Advice on getting paid pls

kev1n3

its ok.. found MCOL.. thanks guys

Quentin

If they ignore your letter before action, and you proceed to issue the summons, the MCOL form will show you how to add interest (on a daily basis since the payment became due)

Bean_Counter

I expect to get really slated for this, but here goes. I work for, and have worked for, various companies and effectively have co-ordinated the timing of payments to suppliers.

As previous posters have said, delays in payment are I'm afraid a fact of life for many businesses. American (and no doubt other very big companies) I have worked will delay payment beyond the quarter end to skew the calculation of metrics and enhance the bonuses paid to senior managers. Some companies do not have sufficient working capital and can only afford to pay when paid. Some owner-managed companies just hold back payments for as long as possible because they have this 'this is my money and I'm hanging onto it for as long as possible attitude'. By far the worst I have come across is the construction industry where getting paid can literally be like getting blood out of a stone.

I can offer the following advice.

1. When the company places an order with you, check whether you need a purchase order number. With some of the bigger companies, lack of a PO can be an obstacle to geting paid.

2. Try and build up a relationship with the accounts payable person, or the person responsible for paying the cheques. If they are going through the approved payment list and they see your name and remember you as a nice guy, they are more likely to include you.

3. Keep calling purchase ledger and badgering them for payment if necessary. They may well include you in the next payment run just to stop you calling (although beware of really p!ssing them off though or else the opposite might happen.)

4. Call a few days before the payment is due to enquire if there are any problems / has the invoice been approved. If there are any problems this gives you a head start in sorting them out.

5. Make sure that your terms & conditions are correct and on the correct documents just in case the worst comes to the worst and you have to go to court for payment.

6. Make sure in your cashflow projections you allow a sensible time to receive payment and don't assume that you will be paid on time. This will help ensure that you know how much working capital to have in your business. Actually, make sure that you are doing cashflow projections in the first place.

7. Why not change your payments terms to 14 days, then you might have a chance of being paid by the time the 30 day period comes round.

I'm sure that there be loads more ideas once I have hit the post button. You have to be realistic about when to expect payment, and I would suggest that in the current climate, what you are describing is not too bad.

I am not condoning any of this, just telling it how it is.

Conor_3

To the OP, think yourself lucky. Most blue-chips and larger companies pay on 60 days. Certainly the ones I dealt with did. Forget trying to speed them up. You can do it if you've been supplying them for a while but not as a newbie.

Ignore the court advice unless the money doesn't appear for a while because you're shooting yourself in the foot. You can guarantee you'd never get work from them again and can you guarantee you'd never ever want to do any in the future?

You're going to find many companies you deal with work this way so you'd better get used to it. It's quite easy once the first payments start rolling in. Just remember to budget and pay yourself a set amount rather than going "Look, I've a £4k cheque lets go party." I used to just pay myself £150 a week, even though I was invoicing £1000's but it meant I could still pay myself when there was nothing due in. One benefit of being on 60 day terms is that when you eventually decide to finish, you've basically got 2 months income to come when it's ended, even if you find another job.

Quentin

Conor wrote: »

Ignore the court advice unless the money doesn't appear for a while because you're shooting yourself in the foot. You can guarantee you'd never get work from them again............

As part of the advice you so assertively say should be ignored I did actually advise:

If you aren't wanting to do any more work for them, you can proceed down the small claims route

Maybe you should read what others take the trouble to say before posting contradictory and unnecessarily confusing advice.