credit service

[abra]

Hi there again

I have another question - sorry ;)
I am looking into possibility of giving our customers the credit facility. Any hints how should I go around it? Should I contact some – any suggestions? – finance companies first and establish some accounts with them or is there some other way? I would be obliged for any information.

Regards
abra

[coxadmin]

One of my suppliers asked for the first invoice to be paid by return, the next within 14 days and then the third and subsequent 30 days.

I have always offered 30 days to pay, as I thought it was the standard. I have friend who doesn't give a pay by date but only appears to get the occasional problem.

[Ozzy]

Hi Abra,
Giving credit is always a tough one, and one that can lead to all sorts of problems if not managed carefully.

As Lynn suggests, asking for at least the first payment to be immediate/up-front is a good idea and see how the customer deals with that. I have not offered credit ever since I started and have never had a problem with it.
My last business I always offered credit and had a lot of bad debts, a bad experience in all.

[BMS]

Hi Abra

Sometimes it depends on the line of business you are in.

But I give seven days credit to all customers as standard with the option of reviewing this fter 3 months.

This is stated in the contracts and I have average payment lenghts of 6 days ..........

[gj]

Just wondering whether ABRA is really talking about providing finance for the deal rather than credit eg HP etc.

Abra - if that is your question please clarify - I have some details of companies that offer finance arrangements for certain types of business


Graham

[shanna]

Hi there.

I've recently found a website; www.busibody.com where you can buy a credit report on companies to help you decide how much to lend them. Its really good as it recommends a credit limit and also tells you if the company is paying its bills on time. I've found this information really useful and its really cheap.

[Shaggy]

We take payment on new major equipment order 7 days prior to delivery!!

Most of our equipment is financed so the lenders pay us direct.

Otherwise 30 days is the norm for these customers after their first major equipment installation. We take anything over £1000.00 as major equipment.

I like the idea of the staggered payment, which I will try out with our next new customers.