Covid19 lock-down business news update 11 May 2020.
11 May 2020.
James Salmon, Operations Director.
The Covid19 lock-down continues and we are having to make do in a new normal.
Here are CPA we want to share the business news stories we have seen that we think will affect our members and readers. Many of us are busy fighting to protect our businesses and therefore might have missed some of the news that could impact small businesses, their owners and those that sell on credit.
Covid-19 general news
Boris Johnson has announced his plans to restart the Uk economy and ease lock-down restrictions in England.
From Wednesday, people in England who “can’t work from home” will be “actively encouraged to go to work” but they should still avoid public transport if possible because of social distancing and the government says it is working on guidance for employers to make workplaces “Covid-secure”
Businesses await further clarification of how to safely restart activities.
A “Covid alert system”, with the level of danger rated 1 to 5 – 5 being the most critical – will be introduced to determine how “tough” social distancing measures need to be. We are currently at 4 (with 5 being the highest level)
From Wednesday, people in England will also be able to spend more time outdoors “for leisure purposes” and they can “take more and even unlimited amounts of outdoor exercise” rather than only exercising once a day.
The prime minister said the “phased reopening” of shops – other than food stores and other “essential” outlets – may begin in England on 1st June, at the earliest.
Mr Johnson says the government “hopes” to reopen “at least some of the hospitality industry and other public places” in England but this will happen later than for shops and schools – by July at the earliest
The Prime Minister will reveal more detail on his plans to reopen society in England, after unveiling the initial details of his “road map” out of the coronavirus lock-down. The PM will answer questions from MPs and then the public today while No 10 will publish its 50-page official guidance in Parliament.
The number of confirmed cases of covid-19 surged past 4 million globally, with more than 282,000 deaths. America, with a third of the world’s fatalities, is by far the worst-hit country. Yet even governments that appeared to have tamed the disease warned of its re-emergence. South Korea reported 35 new cases on Monday—its biggest increase in a month. A new cluster of infections in Shulan, in north-eastern China, forced the city into complete lock-down. And Germany’s infection rate accelerated.
China said it supported an investigation by the World Health Organisation into the origins of covid-19 and hit back at American officials in an escalating quarrel between the two countries. President Donald Trump and his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, have claimed that the virus may have escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan. The WHO, which Mr Trump has criticised for its handling of the pandemic, called such comments “speculative
38% of SME’s won’t survive till June
38 percent of SMEs don’t believe they can access the cash needed to last four more weeks of lock-down, according to a poll by ACCA UK and the Corporate Finance Network.
The four-week look-ahead does present a slightly more optimistic outlook compared to the previous week, when over half (53 percent) of SMEs said they would be unable to access the cash needed to survive in lock-down.
“There’s absolutely no question that cash is king. Cash is at the forefront of everything,” says Simon Michaels, CEO of HW Fisher Business Solutions. “If you speak to any of the SMEs, as I’ve done over the last few weeks, the one thing that they’re concerned about is running out of cash. The days of ‘how much profit are we going to make?’ and things of that sort seem to have gone into the dim and distant past.”
“If you think about what’s been put in place, we’ve got the furlough which is a grant – very nice, that works very well. But think about what else has been put in place. We’ve got the bounce back loan, and we’ve got the CBILS. We’ve got deferral of VAT and we’ve got deferral of things like personal tax. But what happens in the early part of next year, in the first or second quarter of next year, if we put out more debt for these businesses, how can they afford to pay it back when they do come out of % the lock-down, post- coronavirus era?”
“I think we have to be mindful that businesses can only take so much debt,” he adds.
Claire Bennison, head of ACCA UK said “Some SMEs are no better off. While the furlough scheme has offered some respite, many small businesses need to be prepared for when the scheme ends in June. SMEs need to be thinking about the long term too, as cash needs to be in place post-furlough,”
The fear, what happens when the furlough scheme abruptly ends in June. Unless something else is put in place we have simply delayed mass redundancies. For many businesses the revenue is not going to snap back to where it was. Therefore, the costs will have to be cut too. And in service businesses, people businesses, the biggest cost is staff.
Furlough scheme to continue to September
The Chancellor is expected to announce changes to the furlough scheme that will see the state continue to pay wages until the end of September – although monthly payouts to furloughed staff will fall from 80% of their normal pay to 60%.
Rishi Sunak will also say that furloughed staff returning to work part time will have their wages “topped up” by the Government. The furlough scheme is costing an estimated £16bn a month and the government is under pressure to rein the costs in.
Edwin Morgan, director of policy at the Institute of Directors, welcomed plans to make the furlough more flexible, commenting: “Enabling people to return to work gradually can help businesses get back on their feet. With demand still flagging across the economy, and social distancing proving a challenge for many firms, the Government needs to be agile with its support.”
Government considers investing in start-ups alongside private backers
The government is considering a plan to invest in start-ups alongside investors that use the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).
The move comes amid fears innovative firms will be starved of funding as capital investment dries up. The government could co-invest in start-ups alongside private backers through the Treasury’s £500m Future Fund, but it has not yet been decided whether the tax relief that comes with EIS would be maintained.
Bruce Macfarlane, the head of MMC Ventures, urged the government to allow EIS investors to match convertible loans made to start-ups from the Future Fund, reducing the amount of debt start-ups would need to take on.
Macfarlane also backed the idea of raising EIS tax relief from 30% to 50%, arguing that the 80% proposed by other investors was excessive.
Funding secured by UK-Dutch start-up for instant-result coronavirus test
Anglo-Dutch biotech start-up ViroTact has secured funding thought to value it at up to £10m from Dutch venture capital firm Carduso and John Molina, of US medical business Molina Healthcare.
The firm is adapting its “smart molecule” technology used to detect bacteria to develop a fast COVID-19 test.
People would just need to put saliva into a vial containing a molecule which reacts to an enzyme excreted by coronavirus. The result comes back in seconds. ViroTact founder Joost Gazendam said the system could be in action within three months.
UK’s emergency loans for small companies likely to bring rash of defaults, say bankers
Blick Rothenberg partner Richard Churchill estimates that a fifth of loans issued through the government’s Bounce Back Loans Scheme (BBLS) are unlikely to be repaid. Elsewhere, the Mail’s Ruth Sunderland fears indebted small businesses will have their “entrepreneurial zest” dampened harming the UK’s economic revival.
UK retailers warn of ‘imminent collapse’
Retailers in the UK have said government COVID-19 relief measures were not sufficient to prevent the “imminent collapse of many businesses”. The British Retail Consortium wrote to ministers stating that the crisis “facing parts of the retail sector […] must be addressed urgently ahead of the June quarter [rent] day”.
Retailers urged further action on property costs and called for “intuitive stimulus” to prevent further retail failures. The British Property Federation and Revo, which represents the retail property sector, were also signatories to the letter.
COVID-19 could be the final straw for many hotels
The number of petitions made to wind up hotels has almost doubled in a year, according to Moore, with the figure set to increase dramatically due to coronavirus.
Chris Tate, business advisory director at Moore, said: “The hotel industry was already struggling as a result of Brexit-related uncertainty and coronavirus could be the final straw for many hotels. We’d expect to see a rise in insolvencies once government protections to mitigate the impact of the outbreak are lifted.”
Landlords: rent deals should link to turnover
Landlords believe that rents will be more closely linked to footfall and turnover in the wake of the COVID-19 crises.
Britain has a tradition of longer leases with upward-only rent reviews. However, many other countries, including France and the US, have shorter leases with a proportion of rent linked to turnover, which encourages greater risk-sharing and a stronger partnership between landlord and retailer.
According to Colliers International more than 40% of landlords are more likely to consider factors such as footfall and turnover when deciding an asking rent. Almost 80% of retail property landlords expect the pandemic to bring permanent changes to the terms on which shops are occupied.
Mixed reaction for Johnson’s plan
Business reacted positively to Boris Johnson’s plan to get the country moving again, with Carolyn Fairbairn, the director-general of the CBI describing the measures as the “first glimmer of light for our faltering economy”.
“A phased and careful return to work is the only way to protect jobs and pay for future public services,” she added.
However, Labour and the unions were less enthused declaring the strategy a “recipe for chaos” with guidance for employers on how to keep workers safe still not published.
John Philips, acting general secretary of the GMB union, said: “More mixed messages from the government – saying there’s no end to lock-down, but asking everyone to go back to work. If ministers want the economy moving again, we need strict rules on hygiene and social distancing, enough PPE for everyone, regulations employers can’t just ignore if they fancy it.”
David Davis: Johnson needs to think big to turn economy around
Writing in the Mail, Tory MP David Davis says Boris Johnson will have to “think big” to rescue Britain’s economy, noting that a fifth of small businesses are at risk of collapse and over 60,000 have already gone under.
Mr Davis recommends big tax cuts and a large volume of low-cost, high-impact infrastructure projects reminiscent of reforms introduced by Reagan, Roosevelt and Thatcher. Separately, Roger Bootle also looks to history for lessons in how to heal the economy in the Telegraph, stating that raising taxes would be counterproductive.
News from Sunday 10th May
Unions demand H&S changes before backing Johnson’s back-to-work plans
Britain’s biggest trade unions – Unison, Unite, the GMB and Usdaw – along with the TUC, are demanding a nationwide health and safety revolution before they send their members back to work.
In a letter to the Observer, union leaders say all employers should have to publish risk assessments and state what measures they have taken to make work safe for their employees.
They say their members have already lost their lives “transporting people and goods, protecting the public and caring for the vulnerable” amid the coronavirus pandemic. “The trade union movement wants to be able to recommend the government’s back-to-work plans,” they say.
“But for us to do that we need to ensure that ministers have listened and that we stay safe and save lives at work too.”
BBB under pressure to reform after CBILS bungles
The role of the British Business Bank (BBB) should be reviewed after the coronavirus crisis with Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake saying its shortcomings had been exposed through its handling of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
He says: “We could have brought in new lenders to break the stranglehold the big banks have over SME finance.” Christian Faes, chairman of the Digital Finance Forum and co-founder of LendInvest, also said a review of the BBB’s role would be “a very sensible idea”.
Mr Faes continued: “Unfortunately, in the current crisis, I don’t think the BBB has covered itself in glory by any stretch of the imagination.”
Small firms boosted by £3m DMGT help
The Mail on Sunday (MoS) has teamed up with the Federation of Small Businesses to launch a £3m advertising giveaway for struggling small businesses.
MoS owner DMGT is giving away £3,000 of free advertising in its newspapers to each of 1,000 small businesses as they battle to survive the coronavirus crisis, the paper says.
Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “Our members will be hugely grateful to The Mail on Sunday for this generous offer of support. It’s fantastic to see you getting behind them.”
GDP contracted by 2% in first quarter
Data from the Office for National Statistics is expected to show on Wednesday that Britain’s GDP shrank by 2% during the three-month period to the end of March, compared with flat growth in the previous quarter.
According to the Institute for Turnaround, made up of experts from accountants, banks, law firms and restructuring advisers, 130,000 businesses in the UK were showing signs of distress prior to the outbreak.
“There is going to be a lot more now,” said IFT chairman Steve Swayne. “What we’re seeing is deterioration across all sectors. COVID-19 is a game changer.”
The figures follow forecasts from the Bank of England of a 25% contraction in the size of the economy in the second quarter. The Bank is expected to provide £50bn to £100bn of fresh economic stimulus next month.
Karlsruhe decision could spell the end of the single currency
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Liam Halligan says the decision by Germany’s constitutional court in Karlsruhe last week to rule ECB bond purchases contrary to EU treaty was seismic, but has received scant attention in the media.
The “economic, political, financial and judicial brew” resulting from this “stunning judicial clash” is “incendiary” says Halligan, and puts the single currency in grave danger, “possibly a sovereign downgrade or two away from collapse.”
News from Saturday 9th May
Small businesses call on insurers to end “callous” approach to claims
Thousands of small companies face collapse unless insurers start to pay out on business interruption claims, the industry has been warned.
Hiscox, QBE, Allianz, RSA and Zurich are among insurers that have been threatened with legal claims from policyholders, the Times notes. Almost 700 business owners have signed a letter to the Association of British Insurers accusing the industry of an “abrogation of responsibility”.
“There is no suggestion that insurers should make payouts to businesses with only basic cover. However, those of us that paid for extended policies are justified in expecting providers to honour them,” the letter says.
It goes on to accuse insurers of having taken a “callous” approach to claimants and of trying to escape valid claims on “preposterous” grounds.
FSB says US is UK’s most important trading partner
According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), almost half of small firms see the US as the UK’s most important trading partner after Brexit.
The findings suggest that a wide-ranging post-Brexit trade agreement with the US could help accelerate the UK’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Negotiations between the two countries began on Tuesday, via a videoconference between International Trade Secretary Liz Truss and US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
FSB Chairman Mike Cherry said: “For small businesses, the US is the number one single market of choice for importers and exporters for the next three years, which is why these negotiations are so critical,” adding: “Exporting will be crucial for many small businesses to support their recovery from the pandemic and that is why it’s crucial to see a reduction in tariff and non-tariff barriers.”
Flexible furlough, legal right to work from home
UK ministers have indicated to businesses that the furlough scheme could be phased out gradually over the summer, allowing some workers to return to work part-time to begin with.
Elsewhere, the Telegraph reports that Whitehall is considering enshrining the right to work from home in law so Britons are not forced to go into workplaces after the lock-down ends.
Unions are in favour of the idea; Germany last week unveiled proposals to introduce a legal right to work from home after the pandemic.
Mervyn King: Don’t bank on V-shaped recovery
Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King has cast doubt on hopes that Britain’s economy will enjoy a V-shaped rapid recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Lord King said ministers needed to get a grip of business loan schemes quickly to prevent lasting damage. “Politicians are used to making announcements. But they have no experience in actually running anything. I think the problem has been less the high-level design of schemes and more the need to worry about their implementation on the ground.”
He also expressed surprise that “reverse taxation” had not been used to support businesses, with direct payments made via existing connections with HMRC.
He concluded an interview with the website Reaction by saying: “What I will say is that there is too much confidence in a quick V-shaped recovery. It will take longer.”
Young people and women bear brunt of jobs pain
A study by PwC has found that over 78% of those who have lost their jobs since the coronavirus crisis began are women and two thirds are between 18 and 34.
Carol Stubbings, global leader of people and organisation at the firm, said: “It’s concerning to see that young people are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 related unemployment.
This may well be due to higher proportions of this age group working in jobs that require face-to-face contact or in heavily affected industries, such as hospitality and retail.
Moreover, women in these industries are more likely to work in lower-skilled or lower-paying positions, which are more susceptible to COVID-19 related layoffs than men.” The report also found that while a greater proportion of women had lost their jobs, men and women had been furloughed in almost equal numbers.
Labour proposes five-point-plan to prevent flood of evictions
The Labour Party has developed a five-point plan to avert a possible flood of evictions as unemployment rises. The Bank of England has warned that the country faces its worst recession in 300 years, while polling has shown that 1.7m people in the private sector fear they will lose their jobs in the coming months.
Labour has called for people to be given two years to pay back rent arrears accrued due to COVID-19, for an extension to the ban on evictions, for the Government to bring forward its ban on section 21 “no-fault” evictions, and for residential tenants to be given the same protections as commercial tenants, to prevent them being made bankrupt by their landlord for non-payment of rent.
The party also wants changes to the welfare system to help stop people from falling into arrears in the first place.
Sacrificing salary or waiving bonuses could bring tax bill
Accountants are warning directors and senior staff that unless they sign a formal written agreement with their employer to waive their salary, sacrificing pay or bonuses to help their business to survive the coronavirus lock-down could trigger an unexpected tax bill.
HMRC will collect the tax and national insurance due on the amount they were entitled to, rather than what they actually received, the Times reports. Nimesh Shah from Blick Rothenberg says the agreement must be drawn up before any salary or bonus becomes payable.
The Chartered Institute of Taxation is calling for a rule change so waived bonuses or salary sacrifice are regarded as negative earnings and so not be taxable.
Companies based in tax havens should pay for virus aid
The Tax Watch think tank has proposed that companies based in tax havens should have to pay tax on dividends from their UK operations if they draw on government support during the coronavirus pandemic.
It says the move “would prevent the payment of dividends or other payments to offshore companies and restrict the potential for offshore owners to benefit from bailout funds.”
Tax rises will still be a bad idea after COVID-19 – Javid
Former Chancellor Sajid Javid has warned against tax rises after the coronavirus pandemic is under control arguing they would “strangle” any economic recovery.
Mr Javid told Sky News the crisis should not change “our understanding of the economic model that leads to the highest growth rate possible, which is still going to be a free-enterprise, low-tax, competitive economy”.
HMRC launches coronavirus income support scheme for self-employed
HMRC has begun contacting 3.5m people who may be eligible to receive a backdated cash grant worth up to £7,500 via the government’s Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS).
News from Bank Holiday Friday 8th May
BoE foresees doubling of unemployment and contraction of economy
The Bank of England has cautioned that the UK economy could contract by 14% this year with unemployment figures more than doubling.
Gross domestic product (GDP) could fall by 25% in the second quarter, according to its estimates. Governor Andrew Bailey said of the coronavirus response in the country: “The scale of the shock and the measures necessary to protect public health mean a significant loss of economic output has been inevitable in the near term.”
However, Mr Bailey did predict a relatively rapid recovery once social distancing measures are eased.
UK insolvencies down as virus support plans kick in
Figures compiled by KPMG show the number of corporate insolvencies in Britain fell by a third in April compared to the year before, as the COVID-19 pandemic hammered the economy.
KPMG’s head of restructuring Blair Nimmo said government measures to support businesses gave companies time to assess how the pandemic would impact them.
“In some cases, the schemes will only help to delay the inevitable,” Nimmo said. “But in other cases they may actually be able to avoid it.”
Just 61 firms fell into administration last month, compared with 91 in April 2019, according to analysis by the firm. Corporate insolvencies fell 5% in the first four months of the year to 444.
New advisers to bear the brunt of COVID-19’s bite
Advisers have warned that newer entrants to the industry will be hit hardest by the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis due to their reliance on new business.
A recent poll of advisers by Rowley Turton found that 62% of respondents had seen new business enquiries fall by 51% to 75% over the past month, with 12% reporting enquiries had fallen more than 75%.
Wealth taxes needed to avert spiralling inequality
Former Citibank trader Gary Stevenson tells the Guardian that a fairer tax system is needed to prevent rich people like him from profiting from crises like the 2008 crash and today’s coronavirus pandemic. He says: “All the signs are that coronavirus will increase inequality even further. The government is accumulating debt to subsidise the wages of the employed and self-employed unable to work because of the lock-down.
Businesses are taking out loans to keep afloat. This debt is being used to pay bills and rent to those who own assets.” Stevenson goes on to cite proposals from Gabriel Zucman and Emmanuel Saez “for wealth taxes that could help reduce spiralling inequality in a way that is fair, and specifically targets the richest in our society.”
Think tank calls for cuts to furlough scheme
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) says the government’s furlough scheme must be cut back in order to encourage employees back to work and protect the public finances.
Its director Paul Johnson suggested trimming the percentage of workers’ wages paid by the state under the programme from 80% to either 70% or 60% to make it more sustainable.
Meanwhile, former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling warned that mass unemployment could be triggered unless the government continues to pay the wages of a large proportion of the workforce until the end of the year.
Online sales double during COVID-19 crisis
New figures from BDO show online sales rocketed in April by 109% compared to last year, the highest level since records began in 2010.
However, they failed to offset the “catastrophic” loss of high street sales caused by the coronavirus lock-down.
Like-for-like sales, across stores and online, were 29.6% down on the same month last year. Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at the firm, said: “Even when restrictions ease, it seems likely that this will have a lasting impact.”
Over two thirds of Europeans want a basic income
Researchers have found that 71% of Europeans back the introduction of a universal basic income. Support for the idea was strong across all generations, a survey by Bertelsmann Stiftung found.
The study also revealed that 53% of those aged 16 to 29 believed that authoritarian states were better equipped than democracies to prevent climate change. Older people were less enthused by the idea of authoritarianism to tackle climate issues, however.
Government scheme criticised as banks accused of taking too long to grant loans
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has criticised the pace of lending through the CBILS scheme. The industry body warned that “Government must also be ready to further expand the existing grant schemes to ensure that as many businesses as possible get access to the support they need.”
This comes as Barclays faced questions from ministers after reports that its application process was causing delays, with a spokesman noting that it had approved over 50,000 Bounce Back Loans worth over £1.5bn this week, while some customers were required to provide extra details to complete their applications.
Meanwhile, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey said he urged banks nearly every day to lend more, asserting that credit “is the best way to actually prevent a more adverse outcome which could affect them more.”
Don’t let Covid-19 bust your business!
It will if your cash flow dries up, either sooner or later.
The Credit Protection Association (CPA) has been assisting thousands of UK businesses to get paid since 1914. We have seen many financial crises, this one will be particularly deadly for suppliers for sometime to come.
CPA eases cash from tardy debtors – Efficiently, Effectively, Economically and Ethically. Above all tactfully, because maintenance of goodwill is paramount.
To meet the needs of creditors in the current crisis, we have designed a “critical care” package especially tailored for the situation.
- The annual package costs start at very low rates
- A minimum performance warranty is provided
- Several complimentary services included
Clients instruct CPA on-line via their PC or phone, completely user-friendly. Your late paying customers are told to pay you direct (not to us).
No face-to-face meeting required – just call Peter Uwins, CPA’s National Sales Manager, on 020 8846 0000 (business hours) or email nsm@cpa.co.uk today.
When you see your money come in, you will be so glad you used CPA.
Do you sell on credit?
With pressures on the cash flow it is essential that you stay on top of the credit limits you grant customers and watch carefully for any late payments.
Those customers will look for the easiest option to boost their cash-flow. Don’t let it be you.
You can’t just assume your customers can and will pay you eventually, no matter how big their name is.
It is essential to have credit management systems in place to monitor and check your customers credit worthiness.
It is also best practice to use a trusted third party like CPA to make sure you are paid on time by customers, no matter how good a name they have.
About CPA
The Credit Protection Association can help!
Formed in 1914, CPA has been providing credit management services to SMEs for over 100 years.
At the Credit Protection Association, we provide first class credit information that can help you avoid being over extended to customers who are at risk. Our monitoring service can flag up warning signs long before the end, giving you the chance to adjust and reduce your exposure. We provide recommended credit limits and credit scores on a traffic light system and can help you set appropriate credit policies for your customers.
We regularly publish lists of the latest insolvencies but by then it is too late. Our credit reports however predict approximately 96% of company insolvencies long before they arrive.
Companies in trouble usually have very bad cash flow and they try to deal with it by delaying payment to their suppliers, increasing your exposure to them.
If you supply on credit, help us help you identify the risks.
Why use a third party collector?
As a third party collector, we can also get your payments prioritised over those who are not as hot on collections. When your customer receives a letter from the Credit Protection Association regarding their outstanding account, they are going to want to get that resolved as a priority. Our overdue account recovery service can get your unpaid invoices to the top of their “to do” list and get your invoice paid.
Over the years we have collected billions in overdue invoices for our customers.
Our debt recovery and credit management services give our members the financial freedom needed to grow and prosper, while our new Late Payment Compensation department could unlock hidden potential and offer the compensation needed to springboard your business to success.
You might be hesitant about contacting a debt collection agency. What are they going to be like?
Can they help your particular type of business?
There is no need for concern. CPA are courteous, helpful and very probably have had direct experience of working with your type of business.
Debt collection agencies are not all alike.
Success lies in both recovering money and keeping customers happy. The Credit Protection Association was founded in 1914 and has helped tens of thousands of UK businesses to collect outstanding payments and reduce the risk of incurring bad debt. We believe that creditors deserve to be paid for the work or goods they have supplied but we fully understand the need to maintain
the best possible relationship with customers!
At The Credit Protection Association, we provide solutions, advice and back-up in all areas relating to the supply of services or goods on account. Client-members receive everything they need from a single source to reduce debtor days and write-offs.
The Credit Protection Association has helped has assisted tens of thousands of UK businesses with their credit control requirements, since the First World War.
We are polite, firm and efficient when it comes to recovering outstanding debt.
“We have used CPA for a number of years now. The website is easy to navigate around with lots of helpful reports. The staff are always at hand and very friendly. CPA has helped us reduce our debt over the years and keep track of potential issues with our customers.”
~ CPA client in Buckinghamshire
“The service from CPA has proved to be everything that you said it would be. We have already seen a huge benefit. We have had a number of overdue accounts paid promptly and directly to us. It is also a huge weight off our mind to know that once we have passed an overdue payment over to you, you take care of everything whilst keeping us informed.
~ Credit Controller client in Warrington
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections
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For help or advice on credit management, entirely without obligation.
Call us today
0330 053 9263
CPA is passionate about late payment
The Credit Protection Association has been protecting smaller firms against poor payment practices for over 100 years.
We are extremely passionate about breaking the late payment culture that holds back the UK economy and threatens many SMEs with cash flow difficulties being the single biggest killer of Britain’s small businesses.
If you were regularly paid late we can help. Those former customers used you to boost their own cashflow, regularly paying you late.
As a result you had extra costs, you had the distraction of having to chase payment, you had opportunity costs because your capital was tied up in their late invoices.
Under little used legislation, you are entitled to compensation for those late payments.
Now you can boost your own cash-flow.
CPA can help unearth the those hidden treasures.
We have the technology to reveal the compensation you are due and we have the extensive experience and expertise to then turn those claims into cash.
Yes, CPA can help you boost your business cash-flow.
Don’t let your bankers control you, contact CPA today.
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections
Do you realise you could be sitting on a fortune?
Late payments often result in a cash flow crunch and leave SMEs in need of a cash injection.
If you sold B2B on credit then there may be a hidden source of capital you can call on.
If you fancy an bit of extra cash in your business, rather than jumping through hoops with your bank, you could look to uncover the resources from an unexpected source within your own business.
Not many are aware but there could be a hidden fortune within your business, sitting there, just waiting to be uncovered and released.
We can help you uncover the pile of gold, you didn’t even know you were sitting on.
If you trade with other businesses and were often paid late then you could be entitled to significant compensation.
Under little known and under-utilised legislation your business could be due huge amounts in compensation that you didn’t even know about.
Let’s be clear – this is not a way to weaken any customer relationships you value. It is one that identifies who’s been paying late and then recover the potentially significant sums in compensation using Late Payment Legislation from businesses where the relationship has already ended.
You can pick and choose who you want us to follow up – but once we’ve agreed which companies you’d like to pursue compensation from it’s a fast process and there’s no financial outlay to you whatsoever. My team at CPA put its expertise to work to recover the compensation due and fight late payment culture.
That compensation could provide the cash boost your business needed.
But don’t delay, that compensation evaporates if not claimed within six years of the late payment.
How can CPA help?
CPA has developed a unique technology to dig into your accounting records and discover the cash injection you are due by means of compensation. The software does all the hard work. Our software interacts over the cloud with over 300 different software packages, working directly with your accounts package, just so long as it’s stored on a computer.
We recognise that most companies do not have the resources to spend time on the identification and calculation of Late Payment Compensation. Our service can produce an Analyses within just a few days with (usually) less than 30 mins of co-operation from our clients. We work directly with over 300 accounting packages but can also work with bespoke accounts packages. Indeed, speed is essential as the oldest invoices may fall foul of the 6-year time limit.
Once the Sales Ledger Analyses is made available to clients, all that is required is that management decide which commercially sensitive ex-customers to remove from the list and return it to us.
CPA then uses its years of collection experience to explain and recover the Late Payment Compensation Claims. Clients do not handle any part of the recovery process as our team will take all communications from the companies against who the claims has been made. Often, it’s simply a case of explaining the legislation, sometimes we have to go all the way and enforce the legislation through the courts.
The result is that we are realising clients’ claims worth tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of pounds which, of course, is pure net profit. You may also be among the recipients of “hundreds of thousands of pounds” should you elect to take advantage of our services.
We do the work, you receive the cash.
If you have supplied goods and services to businesses on credit and were regularly paid late then you could be due significant sums in late payment compensation.
We are talking to companies and unearthing claims in the hundreds of thousands from former business customers who paid them late. Large business customers who abused their power to inflict unfair and sometimes illegal payment practices.
We are helping business owners who are looking to boost the returns from their business before they retire. We are helping businesses who have lost major clients after years of loyal service to get properly compensated for systematic late payment. We are helping companies that were looking to close down, who looked insolvent and finding that cash injection they need to avoid insolvency.
Those former clients who regularly paid you late can finally be made to pay.
Ready to speak to an advisor?
For help or advice on credit management, entirely without obligation.
Call us today
0330 053 9263
The Credit Protection Association is a credit management company established in 1914. If you supply goods or services on credit then we can help you!
The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections
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The Credit Protection Association – Prompting Punctual Payments – Ethical, Effective, Efficient, Economical collections