Glen Morgan presents UK Finance webinar on Payment Terms

Payment Terms Explained: 

Our MD, Glen Morgan, recently presented the first of a series of webinars on the UK Finance website together with the Small Business Commissioner Paul Uppal.

UK Finance is the trade association that was set up in July 2017 to represent the Banking and Finance Industry operating in the UK. It represents more than 250 firms in the UK providing credit, banking, markets and payment-related services. The organisation brings together most of the activities previously carried out by the Asset Based Finance Association, the British Bankers’ Association, the Council of Mortgage Lenders, Financial Fraud Action UK, Payments UK and the UK Cards Association.

The webinar programme offers experts from UK Finance and partner organisations to reflect on the new challenges and issues facing the Banking and selected Finance Industries, but also to share the latest approaches on topics such as Risk, Regulation and The Future of Banking and specific finance industries through online presentations.

During this webinar, Glen and Paul discussed whether the demise of Carillion has impacted payment terms for UK businesses. They also looked at what businesses can do about customers who always pay late.

SUMMARY OF THE MOST IMPORTANT POINTS:

There are 2 main problems with late payments:
1. Excessive payment terms
2. Late payment
Excessive payment terms can be managed, and as long as people pay on time, it doesn’t have to be a problem, but late payment is always unacceptable and can cause grave problems.

The solution is simple:

CHALLENGE THE CULTURE OF LATE PAYMENTS AND HELP BUSINESSES GET PAID

The Small Business Commissioner can help with general advice and information on matters such as overdue invoices and late payment, but most importantly, businesses can implement the following good practice:

• Credit check before accepting orders and negotiate payment terms up front
• Only give credit to customers who are creditworthy
• Stick to agreed credit limits
• Invoice correctly and promptly
• Have an effective credit management policy

You can watch the full webinar here. There were some technical difficulties at the start, so you may wish to start about 4 minutes in.

If you want any help with your credit management policy, feel free to email Glen or contact us on 0845-6385256