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Top Tips: to Improve the Credit Control Procedures of your Business

By Chris Else, Managing Partner at Else Solicitors

chris.else@elselaw.co.uk, 01283 526200

Businesses that are affected by late payments and bad debt are being encouraged to review their credit control procedures by a leading expert. Chris Else, Managing Partner at Else Solicitors, has decades of debt recovery expertise including experience with a number of high profile UK companies.

As well as acting on behalf of businesses to recover payments and debt, Chris also advises companies on how to minimise future risk through improved credit control procedures. Commenting on this, Chris said: “We manage debt recovery for a large number of clients, and that is a successful service we provide through our dedicated Debt Recovery Department. However it is also important to work with our clients to mitigate the likelihood of debt in the first place. This starts with their credit control procedures. We now offer a free credit control review service for businesses and organisations, which includes a full check on existing procedures and advice on how they can be improved.”

Below are some top tips from Chris in relation to credit control procedures. If you want more information on any of these, or to discuss a free review or debt recovery, then please contact him directly on chris.else@elselaw.co.uk or 01283 526200.

  1. Looking at the way orders are obtained: The starting point is to know exactly who your customer is and also to know that they are able to pay for the goods and/or services supplied.  Was the order subject to your terms and conditions of sale and were your terms incorporated into the contract?  In other words, can you rely upon your terms of sale?  Do you have systems in place to correctly identify your customer and also to recognise the credit risk if you are providing credit terms?

 

  1. The credit control process: This starts at the point of sale and knowing who you are dealing with and upon what terms you wish to deal with them. The standard procedure includes:
  • Send an order acknowledgment form immediately after the order is placed, which includes your terms of business.
  • The order will be met with the supply of goods and/or services and an invoice sent.
  • Following the invoice the normal procedure is to send a statement of account after 14 days and to call the customer to confirm the payment date assuming terms are 30 days from date of invoice.
  • If payment is not received by the payment date then the first chasing letter would be sent perhaps suggesting this is an oversight.
  • After a further seven working days a more assertive letter would be sent stating that you may be looking to charge Statutory Late Payment Interest and Administration fees pursuant to the Late Payment of Commercial Debt Regulations. You could offer to waive these fees waiving if payment is made immediately.
  • After 14 days a ‘Letter Before Action’ is sent.
  • If this still doesn’t result in payment then you need to consider legal action.

 

  1. Common mistakes in the credit control process: We have seen a number of common mistakes that businesses make when trying to get payment and chase debt. These include:
  • Not knowing your customer and being aware of exactly who your customer is.
  • Failing to chase unpaid debt.
  • Not having a strict chasing system in place with one person responsible for it.
  • Allowing sales staff to dictate the business relationship. If a customer has not paid do you still want them as a customer?
  • Not taking decisive legal action quickly enough; getting in first is important.

 

  1. Some examples of mistakes that have cost businesses money:
  • Carrying on normally when you haven’t been paid monies due. It is obvious that this builds up the debt but it is a common error which compounds the problem.
  • Not taking decisive action soon enough. If the debt is >£750 and the debtor is a limited company it should be a standard process to threaten the debtor company with Liquidation.  This is an aggressive tactic but if you do nothing and others receive payment whereas you do not your company could be at risk.
  • Not establishing whether there are problems with the supply of goods and/or services early enough. Credit control procedures can flush out complaints and issues affecting payment.

 

  1. Key points to remember and embrace:
  • Have a credit control system in the first place!
  • Review it and measure the success.
  • Ensure your terms of business are fit for purpose. Terms and Conditions of Sale must stipulate payment dates and that if one payment is overdue all invoices become immediately payable.
  • Communicate with your customers and have a relationship with them.
  • Take action early if payments are not made, don’t bury your head in the sand.
  • Be organised and ensure sales staff do not make promises which will not be kept and that they adhere to the business procedures for setting up customers and transacting sales.

Else Solicitors have a dedicated team with a wealth of experience helping businesses with their credit control and also recovering bad debt. For more information and an initial discussion please contact Chris Else at Else Solicitors via email or phone: chris.else@elselaw.co.uk / 01283 526200.

“From the initial consultation, through to selling my property, the Property team at Else Solicitors have been professional, proactive and most importantly have kept me updated at all times. Their attention to detail ensured that every aspect of the sale was meticulously handled, alleviating any concerns along the way. Else’s ability to explain complex legal concepts in a clear and concise manner was greatly appreciated and helped me feel confident in any decision making. I cannot thank the team enough for their hard work, professionalism, and dedication throughout this process. I would recommend Else Solicitors to anyone.”

Callum Campbell, MD Brilliant Hygiene Services Ltd

“Kathryn, it has been a pleasure working with you and we will certainly recommend you to friends and family. Many thanks for your wonderful support to myself, my husband and mother-in-law for all the work conducted on our LPA's for property and financial affairs and health and welfare.”

Happy Wills & Probate Client

“My husband and I engaged Else and Co. in the sale of our home after a couple of earlier and very positive experiences with the company. The sale process was non standard owing to the nature of the deal, the long history of the property and the requirements of the buyers. The team handled everything in a confident, capable, timely and transparent manner right through to a successful closure. We appreciate expertise when we see it, particularly when it is local. We wouldn’t hesitate to reach out to Else and Co. again.”

Chris & Alison Stephenson

“I was advised at a preliminary court hearing that I should engage with a solicitor for legal assistance on my court case. I researched Else solicitors and had an initial call to discuss my case, which I was impressed with. I engaged with their services and worked with Chris throughout the matter. He was impeccable with his communication and quick to respond. As a result of his hard word, Chris successfully resolved the matter through negotiation saving future legal fees and avoiding the need to attend the final court hearing. I would highly recommend Else’s services for future business legal requirements.”

Dispute Resolution Client

``I wish to express my sincere appreciation for the excellent service provided to me by Kathryn Caple and an Else Solicitors team. I could not have completed my father’s estate and his Will processing without their
kind help while I am leaving in USA.

Kathryn is one of the shining examples of professionalism, caring and knowledgeable person. She listened, advised and kept me informed throughout the process dealing with my father’s estate. I am very pleased with the quality, responsiveness and extensive legal expertise of Kathryn.

A massive thanks to Kathryn and Else Solicitors Team! I would highly recommend their service.

On my personal note, I really enjoyed working with Kathryn. I could not be more satisfied.”

Rakesh Mishra U.S.A.

``Thank you Kathryn for all that you have done to render an unpleasant process more palatable. I do appreciate the compassion you have shown throughout.”

Wills & Probate Client

``Thank you so much for all your help. You’ve really gone above and beyond and made this whole process much easier.”

Wills & Probate Client

``I would like to thank Kathryn for her support and guidance throughout this protracted procedure of settling the affairs of my relative. My family and I appreciated your endless patience”

Mr Terry Wills & Probate Client

``I used Else Solicitors recently to do my probate work, having had excellent service previously on some house sale matters. Kathryn Caple, their head of probate was exceptionally efficient and knowledgeable. I had total confidence in the expertise I was being provided and the work was completed in a very timely manner. Feedback was continuous and I was totally satisfied by the outcome``

Russell Jeans Probate Client

``We are very pleased with the service Else Solicitors provided for us. We had retentions that were overdue (circa £40K), the Main Contractor had missed the payment date on their Payment Certificate, when chased we were told that they couldn’t pay for another couple of months due to cashflow, we had been in similar situations before, having been given payment plans that weren’t met, and then companies go into liquidation.

I looked on the Internet and filled in Else Solicitors web enquiry form, A member of the team called me back and talked through the various options, which I took away to discuss internally with my business partner. We agreed the plan of action which Else's team executed swiftly and efficiently, dealing with all correspondence received from the Main Contractors Solicitors, our monies were received in our bank within 2 weeks.

Can’t recommend Else enough!``

Construction Client Construction - Retention Monies

``I would never hesitate in using their services again and in recommending them to other professionals.``

Angelica Duncan Director - Chameleon School of Construction

``Else have a great ability to handle complicated cases in a pragmatic manner, focusing on the commercial and practical impact for the client.``

Liz Strama CEO - HR Protected

``Smith Cooper work with a handpicked selection of law firms across the UK where our accountancy matters require expert legal advice. We refer specific corporate, litigation and insolvency cases to Else Solicitors because of their technical experience, flexible and professional approach and their efficient way of working. We have established close working relationships with the team at Else over a number of years.``

Dean Nelson Partner - Business Recovery & Insolvency - Smith Cooper

``I appreciate the attention I received and your professional service and whilst I don’t wish for a similar situation I would have no hesitation in using your services again.``

Debt Recovery Client

``Thank you Else Solicitors and in particular Laura Charles for another successful outcome this week in the recovery of our bad debt. We don’t get them often but it’s a huge relief and comfort to know we have your friendly but extremely professional firm always there ready to help with very little notice. It’s an absolute pleasure working with you and here’s to many more successful years. Thank you!``

Debt Recovery Client

``A massive thank you to Laura and the rest of the team at Else solicitors.
We had some issues retrieving monies owed from a previous contractor for the past 2 years, and the team really did go above and beyond.
From our point of view, it was money very well spent as within 2 weeks full payment was made by the contractor who previously had a very stern view of not paying.
Laura and her team battled many emails with the contractors solicitors, all of which was included in the price.
A massive thank you once again! Would highly recommend!``

Debt Recovery Client

``I would like to extend my thanks to Chris and the team at Else Solicitors for their support and guidance over my recent purchase of Ethical Property Partners England and Wales.
Chris and his team,have been professional and supportive throughout and where needed have been prompt in their responses, often at late notice.
I was really pleased with their approach to helping myself and my Business Partner Paulene navigate the pages and pages of contracts and break them down into plain English where needed!
I'm looking forward to them being able to help with the next step of sorting our Shareholder agreements!``

Amanda Jarvis-Doyle Ethical Property Partners (Property Consultant)

``We provide international shipping services to customers and following the non-payment of an invoice, we instructed Else Solicitors to seek recovery of this.

Proceedings were issued and the case proceeded to a final hearing. We cannot thank the team enough for the work put into this case as the final judgment was in our favour and we recovered the debt in full, plus a portion of our legal costs.

The Team explained each step of the process to ensure our understanding of the case and provided updates at every opportunity. We were very pleased with the final result and the support received on the run up to the hearing.

We would not hesitate to use their services again.``

Ian Hardie Sales Director at Smart Directions Limited.

``Laura and the team have become an excellent asset to our finance department over the last year. They have helped us recover debts in full from 2 particularly difficult payers that we had no hope of recovering ourselves! They make the process simple and easy to follow, and always have a quick, helpful reply when we need something clarified. I would recommend Else Law to anyone who needs additional help with pursuing uncooperative customers because so far they have a 100% success rate with us!``

Debt Recovery Client

``A huge thank you to Laura and Elselaw for assisting in recovering monies owed on a 12-month-old invoice. Even though our business is based in Australia, we were impressed how quickly they assisted with our enquiry and put us at ease given the international element to the litigation.

We would highly recommend any business based outside of the UK, who has a troublesome UK client, to consider using Else Solicitors (Laura!) to resolve their issue quickly and efficiently.”

John Morgan, Director of Forensic Instinct

“The Else Debt Recovery team have done an excellent job in keeping us organised and on track over the past 18 months and the Commercial Dispute Resolution teams input has been a great help in recent months, dealing with the more problematic situations, including collection of the largest debt by speaking directly with the MD and owner of the debtor company, taking the heat out of that situation”

Debt Recovery Client

“We want to thank Kathryn and the team for their dedication and professionalism in dealing with our matter. We are all extremely grateful for your efforts”

Wills and Probate Client

``Forté Lubricants a division of Illinois Tool Works Ltd is a manufacturer and supplier of petrol and diesel-operated engine additives and has 40 years of experience helping and advising UK garages improve vehicle engine performance with our range of products.
Most of our debt recovery is done in house, however, we sometimes require Else to recover debts on outstanding invoices by one off buyers to the value of £500, resulting in Else recovering the money in full in less than 30 days.

Having a well-known reputable company in Else at the end of a phone is reassuring. We have found that since we have been using Else to recover debts, we have saved time, money and most importantly their expertise means that the debt is almost always recovered.

Else offer an outstanding service which we have used for over 5 years. We would thoroughly recommend their service without hesitation.``

Lisa Griffin Debt Recovery Client
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