by scowan
5. July 2010 01:14
Whether you’re a small trader, a multinational corporation or an international bank, you’re going to have to deal with bad debt at some point along the way. In this blog I’ll outline the first 3 steps any business can take, itself, to help minimise the chance of bad debt. Many businesses will be doing most of these already yet it never ceases to amaze me how many businesses aren’t doing all of them. I’ve 6 ‘steps’, here are the first 3 steps you can take to shield your business from bad debt. I’ll be expanding on a couple of the points in much more detail later this month.
1.Don’t put all your eggs in one basket
Be careful to avoid this situation. The last thing you want is debt from one customer putting your business in jeopardy.
2.Know your Customers
Will the customer be able to pay their bill? Carrying out credit checks are vitally important and credit limits should be set for each customer. You can purchase credit reports from www.ykcreditcheck.co.uk. This is an area I will expand on in the coming weeks.
3.Consider different payment terms
There are several different payment options you may want to explore such as cash on delivery, staged payments and discounts for prompt payments. Some companies are very rigid on this but it can be beneficial to discuss other options with customers.
I'm happy to discuss any or all of these points with you if you'd like, simply contact me via the contact us page.