Business to business collection – review your procedures to maximise your cashflow!

5 tips on how to maximise your cashflow and business to business collection!

With the UK economy looking ever-more unstable and growth on a less than steady course, it is more important than ever to implement strict procedures for business to business collection of accounts. You should look at trying to recover cash owed to you as swiftly and as cheaply as possible. You can achieve this by constantly reviewing your debtors and reinventing ways to encourage your customers to pay you on time. Small changes to the daily practices in your business, which can take very little time and effort to implement, can have a major positive impact on your long-term cash flow and ultimate sustainability.

Below are 4 things you can do today to improve your chances of getting paid on time, follow these and you are well on your way to boosting your companys cash collection rates:

1) Send Invoices ASAP – the quicker you invoice the quicker you get paid. For business to business collection, as soon as a job is finished get an invoice out to your customer. If they are with you when the job is completed, or if you can meet-up, then even better: hand it over in person and ask for payment . Even if you have agreed payment terms, a personal request face-to-face for payment can go a long way, and they may even write you a cheque out there and then.

2) Invoice accurately – make sure all the details on the invoice are 100% correct, phone up the customer to re-confirm if you have to. Getting it right first time can save a lot of delays further down the line when you need to get paid.

3) Call BEFORE the Invoice is overdue – why should you wait until an Invoice is past agreed payment terms until you start asking for payment? If you have agreed 30 day terms, phone up your customer after 14 days to make sure they have received the invoice and that there are no problems, then call back 5 days before due date to confirm they have your bank details for payment and if they have finalised a payment date for the Invoice. This keeps you ahead of the game and business to business collection as SMEs is all about being proactive – not reactive.

4) Give your customers payment options – on your Invoices you MUST include your bank details, address to send cheque to and who it is payable to. A common excuse we have heard in the past is that we didn’t have your bank details. Don’t let them use this excuse and always try and email a copy of the Invoice so you can refer back to your records for having sent it. If you can set-up an online payment system or credit card facility this is even better as this is quick and easy.

Remember, the implications of not getting your business to business collection solution right are grave. If you are owed amounts of money and your customers are dragging their heels, it is essential you take swift debt collection action to protect your long-term survival as a business.