I’m sure there are awards ceremonies for credit control and getting paid but if they don’t present the Golden Bulldozer award then something is badly wrong in the world of credit management.
Over the years, working practices and technology have changed but the basic need for good credit control has not.
Cash is king and businesses fail because they run out of money – so staying on top of credit control and getting paid is not optional, it’s fundamental.
From a tech perspective, most business have bookkeeping software which is far more accessible and powerful than it used to be.
Your bookkeeping software will contain some credit control tools such as:
Learn what tools are available to your business and use them.
Frequent readers of this blog will know that we mention GoCardless quite often.
GoCardless is a direct debit service that links in to your bookkeeping software and collects invoice payments from customers automatically by direct debit using whatever payment terms you and your customer agree.
The more customers you can sign up to a direct debit service the less of a headache credit control will be.
It’s also an early warning sign – if a new customer won’t sign up to direct debit then perhaps it’s because they are a bad payer you shouldn’t sell to them.
Credit control is so much easier if you get the basics right. Such as:
This is where the bulldozer comment came in.
It was a huge compliment paid by the finance manager about her colleague who is responsible for credit control in their business.
There is no substitute for polite but tenacious phone calls to get customers to pay.
And support your credit control team by involving your sales and account management people in credit control. If you only pay commission when sales invoices have been paid then this tends to motivate sales people to help with credit control.
And if everything you’ve tried has failed then stop providing products and services to non-payers and consider legal action.
Credit control needs to be front and centre in many businesses.
There’s a cost to doing credit control but the costs of not doing it can be far greater.
Be organised, used the technology available and be tenacious. And above all:
Be more bulldozer!
Michael – @bluedotmichael
Related links:
Get paid quicker – 5 ways to avoid bad credit risks
Get paid quicker – 5 tips to improve your sales invoices
Getting paid on time – your company is NOT a source of alternative finance!
We don’t believe in forms, we believe in talking to people, finding out your needs and tailor-making a solution just for you.
Give us a ring on 020 7125 0270 or email us at info@bluedotconsulting.co.uk
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