Not being paid on time is one of the biggest worries facing small business owners. Trying to recover outstanding debts can feel like a very lonely process if you are not aware of the help available.
One important thing to remember is this - as a creditor, the law is on your side. Since 1998, UK businesses have been legally entitled to charge interest on overdue payments owed by another company.
Excuses, excuses… one of the most frustrating aspects of chasing unpaid invoices is dealing with the reasons customers give for paying late. When you have worked in the debt collection industry for as long as we have you can be sure we have heard some imaginative answers, along with some that are so old they were probably being used in Roman times.
The key thing to remember when faced with late payment excuses is this - your company is owed the money and you have every right to seek payment. Even when the explanations provided by the client appear to be genuine, if an agreed payment deadline has expired, you are entitled to be paid on time and in full and you have every right to pursue the payment.
Credit Notes are essentially a negative invoice used to rectify mistakes or credit amounts raised in your sales invoice. They may be used to credit all or part of an invoice depending on the circumstances and serve as an accounting record for both parties to counter the invoicing error.
Taking the decision to stop supplying a client can be one of the hardest decisions any company has to take. With every piece of business so hard won it can be difficult to take a firm line with your credit control and potentially prejudice further income.
But when a customer persistently refuses to pay in full and on time, sometimes you are left with little option but to act.
