advice, be P.E.R.F.E.C.T !

   July 12, 2017 12:54 pm Leave a Comment

   Many business owners delay prompt debt collection in the vague belief that either, the customer will eventually pay, they find the whole process of chasing debtors uncomfortable or they don’t want to alienate valued customers. Worse still, some business owners fear bringing in an outside agency in the misguided belief that the process will be intrusive and detrimental to the client relationship.

    

   The most important piece of advice that we give to any client when it comes to Money is…It’s your money, don’t be scared to ask for payment!

    

   Here are our suggestions for being P.E.R.F.E.C.T when asking for what you are owed:

    

   • PREPARATION
     • Have your call script to hand so to be both concise and professional.
   • ENTHUSIASM
     • Be bright and alert. Nobody wants to talk to a grump.
   • REALISM
     • Ask yourself if the debtor can meet your request or will you need to negotiate.
   • FOCUS
     • Don’t go off track. You’ve called to ask for your money so ASK FOR IT !.
   • EMPATHY
     • Although you need to be firm, you must also understand the debtor’s position.
   • CONNECT
     • Try to form a bond with the customer, they’ll be more likely to resolve your claim.
   • THE OUTCOME.
     • Always remember why you’ve rung, you need your money so make this your goal.

    

   Action is the key, as our clients testify :

   “When Rob first mentioned his Credit Control service…it sounded too good to be true.
   I had a list of customers who needed constant prompting to pay their invoices, but I didn’t have enough time to contact them all and still get on with my main workload.
   Rob and his team now carefully and expertly look after my customers and encourage prompt payment of their invoices. Having them look after my business income, means I’m free to focus on the part of the business I really enjoy. Almost immediately, the turn-around in my finances helped rescue my cash flow and keep both the bank manager and my wife happy.”

   Neil, Thornton Directory.

    

   Of course if you would rather outsource your Credit Control or Debt Recovery, check out the rest of our website  Click Here>

   Alternatively call us on: 01535 654 594

6. ..Took away the stress of having an awkward conversation with a client…

   October 12, 2016 10:44 am Leave a Comment

   Its always great to hear that our customers are satisfied and a real success when they plan to recommend our debt recovery service to other businesses.

    

   “As a digital agency we are constantly striving to meet deadlines and exceed our clients’ expectations. so chasing overdue payments is something we naturally want to avoid.

   Following a successful project with a new client, we then wasted ample time on emails and unanswered voice mails trying to recover monies from the final outstanding invoice. We therefore asked Rob and his team to chase this on our behalf and the only regret is that we didn’t get in touch sooner.

   Rob kept us informed at all times and took away the stress of having an awkward conversation with a client. We wouldn’t hesitate to use Corporate and Commercial again and I will be advising all  my business contacts to get in touch with Rob bshould they have debt recovery issues.”

   James, Ascensor