How to increase the odds of recovery while ensuring your organisation is protected and proactive.

The due date comes... the due date goes and a new reality sets in: will your customer pay? How will you know when a good customer suddenly begins to struggle? The threat is real.

Therefore, what steps do you need to take to maximise the chances of getting your money back?

• Take steps to address non-payment the minute that an invoice becomes overdue.
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• Sending notices of late invoices will help to highlight the issue. The practice provides a valuable paper trail so that you are prepared if you need to escalate the matter later.
• Are you tracking all of your activities with key dates and communications?

• Do you have the right people in place on your team?
• Who’s doing the chasing? Have you defined what your escalation process is?
• Are you talking to the right person on their side? Who is in charge? Who has the power to get things moving?
   

• Are you consulting with legal and collections?
  
• Is it that time yet?

• Do you have a trace with your signed documentation to date?
  
• Is it in order and without gaps?
  
• In order to collect on a debt, you will need to have all of the relevant documentation to support your debt. Every time you work with a customer, create a contract that specifies the work or products you provide as well as the payment schedule to which your customer has agreed.
  

• How can you improve credit control? Could you have seen this coming?
• Are you learning the right lessons from this situation?