why don't they just PAY!!!!!!!!!

[gritbinsales]

Are you owed money via an outstanding invoice

I personally have now had enough of being told b*** s*** every week
why invoices can't be paid

my questions is do you charge a late payment fee ( do they pay it )
do you feel you could lose the work/contract on renewal

what % do you charge?

I am thinking of going genral public only this year if this trend continues


we even have on our invoices [/U]

If we don’t receive your payment within 30 days, as stated on your contract,

A late payment charge, will be charged to this account to cover additional expense that we incur as a result of the late payment

we have never used this though JUST IN CASE

 

[gritbinsales]

Is there a document that can be downloaded and printed on to the back of the invoice that states what will happen if a payment is late

 

[KateCB]

If you use Kashflow accounting software (free trial for 60 days at the moment) the invoice automatically calculates the interest due - we have charged it once...they paid it without murmur - however we will be applying it again to the same customer this month!

You need better wording for it too, more legal and professional - the following is a good example and you can use it:

We understand and will exercise our statutory right to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs under the late payment legislation if we are not paid according to agreed credit terms.

You should also consider signing up to the Better Payment Practice Code. This means you can put a logo on your invoices that indicate that you pay (and expect to be paid) promptly. Late Payment rules are currently 8% over BoE base rate , which means that you can charge 8.5%pa at present rates.

8.5% of total due/365 * number of days overdue =interest due.

 

[gritbinsales]

thank you kate

that helps

 

[gritbinsales]

the only thing with kashflow is there a monthly fee and all accounts are on-line

 

[Christine Hough]

Because people don't pay them??

 

[KateCB]

True - I use it without problem? The monthly fee is far less than buying Sage for instance! I like it as I can access it from wherever I happen to be, at any time...not unusual for me to be reconciling bank statement at 2am in my pj's!

 

[gritbinsales]

Kate, how do i upload the Better Payment Practice Code logo

 

[Christine Hough]

True - I use it without problem? The monthly fee is far less than buying Sage for instance! I like it as I can access it from wherever I happen to be, at any time...not unusual for me to be reconciling bank statement at 2am in my pj's!

How much is the monthly fee? I am with Liquid Accounts and wondering about a change

 

[GRDCredit]

Hold on a bit!

I use Kashflow and love it but if the only reason you want it is to calculate late payment charges and interest then don't! Go here and you can work out the charges for free! http://www.payontime.co.uk/calculator/statutory.html

But - read this excellent piece from Peter Bowen as well - just because you charge interest does not mean you will get paid (oh, and the legislation only applies on B2B transactions)

http://www.getting-paid-system.com/...g-interest-on-late-payments-does-not-work.php

Based upon what I assume you supply, why do you offer 30 days credit anyway?

 

[gritbinsales]

done, we are now a member of the Better Payment Practice

 

[GRDCredit]

done, we are now a member of the Better Payment Practice

That's alright then - everyone will now pay you on time!

 

[KateCB]

http://www.kashflow.co.uk/pricing.asp

£15.99 - all upgrades free, all backups free......very good for small business, PayPal integrated etc.

 

[gritbinsales]

standard practice

 

[KateCB]

Ah - well spotted Geoff on the B2B; my problem customer is B2B - however....nothing can ensure that you are paid on time either B2B or B2C, and at least it shows willing.....AND hopefully this customer of gritbinsales may take note that this logo shows now and it might encourage them to think about paying on time in future - as Tesco say - every little helps!

 

[GRDCredit]

Kate - Tesco are probably not a good firm to quote when talking about paying on time!

 

[termsandconditions]

You need better wording for it too, more legal and professional - the following is a good example and you can use it:

We understand and will exercise our statutory right to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs under the late payment legislation if we are not paid according to agreed credit terms.

I agree but the legislation's 'reasonable' debt recovery costs only range from £40 to £100 for debts in default of <£1k and >£10k respectively. Unfortunately, this won't get your debt collection agency out of bed even in these straightened times.

So the Default & Consequences of Default area of a business' terms can be expanded to cover all costs incurred by the Seller in pursuing the debt including legal costs on a solicitor and own client basis and the Seller's collection agency costs.

In this way, your collection agency can add their collection commission upfront onto the debt referred to them for attention. And if a collection is made in full, the business gets reimbursed in full instead of a net amount with collection commission deducted.

Anyone interested in a free debt collection service? Heck, outsource this time-consuming part of your business to the professionals.

Best Regards

 

[saxondale]

A late payment charge, will be charged to this account to cover additional expense that we incur as a result of the late payment

what would they be?


clauses like that tend to back fire.

 

[gritbinsales]

does any business here make this charge

 

[KateCB]

Yep - I do for my one problem customer - however as Geoff pointed out it only covers B2B and this customer of mine IS B2B.....and the sad thing is that they pay it without qualm and then pay late again next month......! if your customers are a business, then it applies, if they are retail, then why give them 30 days credit anyway?

I had forgotton about Tesco and their late payment thing!

 

[gritbinsales]

our customers are all B2B and most, if not all have paid late over the last 12 months some 2 months others upto 4 months

my problem is if i charge them 100.00+VAT per month on a 1200.00 contract for ( grounds maintenance )

do i send another invoice for 40.00 late payment or include the charge on the next invoice and hope it does not get sent back

 

[Scott-Copywriter]

This is why I take all payments up-front, or on occasions 50/50. It's probably quite different when you're selling Grit or other products, but the vast majority of my clients have absolutely no problem paying straight away.

To tell you the truth, even I don't like paying for anything on a 30 day invoice. I'd rather pay for it immediately so it's out of my account and done with.

 

[gritbinsales]

so can i write this on my invoices

Default & Consequences of Default for late payments

We understand and will exercise our statutory right to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs under the late payment legislation if we are not paid according to our agreed credit terms of 30 days, this is to include all costs incurred by grit bin sales in pursuing the debt, including legal costs solicitor and our company collection agency costs.

 

[mpo38]

Some interesting comments and as a small business working constantly on 30-60 credit to my customers I have towed with this idea many times.
The reaction is no different from what reaction I get from customers and I have learnt over the last year to try and get to know someone in authority at that organisations accounts and build up a relationship with them. It dosent always work but I am having a limited sucess rate at the moment, which I suppose is better than no reaction at all.
I am not sure why but in this day and age lots of people always pay accounts late and to a point this really annoys me. I pay my accounts on time and expect others to do the same. Alas, it dosent work that way and ends up costing me the opportunity to expand quicker as I wont put my company at risk financially. I personally dont like the heavy handed approach because on a lot of cases its just staff who dont follow the company procedure properly, however in some cases people just dont pay unless they get a demend. One thing I have noticed is always send a monthly statement out as some companies just file invoices until a statement arrives and then check and pay them.

 

[Deleted member 53208]

Old fashioned it might be but we just chase the buggers relentlessly. Email them and call them, every day if necessary. Find out who it is actually writes the cheque however to make sure you are chasing the right person, and if it goes on for too long "hint" that you really don't want to do it but you are being backed into a corner and will be forced to take legal action to recover the debt. When you chase them, get specific details such as what date the payment will be made, and if it isn't call the same person the next day and ask why it wasn't paid.

You will find that some people are incredibly thick skinned and it never ceases to amaze us how people will embarrass themselves to save a months interest on a £1000 (£1.25?) but even the thickest skinned ones tend to get worn down and pay eventually. The good thing about this sysyem is that once they get the idea you won't go away, they tend to pay future bills much quicker, not always straight away but much quicker.

Remember though, don't lose your rag with them but be firm and persistent and if the biils for one particular customer start to pile up, don't be afraid to take them to the small claims court, you might lose the customer, you might not as we've never actually had to go to court, they have always paid up at the last minute but in our experience a line of unpaid bills usually means the firm is getting ready to dump you and do a dump on you or they are struggling (and you'll get nowt if they go bust).

Best of luck.

 

[saxondale]

you can use your "extra" money to try and win new business to replace the one you just lost .....................

................ they can start a thread about been harrased for a company debt






everybody wins

 

[GRDCredit]

Old fashioned it might be but we just chase the buggers relentlessly. Email them and call them, every day if necessary. Find out who it is actually writes the cheque however to make sure you are chasing the right person, and if it goes on for too long "hint" that you really don't want to do it but you are being backed into a corner and will be forced to take legal action to recover the debt. When you chase them, get specific details such as what date the payment will be made, and if it isn't call the same person the next day and ask why it wasn't paid.

You will find that some people are incredibly thick skinned and it never ceases to amaze us how people will embarrass themselves to save a months interest on a £1000 (£1.25?) but even the thickest skinned ones tend to get worn down and pay eventually. The good thing about this sysyem is that once they get the idea you won't go away, they tend to pay future bills much quicker, not always straight away but much quicker.

Remember though, don't lose your rag with them but be firm and persistent and if the biils for one particular customer start to pile up, don't be afraid to take them to the small claims court, you might lose the customer, you might not as we've never actually had to go to court, they have always paid up at the last minute but in our experience a line of unpaid bills usually means the firm is getting ready to dump you and do a dump on you or they are struggling (and you'll get nowt if they go bust).

Best of luck.

Best advice in this thread.

To the OP my concern is that you seem to be focussing on the interest and late payment charges you are entitled to and not spending enough time finding out why you are not being paid!

 

[Christine Hough]

I agree with Geoff.... you should be looking to build good relationships and payment habits with the customers you want to keep. If someone cannot pay then you need to uderstand what their problems are. If they are long term profitable clients you need to work with them to establish the procedures.

 

[Peter Bowen]

Before you do the online equivalent of punching me in the face think about someone who owes your business money and answer these questions.

• Did you check their credit and trade references?
• Did you find out how the client’s payment process works?
• Did you specify when and how you wanted to be paid?
• Did you get a watertight contract signed before starting work?
• Did you take a deposit?
• Did you get confirmation that the work you did was satisfactory?
• Did you invoice promptly?
• Was the invoice correct?
• Did you remind the client before the due date?
• Did you follow up on overdue invoices within 3 days?
• Did you keep following up regularly?

If you didn't it's your fault for running your business like it's a hobby.

(I took this from an article I wrote some time ago and reposted here).

 

[Deleted member 53208]

I agree with Geoff.... you should be looking to build good relationships and payment habits with the customers you want to keep. If someone cannot pay then you need to uderstand what their problems are. If they are long term profitable clients you need to work with them to establish the procedures.

I see what Christine is trying to get at (oh my god I'm beginning to sound like a veggie I'll have to eat more meat), but in most cases you will never be able to get that information when you need it. Let me put it this way, if you had a company in deep poo financially speaking, would you discuss this with one of your suppliers, I don't think so as the likely outcome of this conversation would be "we're stopping your account until it's paid up". Since no supplier in their right mind would want to take the risk of a sinking company taking them with them that would be game over then.

Similar thing with profitability really, if it's good people exagerate it (we're expecting to turn over around £3,000,000 on our new Snoopy egg cup range this year!), if it's bad they just lie about it.

I suppose one of the reasons I'm so bitter and twisted, apart from the fact that my parents wouldn't buy me a Sinclair C5 when I was 10 years old (look it up ) is that over the years I've been battered by about 3 large companies which have went bust, and when the first one went down I just didn't read the signals and got shafted for a small fortune.

Needless to say when the other two went bust I did see it coming, all be it a bit late and managed to get a some money out before the final act. Remember company accounts can be up to 18 months old and ask yourself how many companies that were OK 18 months ago have gone down to Davy Joneses locker now (don't know what it is but I've come over all nautical today).

Anyhow I don't mean to be too cynical about the whole thing, the odd clout across the ear as you wander through lifes classroom usually just helps you to learn from the experience so I wouldn't be too worried about individual debt's just be aware, remember your country needs "wares".

 

[Deleted member 53208]

Before you do the online equivalent of punching me in the face think about someone who owes your business money and answer these questions.

• Did you check their credit and trade references?
• Did you find out how the client’s payment process works?
• Did you specify when and how you wanted to be paid?
• Did you get a watertight contract signed before starting work?
• Did you take a deposit?
• Did you get confirmation that the work you did was satisfactory?
• Did you invoice promptly?
• Was the invoice correct?
• Did you remind the client before the due date?
• Did you follow up on overdue invoices within 3 days?
• Did you keep following up regularly?

If you didn't it's your fault for running your business like it's a hobby.

(I took this from an article I wrote some time ago and reposted here).

Who punched Peter :|

 

[Christine Hough]

..., but in most cases you will never be able to get that information when you need it.

All the more reason to go in softly. When people are relaxed they give much more away! If it is a customer you want long term relationships with there may be things you can do to help them too. Such as looking at the dates they actually need your products for examples.. are they ordering too soon?

You can also check out a comapnies credit rating and set credit limits on what debt they can build up. You can let them know the rules too, a turn over of .. and payment on time for x months would raise this to £xxxx

However when people talk about credit control they usually leave out one of the most important aspects and that is the sales person. It is important that this is a company wide approach and the sales are not pressing the customers to be buying more thatn they can aford to pay for. That is not in your companies interest!

 

[Deleted member 53208]

And if that doesn't work I reccomend a tee shirt campaign, or a strongly worded leaflet drop......
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Sorry, couldn't resist it.
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I'm just puerile, I know :redface:

 

[Christine Hough]

Apologies for all the typos in my previous post... the excuse is the noise from pavement works outside as a new gas main is laid!!!

 

[Charlie B ACS]

And if that doesn't work I reccomend a tee shirt campaign, or a strongly worded leaflet drop......
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Sorry, couldn't resist it.
.
.
.
.
I'm just puerile, I know :redface:

Sounds like someone watched a lot of Red Dwarf...
Oh for the Committee for the Liberation and Integration of Terrifying Organisms and their Rehabilitaion Into Society

 

[Deleted member 53208]

Or has lived the life of Brian?

 

[termsandconditions]

so can i write this on my invoices

Default & Consequences of Default for late payments

We understand and will exercise our statutory right to claim interest and compensation for debt recovery costs under the late payment legislation if we are not paid according to our agreed credit terms of 30 days, this is to include all costs incurred by grit bin sales in pursuing the debt, including legal costs solicitor and our company collection agency costs.

PM me, and I'll correct it for you, free of charge.

Best Regards

 

[gritbinsales]

STILL NOT BEEN PAID "NOW 3 MONTHS" last payment was November

As it's a contract i still have to go and maintain the site ( monthly grounds maintenance )

You would think that a huge building in Birmingham with a hotel and lots of shops and 1000+ car park and lots of staff would pay for some grass cutting

 

[Geoff T]

done, we are now a member of the Better Payment Practice

That's alright then - everyone will now pay you on time!

STILL NOT BEEN PAID "NOW 3 MONTHS" last payment was November

As it's a contract i still have to go and maintain the site ( monthly grounds maintenance )

You would think that a huge building in Birmingham with a hotel and lots of shops and 1000+ car park and lots of staff would pay for some grass cutting

The "Better Payment" thingy not done what you hoped it would? (Score one for Geoff)

If it IS a contract, surely it mentions something about suspending service in event of non-payment?

Or did you not get your own contract (terms and conditions) agreed to?

First option to ramp up the pressure is the mention of suspending service - long grass looks SO nasty!

Also - GRD or termsandconditions will remember this - get in touch with them...

 

[gritbinsales]

First phone call " cant find your jan invoices, but have the rest"
second call last week " we will try and get a payment out on Tuesday"

that was 8 days ago