“I have an unpaid invoice. 

My customer keeps promising to pay it but they just have not done so yet!

It’s been over 8 months!

I’m so frustrated right now. 

Do we really just have to write the invoice off?

We worked so hard for that client. 

I have a business to run. 

I did NOT offer to work for free!”.

Have you been having similar thoughts or discussions with other leaders in your business?

We understand how frustrating it can be to have an unpaid invoice. We’ve also heard the excuses for why a person or a business may not have yet paid.

Getting paid on time is key to the success of any business, whether small, medium, or large! That said, it can be incredibly frustrating for business owners to keep cash flowing if customers do not pay on time. 

However, there are key steps that you can implement into your business today to get paid quicker! Below are a few of them to help you on your way:-

1.     Get to know your customer

Make getting to know your customers part of your business process.  Who are they, what do they do? How long have they been established for? How big or small are they?

Ask your customer how their business is going. Show an interest in what they are doing.  Is your customer taking risks? Are they doing well, or are they struggling?

2.     Investigate your customer’s financial position. 

Do they have a good or a bad credit rating?

Do they already have numerous CCJs?     

If your customer’s credit rating is poor and they already have numerous CCJs, these are red flags that you should not ignore. You should adjust how you conduct your business accordingly. For example, can you invoice in advance and/or in stages?

3.     Are you speaking with the decision-maker?

Can the person that you have been speaking with make decisions on behalf of the business? If the person that you are speaking to is not a decision-maker, the business may refuse to pay you at some point in the future! Be careful.

4.     What type of business is your customer?

A sole trader, a charity, a limited company?

If a limited company, check Companies House and have a good look around. Has your customer filed its accounts on time? Are there any other red flags in relation to your customer’s solvency?

5.     Get a credit report!

Order a credit report for your customer. It will provide a credit rating to help you better understand the financial health of your customer’s business.

Some enhanced credit reports can also predict the solvency of a business in the future. 

Next steps

At Johnson May Solicitors, we offer low fixed fees to help with debt recovery. 

We are based in Beckenham, London but we service clients throughout England.

Our debt recovery process follows an approach that champions communication to recover payments swifter.

If anything in this post resonates with you, let’s have a chat. Call us on 020 8150 7173 or make an online enquiry by clicking here and let us help you get cash flow back into your business.