Tag Archive for Late Payment

Hot Business News Today

Liz Barclay answers your questions about late payment

by  •  • 0 Comments

By Small Business Team on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

Join Small Business Commissioner Liz Barclay for our next Twitter Q&A this Thursday, September 9 between 4pm and 5pm GMT. Liz will answer your questions about poor payment practices affecting your business.

Former campaigning journalist and BBC broadcaster Liz Barclay a long history of campaigning for social justice when it comes to consumer rights and personal finance.

What can I do to speed up invoices being paid?What if it’s a large company who’s my sole customer?What steps can I take without going to court?How can the Small Business Commissioner help me and my firm?

Late payment putting British SMEs out of business

The Federation of Small Businesses estimates that 50,000 SMEs are forced out of business each year because of late paymentSmall business are currently chasing more than £50bn of late paymentsThe average UK SME is chasing five outstanding invoices at any one time, using up an astonishing 1.5 hours a day, with an average of £8,500 owedThe Government’s own figures are that £23.4bn is owed in outstanding invoices to UK businesses

To join in, just follow @smallbusinessuk and get involved by tweeting your question with the hashtag #AskSBCommissioner.

Remember,

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

Liz Barclay answers your questions about late payment

by  •  • 0 Comments

By Small Business Team on Small Business – Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

Join Small Business Commissioner Liz Barclay for our next Twitter Q&A this Thursday, September 9 between 4pm and 5pm GMT. Liz will answer your questions about poor payment practices affecting your business.

Former campaigning journalist and BBC broadcaster Liz Barclay a long history of campaigning for social justice when it comes to consumer rights and personal finance.

What can I do to speed up invoices being paid?What if it’s a large company who’s my sole customer?What steps can I take without going to court?How can the Small Business Commissioner help me and my firm?

Late payment putting British SMEs out of business

The Federation of Small Businesses estimates that 50,000 SMEs are forced out of business each year because of late paymentSmall business are currently chasing more than £50bn of late paymentsThe average UK SME is chasing five outstanding invoices at any one time, using up an astonishing 1.5 hours a day, with an average of £8,500 owedThe Government’s own figures are that £23.4bn is owed in outstanding invoices to UK businesses

To join in, just follow @smallbusinessuk and get involved by tweeting your question with the hashtag #AskSBCommissioner.

Remember,

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

BBC journalist Liz Barclay appointed small business commissioner

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
UPDATED: Campaigning journalist and BBC broadcaster Liz Barclay has been appointed the new small business commissioner, due to take up the role on June 23.
Liz Barclay has a long history of campaigning for social justice when it comes to consumer rights and personal finance. She has presented Radio 4 consumer affairs programme You and Yours.
The small business commissioner post was established in 2016 to help small businesses get paid on time.
Barclay will take over from interim commissioner Philip King just as the office is expected to be given greater powers.
Last year, the government consulted on new powers for the commissioner, including the power to order payments, levy fines and open investigations based on third-party information. The responses to the consultation and further proposals have yet to be published.
Small business are currently chasing more than £50bn of late payments, according to digital banking platform Tide. The average UK SME is chasing five outstanding invoices at any one time, using up an astonishing 1.5 hours a day, with an average of £8,500 owed.
The government’s own figures are that £23.4bn is owed in outstanding invoices to British businesses.
In August 2019, a quarter of SMEs told chartered

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

Big companies must pay small business suppliers within 30 days

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Large companies will have to settle 95 per cent of invoices from small business suppliers within 30 days from July 1, halving the late-payment window.
The government has cracked down on large companies that take too long to pay invoices in order to ease cash flow problems for thousands of smaller businesses.
Despite almost 3,000 companies signing the Prompt Payment Code poor payment practices are still rife, with many payments delayed well beyond the current 60-day target required for 95 per cent of invoices.
>See also: Small businesses spend hour and a half each day chasing late payments
Currently, £23.4bn worth of late invoices are owed to firms across Britain, impacting on businesses’ cash flow and ultimate survival.
Company directors, chief executives and finance directors will be required to personally sign the code to ensure responsibility for payment practices is taken at the highest level of an organisation.
Bosses will also have to acknowledge suppliers can charge interest on late invoices, and the code – overseen by the Office of the Small Business Commissioner on behalf of the business department – has allowed breaches to be investigated based on third-party information.
Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, told The Times that

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

How to choose a debt collection agency

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by chrisleslie on Small Business
Recent reports in the press advising that banks may be looking to bring in third-party debt collection to collect Bounce Back Loans (BBLs) that go “bad” raises a number of important issues.
Debt collection agencies have always supported banks in collecting non-performing loans, credit card debts, mortgages etc. so to that extent the story is nothing “new”. What is new, perhaps, is the tone in which the story is being reported, and that seeking professional help is a sensible step for banks and Government to protect what is, in many ways, the public purse.
Certainly, whether directly or indirectly, the availability of credit impacts us all, and we should applaud those who take steps to strike the correct balance. Banks fear they may be “overwhelmed” with the task and are, understandably, concerned about protecting their reputations. They are also concerned about the increased blurring of the lines between personal and business debt, and the accelerated focus on vulnerability. Which is precisely why expert help is required.
>See also: Nearly two thirds of Bounce Back Loans could go bad, says government
How to choose a debt collection agency
Bringing this debate into the open raises another important issue, not least

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

How to choose a debt collection agency

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by chrisleslie on Small Business
Recent reports in the press advising that banks may be looking to bring in third-party debt collection to collect Bounce Back Loans (BBLs) that go “bad” raises a number of important issues.
Debt collection agencies have always supported banks in collecting non-performing loans, credit card debts, mortgages etc. so to that extent the story is nothing “new”. What is new, perhaps, is the tone in which the story is being reported, and that seeking professional help is a sensible step for banks and Government to protect what is, in many ways, the public purse.
Certainly, whether directly or indirectly, the availability of credit impacts us all, and we should applaud those who take steps to strike the correct balance. Banks fear they may be “overwhelmed” with the task and are, understandably, concerned about protecting their reputations. They are also concerned about the increased blurring of the lines between personal and business debt, and the accelerated focus on vulnerability. Which is precisely why expert help is required.
>See also: Nearly two thirds of Bounce Back Loans could go bad, says government
How to choose a debt collection agency
Bringing this debate into the open raises another important issue, not least

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

How to chase debts and get paid

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by suechapple on Small Business
Cashflow, as every business owner knows, is essential to business survival. Businesses go bust not only because they lose clients or an important contract, but more often than not because they run out of cash. Businesses fail with money still owed to them, money that, if they chase debts, could have led to a very different outcome indeed.
So how do you collect a debt that’s owed? Look at it a different way. Why do you have a debt in the first place and what’s stopping you from getting paid?
There are many reasons and excuses and you’ve probably heard most if not all of them before: we’ve not received your invoice, the boss is out, you’ll be in the next pay run, the cheque – as always – is in the post.
>See also: Banks may call in debt collectors to recoup unpaid Bounce Back Loans
Know your customer
But go back a step further. What do you know about your customer? Are they a good credit risk? Do they have an established reputation? In credit management terms “know your customer” is the first – and arguably the most important – step in how to get paid. Think

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

How to chase debts and get paid

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by suechapple on Small Business
Cashflow, as every business owner knows, is essential to business survival. Businesses go bust not only because they lose clients or an important contract, but more often than not because they run out of cash. Businesses fail with money still owed to them, money that, if they chase debts, could have led to a very different outcome indeed.
So how do you collect a debt that’s owed? Look at it a different way. Why do you have a debt in the first place and what’s stopping you from getting paid?
There are many reasons and excuses and you’ve probably heard most if not all of them before: we’ve not received your invoice, the boss is out, you’ll be in the next pay run, the cheque – as always – is in the post.
>See also: Banks may call in debt collectors to recoup unpaid Bounce Back Loans
Know your customer
But go back a step further. What do you know about your customer? Are they a good credit risk? Do they have an established reputation? In credit management terms “know your customer” is the first – and arguably the most important – step in how to get paid. Think

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

Large firms should each have one person to deal with late payments – FSB

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called on the government to introduce fundamental changes to tackle late payments.
Alok Sharma, secretary of state for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Martin McTague, policy and advocacy chairman at the Federation of Small Business, spoke at the Conservative’s virtual party conference yesterday (October 5th).
The late payment issue has worsened since the pandemic. In its report Late Again: how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting payment terms for small firms, 62 per cent of small businesses have experienced an increase an increase and/or had payments frozen completely as a result of COVID-19. McTague said that we need a complete change in attitudes.
“It’s a culture in the UK. There should be one person responsible for supply chain behaviour in a big business. There’s no place to hide, they know the data. They would be responsible for false information.”
He adds that the Small Business Commissioner (SBC) is doing a good job, but he’s got ‘one arm tied behind his back’. The Commissioner is relying on a whistleblower which damages the whistleblower’s relationship with the business and the SBC should have the power to hurt them financially.
“A lot of

Read more...

Hot Business News Today

Large firms should each have one person to deal with late payments – FSB

by  •  • 0 Comments

Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called on the government to introduce fundamental changes to tackle late payments.
Alok Sharma, secretary of state for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Martin McTague, policy and advocacy chairman at the Federation of Small Business, spoke at the Conservative’s virtual party conference yesterday (October 5th).
The late payment issue has worsened since the pandemic. In its report Late Again: how the coronavirus pandemic is impacting payment terms for small firms, 62 per cent of small businesses have experienced an increase an increase and/or had payments frozen completely as a result of COVID-19. McTague said that we need a complete change in attitudes.
“It’s a culture in the UK. There should be one person responsible for supply chain behaviour in a big business. There’s no place to hide, they know the data. They would be responsible for false information.”
He adds that the Small Business Commissioner (SBC) is doing a good job, but he’s got ‘one arm tied behind his back’. The Commissioner is relying on a whistleblower which damages the whistleblower’s relationship with the business and the SBC should have the power to hurt them financially.
“A lot of

Read more...