What can you, as a business owner, do to get those difficult debts in?
Especially if December was tight and January is looking likely to be even tighter.
Here are five steps that can help you get through those unpaid invoices:
1) Find The Reason
What are the reasons behind those who haven’t paid you?
Many will come back saying cash flow is tight, but there may be other reasons that you haven’t considered; are they having personal struggles which take priority and cause them to lose focus on the business?
Or are they waiting to be paid directly from their debtors?
2) Give It Time
Forcing someone’s hand may not be the best way to encourage payments to come in sooner.
There may be other creditors pulling the strings. Please see Point 1 as it’s possible there are other factors at play.
3) Break it down
Breaking down the debt will create a win-win situation helping both you and the payee get something out of the agreement.
You can set up a payment plan which means
a) you’ll get paid
b) you’ll ease their worries.
4) Keep The Relationship
There’s no use in ruining the relationship by making demands, unless you are looking to break all future business ties with this client.
Yes, they may be frustrating you but, as Point 1 shows, there may be a bigger picture that you’re not aware of.
Is this contradictory of the remaining points?
Well it may be, but it’s up to you to decide how you want to encourage payments from each business – engage, or disengage?
5) Have A Process
To avoid the impact of seasonal changes why don’t you put payment plans in place to avoid such circumstances e.g. the Summer Holidays and during the Christmas period.
These seasonal changes are here to stay and are always likely to delay the process so work with them.
Remember!
Help is always at hand!
We can help you set up a system to safeguard from any of the above issues, now and in the future – to avoid cash flow demons stalling you and your business further.
Any of the above strategies can be used as a standalone or combined, but it’s always best to get an expert on board if you’re struggling to get your debts in.
If you’re in this frame of mind, then you’ll need someone who’s risk averse, someone who can help clients in all situations, giving advice on how to avoid falling into debt in the first place.
If you’d like a more in-depth conversation then please to give me a call on 0208 088 4565 for a FREE NO OBLIGATION CHAT.