The Best Way To Tackle Late Payment Is To "Lead By Example" - CPA

The Best Way To Tackle Late Payment Is To “Lead By Example”

20th February 2018.

High street businessman, Sir John Timpson, discussed the issue of late payment with the Daily Telegraph, giving his thoughts on its resolution. Contrary to popular opinion, Timpson doesn’t see it resolved by any further red tape, but in how individual businesses handle their own invoices.

In Timpson’s own words, it is damaging to small firms to have to borrow money to keep their business running. As a businessman himself, Timpson appreciates the importance of a steady cash flow, and how damaging it can be if that cash flow is disrupted. Timpson sees the problem as starting not with Government or legislative intervention, but with how the business owner does business. Routine tasks should be completed by owners, such as checking their bank balance on a daily basis, comparing their total with last years, and always staying in control of their cash flow. If there are abnormalities, it’s the business owner’s responsibility to blow the whistle on slow payers.

Here at the Credit Protection Association, we aid many of our members who are suffering at the hands of late payers. While our debt recovery services fill our members’ pockets, our credit management services help our members prevent future issues with late payment.

The one aspect of late payment that Timpson sees as becoming the most problematic for owners, is how much time is spent chasing the debt. For small businesses, one of the reasons many dismiss bad debt or late payment is the fear that its recovery will either be expensive or will take too long. This does not have to be the case, with many of the cases brought to CPA being resolved within the month.

Late payment is an issue for everyone. Whether you’re big, small, or somewhere in the middle, if you do not keep an eye on your customers you will fall into the same trap. As Timpson suggests, late payment is affecting businesses, so it’s up to businesses to fix it. This can be through keeping a keen eye on your outgoings, as well as ensuring your customers keep in line, and blowing the whistle on those who do not.

Here at the Credit Protection Association, we are dedicated to not only recovering a bad debt but also prevent it from happening again. We encourage our members to fill out credit reports on all customers, as well as to utilise our monitoring software to alert them to any sudden changes. Tackling late payment is a collaborative effort between business owners, suppliers, and the lawmakers; who will enforce punctual payment if a cultural shift doesn’t occur.

If you are suffering from late payers, slow payers or bad payers, come to CPA for help with your cash flow!