Discussion
Working for yourself is not all it's cracked up to be!
Doing the work is not the problem. Getting paid is the problem.
I am currently chasing up an invoice for works carried out before Christmas!!
It's a joke. why do a lot companies wait until they are chased before paying? and I'm talking about some big companies here.
Their excuse is they are waiting for payment from others. What has that got to do with me?
Why have attitudes changed? 20 years ago it was all straightforward.
Sorry about the rant, but it does get me annoyed
Doing the work is not the problem. Getting paid is the problem.
I am currently chasing up an invoice for works carried out before Christmas!!
It's a joke. why do a lot companies wait until they are chased before paying? and I'm talking about some big companies here.
Their excuse is they are waiting for payment from others. What has that got to do with me?
Why have attitudes changed? 20 years ago it was all straightforward.
Sorry about the rant, but it does get me annoyed
I'm afraid to say - get used to it!!
I was shocked when I first went into business, 5 years ago, at the attitude paople take. However, you can mitigate this by credit checking the client thoroughly beforehand (and insuring against loss/default payment), I'd also think about legal action at this stage.
Is this a client you'd want to deal with again?
If not, take action now - most of the time you'll find that they can find the money when they *have* to. If they really can't pay...well, at least you'll know and can plan around it.
Good luck.
I was shocked when I first went into business, 5 years ago, at the attitude paople take. However, you can mitigate this by credit checking the client thoroughly beforehand (and insuring against loss/default payment), I'd also think about legal action at this stage.
Is this a client you'd want to deal with again?
If not, take action now - most of the time you'll find that they can find the money when they *have* to. If they really can't pay...well, at least you'll know and can plan around it.
Good luck.
I know it's not much help, but I always make it clear on both contracts and invoices that if payment is not recieved within 30 days of invoice, then interest will be charged at x% over BofE Base Rate.
I know it's not much good, but does give you the excuse to charge a bit more when they finally do pay. (And if x is large enough, should give them a decent incentive to pay up quickly.)
Oli.
I know it's not much good, but does give you the excuse to charge a bit more when they finally do pay. (And if x is large enough, should give them a decent incentive to pay up quickly.)
Oli.
gtr-gaz said:
Working for yourself is not all it's cracked up to be!
Doing the work is not the problem. Getting paid is the problem.
I am currently chasing up an invoice for works carried out before Christmas!!
It's a joke. why do a lot companies wait until they are chased before paying? and I'm talking about some big companies here.
Their excuse is they are waiting for payment from others. What has that got to do with me?
Why have attitudes changed? 20 years ago it was all straightforward.
Sorry about the rant, but it does get me annoyed
It's not only companies that do it, you can get it from private jobs as well, but this is part and parcel of being self employed.
Gaz,
It's a problem I'm all too familiar with.
Lots of it is just down to persistance. This year, I've managed to halve the dosh owed to me on an ongoing basis simply by chasing people earlier and more often. Only a few companies never pay.
Get into a routine for chasing money. You need to do it every single week. Some companies only pay on statements, some won't pay until you ring up and then mysteriously they are 'just writing a cheque now'. Many will pay more regularly once they know that you will be chasing them regularly.
It's insulting that some businesses choose to treat other businesses like this.
It's a problem I'm all too familiar with.
Lots of it is just down to persistance. This year, I've managed to halve the dosh owed to me on an ongoing basis simply by chasing people earlier and more often. Only a few companies never pay.
Get into a routine for chasing money. You need to do it every single week. Some companies only pay on statements, some won't pay until you ring up and then mysteriously they are 'just writing a cheque now'. Many will pay more regularly once they know that you will be chasing them regularly.
It's insulting that some businesses choose to treat other businesses like this.
zcacogp said:
I know it's not much help, but I always make it clear on both contracts and invoices that if payment is not recieved within 30 days of invoice, then interest will be charged at x% over BofE Base Rate.
I know it's not much good, but does give you the excuse to charge a bit more when they finally do pay. (And if x is large enough, should give them a decent incentive to pay up quickly.)
Oli.
That's quite standard. However, my philosophy is that if you're prepared to go through with that then you are almost certainly going to lose that client so you may as well take stronger action, sooner. The solicitors always add on the statutary interest anyway so you win both ways. If they pay of course.
gtr-gaz said:
Why have attitudes changed? 20 years ago it was all straightforward.
No it wasn't.
It's always been a source of finance. I remember some slick operators who turned it into an art. They could spin it out for 12 months or more.
On the other side, there were those who eagerly went for winding-up petitions to get their cash....
Now we have those nasty wan....sorry, bankers....who extract a pint of blood if your payment is a day late.....
In our experience, big companies can be the worst payers. Its particularly irritating when you chase and chase and then a cheque turns up which is dated 6 weeks ago.
The best advice is to make a pain of yourself and keep calling. Try and keep contact with the same person within the accounts department. It seems to be the case that he who shouts loudest gets paid earliest.
And big company's accounts department don't seem to take it personally when you get arsey with them. Its just par for the course...
The best advice is to make a pain of yourself and keep calling. Try and keep contact with the same person within the accounts department. It seems to be the case that he who shouts loudest gets paid earliest.
And big company's accounts department don't seem to take it personally when you get arsey with them. Its just par for the course...
9 times out of 10, my '6th sense' tells me exactly how easy, straightforward, or hard payment issues might be with certain clients, so Im listening to it more now, and not just 'sometimes'
Ive had to chase payments for 18 months too. And write off thousands of pounds of bad debt. I recon (with very small businesses) working with your 6th sense is key.
Edited to add!! Literally 10 minutes ago, I got an email from a client, who 2 months ago owned a multi million pound company. His reason for not returning my calls (re: money he owes me for another project) is because he is now driving a lorry for a living. Whatever you do, ensure your level of debt is managable whatever the size of your business, or you could go tits up!
>> Edited by UKBob on Thursday 28th April 10:56
Ive had to chase payments for 18 months too. And write off thousands of pounds of bad debt. I recon (with very small businesses) working with your 6th sense is key.
Edited to add!! Literally 10 minutes ago, I got an email from a client, who 2 months ago owned a multi million pound company. His reason for not returning my calls (re: money he owes me for another project) is because he is now driving a lorry for a living. Whatever you do, ensure your level of debt is managable whatever the size of your business, or you could go tits up!
>> Edited by UKBob on Thursday 28th April 10:56
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I've used that method too, one of my better clients was a solicitor so was heppy to do me the letters for nowt (one of my best payers too).
Invoice
Chase by phone
Chase by letter
Cease supporting supplied system
Solicitors letter
Usually got things paid, still owed for a couple of jobs, but i know they've lost more money through the delays and extra support costs from elsewhere than i have by not being paid.
One other trick that I have used. If your standard letters get no response send a final demand with a copy of a county court writ (your local court will give you the forms and they take less than a couple of minutes to fill out) filled out to include costs and interest. Advise them that if payment is not received in 7 days the writ will be issued.
I found that this was an effective tool as it tends to focus the debtor onto the issue and only the most hardened will ignore it.
For the most hardened, as I mentioned before, the statuatory demand is a great tool. (If they ignore it a winding up order is issued).
I found that this was an effective tool as it tends to focus the debtor onto the issue and only the most hardened will ignore it.
For the most hardened, as I mentioned before, the statuatory demand is a great tool. (If they ignore it a winding up order is issued).
PetrolTed said:
For the most hardened, as I mentioned before, the statuatory demand is a great tool. (If they ignore it a winding up order is issued).
Excuse my ignorance - what's a statuatory demand?
Its a demand for payment on a debt (where there is no dispute and the debtor is a company). The debtor has to either pay or show grounds for not paying (a dispute over the debt) within a set timeframe or the creditor can ask for a winding up order to be issued against the debtor company. This has fairly serious repercussions.
I'm not a solicitor so my explanation is probably a bit clumsy. Also I haven't issued one for some years. I issued SD's twice (through a solicitor) and on both occasions they had the effect of a bomb landing on the debtors business. Payment was instantaneous on both occasions.
I only used it where the debt was large (over £100k on each occasion) and where I had exhausted all other avenues and where I did not wish to deal with the debtor company ever again.
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