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Are you one of the many business owners who have been struggling to get paid on time? If so, you know how frustrating and demoralising it can be. You may feel like you’re chasing your tail – and that’s because you are! It’s time to take action.
There’s a lot of fear when it comes to chasing late payments. Business owners often feel like they’re putting their business in danger by going after what is owed to them. But the fact is, debt won’t pay itself. In order to see any return on your investment, you need to act on late payments.
Chasing Debt Owed To You
The truth is that many UK firms have the legal right to claim late payment compensation, but they are being stopped from doing so by a fear of client backlash and business loss.
A recent survey of credit personnel by Lovetts found that fear of offending customers stops almost 60% from acting on late payment. Despite this, nearly one in four firms are still being paid up to two months late.
Just leaving debt can result in late payment becoming a habit for some customers, and this can have a knock-on effect on your business cash flow.
Complying with late payment legislation is not only a legal requirement, but it also sends out a strong message to both current and future clients that you are serious about being paid on time.
It’s important to remember that late payment is not just a one-time thing – it can have a lasting effect on your business. So don’t be afraid to take action! Your business (and your bank balance) will thank you for it in the long run.
Reasons Why You Should Take Action
You deserve to be paid for your goods/services
Chasing customers for late payments might be intimidating, but you’re not doing anything wrong.
When you provide a product or service for an agreed-upon price, you are rightfully entitled to all of the money.
It’s important to protect your business credit
If you don’t take any action, late payments will continue to hurt your business credit score. This could lead to future problems when it comes time to borrow money or lease office space.
Not only is it crucial to protect your current credit rating, but you also need to think about the long-term effects of late payments.
You need to set the precedent
If you don’t chase late payments, you’re setting a dangerous precedent for the future. Once clients realise they can get away with paying late, they’ll start to do it more and more.
This could cause serious financial problems down the road, as late payments can add up very quickly. It’s important to remember that late payment is not just a one-time thing – it can have a lasting effect on your business.
The older the debt, the harder it is to recover
Typically, the longer you leave an overdue payment, the harder it becomes to collect. This is why it’s important to take action immediately.
Many firms wait for their clients to make the decision to pay themselves rather than pursue late payments. Customers, on the other hand, aren’t always trustworthy, and they may try to delay payment as long as possible. So don’t give them any opportunities to avoid paying!
In English law, the limitation period for debt is six years. This means that if a customer owes you money and they do not pay up within this time limit, there are very few options available to you to recover the money owed to you.
A more sensible option is to call in the experts – debt collection agencies while you still have the option to chase overdue invoices, late payments and debt owed to you.
Struggling To Get Paid on Time?
No Collection, No Fee, we provide a fully comprehensive debt collection service that uses the most advanced techniques to trace debtors and recover money owed.
Get in touch to discover how we can help get back what is rightly owed to you!
