[richard jagger]

 I found this lately thought it might help us
How to stop late payment

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Late payment is costing UK small businesses an estimated 286 million man hours and nearly £3.6 billion per year. Over 2.5 million small businesses are affected by it, says a survey by BizHelp24.com.

The survey of 300 small businesses has found that 64.6 per cent face one or more late payments every month, and 42.9 per cent at least two every month. These figures show that the majority of small businesses in the UK are significantly under-vetting their credit customers.

Here are five top tips to avoid late payment and control cash flow:


1. Get your terms and conditions right – Creating a standard set of terms and conditions can protect you from late- or non-payment, limiting your liabilities and providing you with some security. Make your customer aware of the terms before doing business with them and, if possible, ask them to accept them in writing. Your terms and conditions should cover:

- the price
- your arrangements for delivery
- the payment terms - if you don't agree a credit period with your customers the law sets a default of 30 days
- your right to charge interest on late payments and claim compensation for debt-recovery costs. For more information on this click here.

2. Credit check your customers – You can check your customers credit in the following ways:

- check that bank references are genuine
- If possible, check your customer's payment record with some of their other suppliers. Click here for a guide on credit checking from The Better Payment Practice Commission.
- pay for an online credit rating from a credit reference agency
- check a limited company's accounts at Companies House
- search the Register of Judgments Orders and Fines - held at Registry Trust Ltd
- check with the Insolvency Service. Click here to visit the site.

3. Reduce payment risks – Asking for a deposit or advance before supplying goods or services will reduce the risk of not receiving payment.

Alternatively, the funds could be held by an independent party until the work has been carried out or the products supplied. Banks may be willing to offer this service or you could use a stakeholder fund, which gives the contractor access to working funds while providing the client with some security.

Other ways of reducing late payment risk include:

- Third-party guarantees - legally binding agreements for a third party to pay if your customer does not.
- Credit insurance. This will cover you if your customer becomes insolvent.
- Automated payment systems, such as BACS or CHAPS - these will provide payment certainty and prevent the risks associated with bounced, missing or lost cheques.
- Legal expenses insurance - this covers the costs of recovering debts though the courts.

4. Chase up late payment quickly - If your customers know you are quick to
deal with late payment, they will be less likely to delay or 'forget' to pay. You could also offer a small discount for reliable customers who pay within the credit period regularly, although this would need to be managed closely to ensure your business was not losing out in the deal.

5. Reduce credit terms for businesses that keep paying late – It may be worth considering tightening the payment terms for repeat offenders, but try to find out the reason for late payment before going ahead with this step; you may be able to come to a mutual agreement with the client. Remember also that non-paying customers are not customers at all, you could consider simply not supplying those who refuse to pay.

6. Work closely with your customers - Getting to know your customers, the way that they work and their specific requirements may help to reduce late payments. If you understand the business that you are supplying or providing a service to, you are more likely to establish a working relationship that will suit you as the supplier and your customers.

[steve rix]

All seems a bit over the top for window cleaning unless you do a lot of big commercials

[Handyman Window Cleaning Services]

for the domestic houses Thoses terms would scare them off quicker than what VAT would.

But having strong terms in the contract with large domestic would be fair enough but to credit check is a new one, never heard it in window cleanin.  however when you take out a £35 a month mobile phone contract the credit rate you.

but as a small business would all those pre contract procuderes swallow up lot of your profit, dont make millions like orange or three.

i personally stick 90% to domestic as one rubbish payer is peanut and can be cancelled, i play it safe tho.

for big non regular job i have been lucky enough to be paid BACs within days

[Window Washers]

where did you get that from ?

[mlscontractcleaner]

I personally think that unless the custmer signs a proper contract with you, and let's be honest, nobody does, you don't have a leg to stand on with T+Cs; at the end of the day they can just just say you've never cleaned their windows and they have no idea what you're talking about. It's their word against yours and they hold the money.

[YWCS]

massive overkill for 99% of window cleaners. If you are running big contracts then chances are that each contract will be negotiated seperately and terms agreed at the time but if you go in throwing strict T&C's around the working relationship will suffer from the outset. Large companies will have their own payment terms which you the supplier will have to go with.

[Window Washers]

massive overkill for 99% of window cleaners. If you are running big contracts then chances are that each contract will be negotiated seperately and terms agreed at the time but if you go in throwing strict T&C's around the working relationship will suffer from the outset. Large companies will have their own payment terms which you the supplier will have to go with.

totally incorrect, if you educate people into your terms of service it builds trust, and they also know where they stand.

[YWCS]

massive overkill for 99% of window cleaners. If you are running big contracts then chances are that each contract will be negotiated seperately and terms agreed at the time but if you go in throwing strict T&C's around the working relationship will suffer from the outset. Large companies will have their own payment terms which you the supplier will have to go with.

totally incorrect, if you educate people into your terms of service it builds trust, and they also know where they stand.

your opinion or fact?

[Window Washers]

massive overkill for 99% of window cleaners. If you are running big contracts then chances are that each contract will be negotiated seperately and terms agreed at the time but if you go in throwing strict T&C's around the working relationship will suffer from the outset. Large companies will have their own payment terms which you the supplier will have to go with.

totally incorrect, if you educate people into your terms of service it builds trust, and they also know where they stand.

your opinion or fact?

experience 

[YWCS]

lol. my experience says different. 

[mlscontractcleaner]

massive overkill for 99% of window cleaners. If you are running big contracts then chances are that each contract will be negotiated seperately and terms agreed at the time but if you go in throwing strict T&C's around the working relationship will suffer from the outset. Large companies will have their own payment terms which you the supplier will have to go with.

totally incorrect, if you educate people into your terms of service it builds trust, and they also know where they stand.

Absolute rubbish mate. At the end of the day your customers will tell you how it's going to be done to a certain degree. If they want a monthly clean and you say no they'll go else where. If they want you to collect on a Friday and you say no they'll go else where. They don't sign binding contracts like they would with a phone or a hp agreement it's mostly just a verbal agreement that you'll clean their windows at a given time. If they decide that they want to deviate from that and you say no they'll go else where. Where they stand mate is they own the property you want to clean and they hold the money; I'm not saying you should take rubbish from them but they hold all the cards I'm afraid; if you don't agree they'll go else where.

[William McCafferty]

I have simple payment terms, 28 days, cash on day or pro forma, if they don't pay within 28 days, then all other work is pro forma, no exceptions.

[YWCS]

me too, but I have some very good commercial accounts that tell me when they are gonna pay, and I say "thank you", they dont take the p, but if you think I'm gonna risk upsetting them for the sake of waiting an extra 2 weeks then you are MAD!!! 

[William McCafferty]

me too, but I have some very good commercial accounts that tell me when they are gonna pay, and I say "thank you", they dont take the p, but if you think I'm gonna risk upsetting them for the sake of waiting an extra 2 weeks then you are MAD!!! 

I also have good commercial who pay on time, but at times things can go wrong, this I don't mind, it's the ones who don't pay on purpose who get dumped, for instance I was doing a lot of carpet cleaning for a builders firm, they where always emergences because they had caused a leak onto the carpets, so I would drop everything and do them straightaway.

At first they would pay within the 28 days, then it got longer and longer, unto the stage where they said they would only pay every 3 months in arrears, I promptly dumped them.

[YWCS]

I have simple payment terms, 28 days, cash on day or pro forma, if they don't pay within 28 days, then all other work is pro forma, no exceptions.

so when you said "no exceptions" you actually meant ..........

[Window Washers]

massive overkill for 99% of window cleaners. If you are running big contracts then chances are that each contract will be negotiated seperately and terms agreed at the time but if you go in throwing strict T&C's around the working relationship will suffer from the outset. Large companies will have their own payment terms which you the supplier will have to go with.

totally incorrect, if you educate people into your terms of service it builds trust, and they also know where they stand.

Absolute rubbish mate. At the end of the day your customers will tell you how it's going to be done to a certain degree. If they want a monthly clean and you say no they'll go else where. If they want you to collect on a Friday and you say no they'll go else where. They don't sign binding contracts like they would with a phone or a hp agreement it's mostly just a verbal agreement that you'll clean their windows at a given time. If they decide that they want to deviate from that and you say no they'll go else where. Where they stand mate is they own the property you want to clean and they hold the money; I'm not saying you should take rubbish from them but they hold all the cards I'm afraid; if you don't agree they'll go else where.

Wow, I love that mind set, thank god I dont have the same, you read back what you wrote and see what I mean,

P.s I do not collect ever, I tell them this

[CLEANCARE WC]

massive overkill for 99% of window cleaners. If you are running big contracts then chances are that each contract will be negotiated seperately and terms agreed at the time but if you go in throwing strict T&C's around the working relationship will suffer from the outset. Large companies will have their own payment terms which you the supplier will have to go with.

not at all. they dance to my drum. or not all.

[Window Washers]

massive overkill for 99% of window cleaners. If you are running big contracts then chances are that each contract will be negotiated seperately and terms agreed at the time but if you go in throwing strict T&C's around the working relationship will suffer from the outset. Large companies will have their own payment terms which you the supplier will have to go with.

not at all. they dance to my drum. or not all.

like this

[Richard iSparkle]

massive overkill for 99% of window cleaners. If you are running big contracts then chances are that each contract will be negotiated seperately and terms agreed at the time but if you go in throwing strict T&C's around the working relationship will suffer from the outset. Large companies will have their own payment terms which you the supplier will have to go with.

totally incorrect, if you educate people into your terms of service it builds trust, and they also know where they stand.

i agree with you.  you need to know your terms and conditions and then educate your clients.  so long as they re fair and reasonable theyll go along with them.  for those few who wont go along with them, then you re better off knowing at the start anyhow.

[William McCafferty]

I have simple payment terms, 28 days, cash on day or pro forma, if they don't pay within 28 days, then all other work is pro forma, no exceptions.

so when you said "no exceptions" you actually meant ..........

It means No exceptions, but there are times when payment might be late by a few days on rare occassions, this happens, the same way that I might miss the cleaning week because of bad weather/illness or holiday, if it starts to happen on a regular basis, then they are dumped.