Our director, Sean Husband has a wealth of business knowledge so we wanted to tap into this and share some helpful tips that can help your business in a whole number of different situations. If you have a burning business question that you’d like Sean to answer, then get in touch today and we’ll add it to the list for next time.
My commercial debt recovery strategy isn’t working and my debtor is not being forthcoming with any payments. Should I just write off my debt?
Definitely not, as long as your debt hasn’t expired then you still have scope to escalate your recovery procedures and bring a dedicated third party on board. A debt is valid for recovery for six years, either from the due date, last payment or acknowledgement from the debtor regarding the debt in question. Passing this debt on to a debt recovery agency will take the stress away from you and your business and they can use additional tools at their disposal to encourage the debtor to clear the debt. Take a look at our debt recovery process here. The team at My Debt Recovery will have an open and honest discussion with you and can take a look at your ageing debts and advise on the best course of action. We work on a no collection, no fee basis so there really is nothing to lose and no reason why you should put your historic debt to bed without reaching out to us first!
As a small business owner, I’m struggling to focus my time and find myself wearing too many hats. What can I do?
A smart business owner will be dialled into many different aspects of their business but also know when to find strong partners to outsource certain tasks to. Accounting, HR and marketing functions tend to be the most obvious areas of the business that can benefit from outsourcing. As a business grows, the accounting will become more complex than simple bookkeeping. You’ll need to start keeping tabs on certain metrics and KPIs, including your cash flow forecasts, credit control KPIs and solvency tests. Having all of this information at your fingertips will help you to make better-informed decisions about the future of your business.
I’d like to start a business but I’m unsure about what records I should be keeping?
If your business is a Limited Company, you are required to keep records that relate specifically to your duties as a director, you can find more about these records here. In terms of financial records, you will need to keep:
- All income and expenditure of the business
- Details of the company’s assets
- Any debt owed to or by the business
- Any stock that is held at the end of the financial year
- Copies of stocktaking reports
- Details of all goods bought and sold (who they were purchased from and who they were sold to – unless you are a retail business)
- Receipts, petty cash books, orders and delivery notes
- Invoices, contracts, sales ledgers or till rolls
- Bank statements
- Any other relevant correspondence
We also advise our clients to keep track of any correspondence that relates to a debt along with the record of the debt itself. The more communication on file that shows you have actively been chasing a debt, the more evidence you have that can be used against your debtor if it is necessary to escalate the debt recovery.
We hope these business tips have been helpful. If you have any questions for Sean, let us know, we’re here to help. And, if you need an expert to take on your commercial debt recovery then reach out today, our team of experts are on hand to talk through all of your options and help you improve your cash flow position with an injection of cash that is rightly yours.