LET’S TALK… LATE PAYMENTS

SMEs are vulnerable to late payers in Australia, with Small Business Ombudsman Kate Carnell stating, in April, that larger organisations are using them as a “cheap form of finance”, restricting their growth and causing solvency issues.

From calls for legislation to the introduction of a voluntary code to deter late payments, late payments have never been a hotter topic, and for a good reason – around one in two small businesses are owed more than $20,000 in late payments*.

As part of our latest “Let’s Talk…” article, centering on Late Payments, we put the following question to more than a dozen entrepreneurs and industry experts: “What mistakes do SMEs make when dealing with late payers?”

Some of the responses included failing to implement an invoice management strategy, being too lenient (or too aggressive) with late payers, neglecting to include crystal-clear payment terms and conditions in invoices/contracts, failing to chase up late payments straight away, not training customers to pay on time, and refusing to draw a line in the sand.

In addition to calling out some common mistakes, this week’s lineup of “Let’s Talk…” commentators also provided hot tips and actionable insights to help small businesses maintain a healthy cash flow.  Read more

James Harkness - Dynamic Business - 29 Sep 2017