Monitoring Bad Debt Essay

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5 Steps to Easily Manage and Monitor Your Bad Debt
A recent study shows that over 76% of UK’s SMEs are forced to write off the outstanding debts due to one or the other reason. Researchers at Amicus Commercial Finance interviewed 500 business owners and concluded that over £134 million are written off every day.
In a separate study, Federation of Small Businesses concluded that 30% payments to SMEs are late, which lead to serious cash flow problems for the sector. In fact, 18 percent of the surveyed enterprises have lost a new business opportunity or contract due to the resultant cash constraints.
If you’re a business that offers products on credit, these statistics might send alarm bells to you. However, don’t worry; there are certain tested …show more content…

Here are three different ways you can prevent bad debt and ensure timely repayments.
• Divide your customer segments. You can do this on the basis of history, transactions, background, payment cycles, and reference checks. Treat new customers well but cautiously whereas prefer to do business with clients that have a good track record of payments.
• Make sure to send your invoice quickly, once the job is done. Businesses (usually) have payment cycles and if your invoice is received late, it might not be processed in the next payment phase.
• Keep a daily check on the records and credit limits of the customers. If someone is getting closer to the credit limit, it’s a good idea to send them a note.
• Implement a follow-up process. If a payment is noticeably overdue or not been made, look into it. Make it a due part of the process because if you are dealing with wholesalers and LSMs (large scale manufacturers), your small invoices may get missed.
• Build a reputation of a business with strict payment process. You don’t have to look desperate for money but by making it clear that you expect payments on time, you’ll remain on the top of the customers mind when they schedule any

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