by: j_hardcastle89
Total views: 1
Word Count: 426

Running a business on credit is one of the most professional things you can do, whilst also becoming one of the most risky. As soon as you offer credit to your customers you are opening yourself up for severely late payment, or worse still, no payment at all, which can be crippling for any business. For this reason it is imperative that you maintain strong credit control to minimize the risks to your business without damaging customer relations. The first line of defense against late and non-payment of credit terms should be to restrict to whom you offer credit. By keeping tight reins over who qualifies for credit from your company, you should be able to weed out the non-payers, late-payers, and those you just can't trust for whatever reason. This way, you should only have credit offered to proven customers who have paid promptly in the past, which should limit credit problems and cash flow issues from even arising. If you do happen to come across a customer who hasn't paid his bill on time, it is good courtesy to send a reminder letter of two first. Make sure the tone isn't too heavy - there may be a good reason for you not receiving the payment, or the customer might just be running a bit behind. Either way, it's important that you don't damage your reputation or your relationship with the customer by simply going straight in there with the legal language. In your reminder notice, politely ask for payment within seven business days, or even fourteen depending on the importance of the customer. If payment still hasn't appeared after that, it might be time to start raising the tone. After you've sent your reminder letters, it's time to send a more strongly worded notice. This should ask for payment within five or three working days to avoid further action. If again you receive no response, you should certainly follow this up with a call, stressing the urgency of receiving payment and you intention to take further action to realize your remedy. Finally, if this yields no results, it's time to involve the lawyers. A legal letter is very effective at converting late payments, and can be one of the best ways to avoid legal action. Of course, there are legal remedies open to you should this fail to yield the desired result, but by taking these steps first, you should hopefully be able to avoid this eventuality.

About the Author

Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles for http://1stconsumerinfo.com/ - In addition, Jonathon also writes articles for http://universeofjobs.com/ and http://businessworldnow.net/

---

View PDF | Print View

---

Rating: Not yet rated

--Choose-- 0 1 2 3 4 5

Comments

No comments posted.

Add Comment

You do not have permission to comment. If you log in, you may be able to comment.
Next Article - Decency Wins Over Cultural Decay
Previous Article - Equal Rights In The Workplace

More Related Articles In This Category

1: Employers Protection Against The Ridiculous
2: The Dos And Don'ts Of Using Office Furniture
3: Retracting Sales Based On The Talmud
4: Avoiding a Hostile Workplace: Fairness in Employee Discipline
5: Should Mega Churches Run Their Business Like A Corporation?
6: How To Avoid Dishonest Home Business Schemes
7: Fake Doctor Excuse: Sin Or Savior?
8: The Importance Of Ethics For Your Business Success
9: Proof That Cheap Doesn't Always Pay
10: The Impact of MNEs
11: The New Consumption Patterns
12: Understanding the World of Tomorrow
13: Encouraging Ethical Behavior
14: Staying Focused with Your Home-Based Business Goals
15: It's All About The Money, Isn't It
16: Decency Wins Over Cultural Decay
17: Effective Credit Control for Your Business
18: Equal Rights In The Workplace
19: The Diamond Trade in 2007: How Much Blood Remains?
20: Interview with Carmen Iezzi
21: Punctuality In Business
22: Business Dress Code
23: Puntuality In Business
24: Are You Faking It Or Are You Making It?
25: Interview with Steve D'Esposito on Fair Trade Jewelry

---

For WebMasters

Link This Article - HTML Code -

<a href="http://americanahost.com/articles/business/ethics/effective-credit-control-for-your-business.html" target=_blank>Effective Credit Control for Your Business</a>

Link This Article - BBcode -

[url=http://americanahost.com/articles/business/ethics/effective-credit-control-for-your-business.html]Effective Credit Control for Your Business[/url]

Copy This HTML Code To Put This Article In Your Web Site.

<h1>Effective Credit Control for Your Business</h1><br><br> <br><br> Running a business on credit is one of the most professional things you can do, whilst also becoming one of the most risky. As soon as you offer credit to your customers you are opening yourself up for severely late payment, or worse still, no payment at all, which can be crippling for any business. For this reason it is imperative that you maintain strong credit control to minimize the risks to your business without damaging customer relations. The first line of defense against late and non-payment of credit terms should be to restrict to whom you offer credit. By keeping tight reins over who qualifies for credit from your company, you should be able to weed out the non-payers, late-payers, and those you just can't trust for whatever reason. This way, you should only have credit offered to proven customers who have paid promptly in the past, which should limit credit problems and cash flow issues from even arising. If you do happen to come across a customer who hasn't paid his bill on time, it is good courtesy to send a reminder letter of two first. Make sure the tone isn't too heavy - there may be a good reason for you not receiving the payment, or the customer might just be running a bit behind. Either way, it's important that you don't damage your reputation or your relationship with the customer by simply going straight in there with the legal language. In your reminder notice, politely ask for payment within seven business days, or even fourteen depending on the importance of the customer. If payment still hasn't appeared after that, it might be time to start raising the tone. After you've sent your reminder letters, it's time to send a more strongly worded notice. This should ask for payment within five or three working days to avoid further action. If again you receive no response, you should certainly follow this up with a call, stressing the urgency of receiving payment and you intention to take further action to realize your remedy. Finally, if this yields no results, it's time to involve the lawyers. A legal letter is very effective at converting late payments, and can be one of the best ways to avoid legal action. Of course, there are legal remedies open to you should this fail to yield the desired result, but by taking these steps first, you should hopefully be able to avoid this eventuality.<br><br> <h3>About The Author</h3> Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles for http://1stconsumerinfo.com/ - In addition, Jonathon also writes articles for http://universeofjobs.com/ and http://businessworldnow.net/<br><br> Keywords: <b>Business, Business Ethics</b> <br><br>Article Source : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles"><b>Articles Directory</b></a></br> Article URL : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles/business/ethics/effective-credit-control-for-your-business.html" target=_blank>Effective Credit Control for Your Business</a></br> Article Category : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles/business/ethics/">Ethics</a></br> Article Author : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles/profile/j_hardcastle89-981.html">j_hardcastle89</a>

---

Article URL : Effective Credit Control for Your Business
Article Category : Ethics
Article Author : j_hardcastle89