Meeting the demand for skilled Credit Control professionals
Businesses are being urged to take a tough line on late payment, after fresh figures revealed huge impacts on revenue streams.
We asked our top 50 clients in a survey, nationally and internationally, to voice their concerns about the credit crunch. A consensus emmerged highlighting medium sized businesses in particular need to ensure their credit control procedures are robust to weather the credit crisis. This was also a concern expressed by large enterprises with operations both foregin and domestic.
Antal International has an extensive franchise network and a client portfolio amounting to several thousand.
“Delayed invoice settlement already contributes to the failure of many thousands of firms each year,” Paul Russel, Finance Director of Antal International Ltd.” Late payments should not be tolerated and can be effectively countered with diplomatic yet assertive credit control employees. Too many businesses are delaying payment to sustain their own cash flow, with the consequence of undermining their suppliers, damaging relations in the process. We advise businesses large and small to impose tough measures, enforcing credit checks on new and even existing clientelle, offering incentives such as discounts for payment on time and making customers aware of their obligation to settle invoices promptly .”
Our clients concur that the payment climate is worsening as the availability of credit shrinks and loan costs rise.
“Chasing debt can be very frustrating and enormously time consuming. Businesses should consider increasing their credit control head-count to save time and money in the long run, and allows them and their staff to get on with the job of managing and growing the business”, adds Paul Russel.
New research commissioned by the Banker’s Automated Clearing Services this year showed a massive €18.6 billion is owed in outstanding payments to medium sized and large enterprises in Holland alone – a leap of €2.6 billion in the last year.
The research also showed that almost a fifth of SMEs (19%) now employ a dedicated 2 people to chase in late payments.
Tel: +31 (0) 20751 6100 - Fax: +31 (0) 20751 6102 - E-mail: cgrock@antal.com
Antal International B.V