Credit control:Take charge

Credit control is an area that many of us find difficult to fit in to our working lives.

However take note it’s really important to keep on top of it- it’s the lifeline of your business after all.

3 questions to ask yourself regarding credit control:

  1. Are you on top of your credit control?
  2. Do you set time a aside to raise and send out your invoices?
  3. How do you deal with late/non payers?

Running a business is time consuming for the majority of us- and sometimes sending out invoices is something we tend to leave on the back burner. After all who really wants to spend hours preparing invoices? Probably not a lot of us.

Make sure you set aside a time each week to raise and send out your invoices. This will not only get money in sooner it will also hopefully enable you to get on top of your credit control better.

You should offer credit terms make sure you keep check that invoices are settled on time.

This is where Cloud Accounting can help:  

Here at Pro Active we prefer Xero– but there are many packages available out there.

  • Keep track of how much money is owed and when payments are due
  • See what invoices you have outstanding (Reports section)
  • How long settlement usually takes
  • Set reminders to be sent out at the intervals that you require
  • Add notes to a customer account e.g. if they’ve requested a payment plan and the amount they have agreed to pay

We have found this to be an invaluable tool that not only significantly reduces admin time but also helps keep our records up to date and in one place.

Once you familiarise yourself with the software you will find keeping on top of your credit control becomes much easier.

For those of you that prefer not to use the cloud, you can still sort out your credit control by keeping whatever system you use up to date.

Get into the habit of doing your credit control regularly. You and your business will start to reap the benefits- giving you more FREEDOM- which is what everyone wants

Get in touch with us to find out more about credit control for your business and why you should prioritise yours. For more business and finance , news, advice and tips, don’t forget to watch our weekly broadcasts, listen to our weekly podcast I Hate Numbers.