Financial Resource

 DUE2PAY is a web site aimed at bringing common sense back to the problem of late invoice payments. It tackles debt recovery in a new way. Late payment of invoices is now  regarded as an acceptable practice for late payers.In some instances it is a last ditch attempt to save a failing business, in others it is seen as a legitimate way to fund an already profitable business. Consider www.due2pay.co.uk as an early warning system, an alarm which if triggered can save you a lot of money for a fraction of the cost of the interest you are paying in funding your customers’ businesses. Or a fraction of the cost of phone calls to chase payment and of solicitor’s letters.  

The Forum of Private Business in the UK says that late payments of invoices are having a serious impact  on  70% of firms, with nearly 60% reporting that the situation had worsened over the past year. It is apparent that this scenario of  late payment is being used as a form of  free credit for businesses. Delaying payment to many customers funds a business and reduces bank borrowings. Any surplus cash held by a customer will in turn earn interest. Depending on the size of firm,  late payments can have a major impact with a third of firms losing between £1,000 and £5,000 a year as a result and 15% losing between £5,000 and £50,000. On a daily basis we are hearing of  companies forcing  firms to accept mandatory discounts, longer payment times, and payment delays.  

You can use www.due2pay.co.uk along side a company credit check. In fact it can work well alongside other traditional methods such as business debt collection  and company recovery of debts through outside agencies which take a more hands on approach. UK government introduced the right to charge interest on late payments but this rarely happens in practice. www.due2pay.co.uk has two interesting powerful strings to its bow.

1)            Where the website sends an email and fax to a customer asking them to pay an invoice within 14 days. If it remains unpaid, then the customer is revealed on the site as a late payer. A nice addition which shows it is not all one sided is that the late payer  is given the opportunity to ‘dispute an invoice’ and potential suppliers can enter into discussions with them and also the aggrieved supplier.

2)            The ‘Watch List’. Put a company on your Watch List and when it is listed as a late payer you will be informed by email.Large companies are using various methods to keep more money in their accounts. For example increasing the time it takes to settle suppliers’ bills from 30 days to 75 days and imposing  a 2.5% ‘ settlement’ charge on payments. Cutting payments to suppliers by two per cent, despite one company almost doubling its annual profits.  

The FPB says that it wants to see the Government ‘leading by example’ by committing to paying its suppliers on time, as well as introducing a code of conduct for itself and big companies. Chief Executive of the FPB, Phil Orford, said: ‘Protecting cash flow, which is the lifeblood of any small business, has become even more important because of the credit crunch. We would like to see non-statutory measures implemented to enable businesses to hold late-payers to account without fear of losing customers and contracts.’ Join www.due2pay.co.uk now and take advantage of the free trial period.

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