Red flags for a bad payer
Every company has to deal with bad payers. Barely sixty percent of the invoices are paid on time. About ten percent are not paid until ninety days after due date, or not at all. But how do you deal with customers who do not pay on time? And when do you speak of an outright defaulter?
Unpaid invoices have a major impact on your cashflow and business activity. Despite several attempts, it is sometimes unlikely that your invoice will be paid. Therefore, recognize early signs of a potential payment problem.
No payment is not necessarily a cause for panic
In the category of bad payers, we place payers who, due to laxity or carelessness, invariably wait until the due date or even the first reminders. But when do you speak of a defaulter? Immediately after the invoice expires? After the first reminder or only after the second? And what about invoices that are not paid on purpose? Very often this is a personal and subjective feeling, so that both terms are sometimes used interchangeably. But with a payment that is only a few days late, it is sometimes a bit extreme to speak of a non-payment.
Therefore, pay attention to the following signs that may indicate that not everything is okay:
- It is difficult to find contact details on your customer’s website
- Your customer purchases fewer products
- Your customer suddenly no longer pays punctually or doesn’t pay at all
- Your customer starts to act difficult and complains
- Your customer asks for a compensation or tries to negotiate a discount
- Your customer is suddenly difficult to reach
- There is a lot of staff turnover
- Bad reviews about your customer appear
These red flags are not necessarily reasons for panic, but still check with your customer how things are going. Stay diplomatic, understanding and respectful. You don’t want to jeopardize a good commercial relationship. It may be purely organizational changes, but sometimes there is more to it.
Low solvency and uncollectable invoices
Sometimes your customer has (temporarily) insufficient financial resources to pay. If your customer asks for help via a payment delay or a payment plan, know that you are not obliged to agree with this. Nevertheless, it is worth considering as it may be a temporary problem. Have a conversation and make clear agreements. Then put everything on paper correctly, so that no misunderstandings can arise.
As soon as you sent your undisputed B2B invoices to Go Solid, we will check the solvency of your customer. This way we can immediately estimate the probability of payment. If our check shows that your customer has sufficient means to pay, we will collect your unpaid invoice via the administrative procedure for undisputed debts. Is your customer in a very bad financial situation? Then we will advise against starting a procedure. Legal proceedings will only generate more costs that your customer will not be able to pay.
An invoice that remains unpaid is not immediately cause for panic, but a forewarned man is worth two. We are ready to collect your unpaid invoices in a cost-efficient and customer-friendly manner, if payment is not made. Send your undisputed B2B invoices via our web application and within four working hours you will hear from us whether we can collect your invoices.