Spring clean your credit control and boost your cash flow
TBE partnership with Confident Cashflow
As we head towards spring, and for many, towards financial year-end, now is the perfect time to give your credit control processes, client data, aged debt and Ts & Cs a bit of a spring clean.
Your business isn’t the same as it was twelve months ago. New clients, new services, new opportunities. Your credit control needs to reflect that. Plus, if you’re approaching financial year-end, now’s the time to deal with aged debt before you close the books.
Start with your overdue invoices. Look at what’s been outstanding for months. Some are worth one final push, some need escalating to formal debt recovery, and some you’re never getting paid so write them off. Make the decision and act on it.
Check your Terms & Conditions. Do they still match how you work? If you’ve changed your payment terms, added new services, or started working differently, your Ts & Cs need updating. Outdated terms won’t protect you when you need them.
Look at your invoicing process. Do invoices sit in draft for days before getting sent? Are you waiting for PO numbers, timesheets, or details of additional works before you can complete them? Find where the hold-ups are and fix them.
Review your customer data. Contact details change, people move roles, payment processes get updated. Make sure you’ve got current information for who processes invoices and where they should be sent. Emailing invoices to someone who left six months ago may explain why you’re not getting paid.
Are you making the most of the tools you already have? Your accounting software probably has features you’re not using. Look at what else is out there too – payment software like GoCardless or Stripe to help you get paid quicker, or forecasting tools to help you spot cash gaps before they happen.
Sometimes you need that outside perspective to spot what’s not working. This is where our Focus Sessions and Ts & Cs reviews come in. We work with clients to review their credit control processes, update their Terms & Conditions, and help them decide what needs fixing. For businesses that want the chasing handled consistently, our outsourced credit control service keeps cash flowing and frees up time in the business.
Get your credit control systems working properly now and getting paid becomes easier for the rest of the year.
Nicki Kinton is the founder of Confident Cashflow, providing credit control and credit management support to small businesses across the UK. Email: nicki@confidentcashflow.com Call:07900 834802 Connect with Nicki on LinkedIn.
