Wylie & Bisset: SMEs struggling with late payment should agree different terms with creditors
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Gordon Chalmers
With a recent report suggesting that SMEs are chasing £50 billion in late payments in the UK, chartered accountants Wylie & Bisset is advising those struggling with the impact of late payment to agree to different terms with creditors.
Know-it, the cloud-based credit management platform, says that the extent of late payment in the UK is unsustainable for many businesses and, as debtor days get longer, the chances of business survival gets shorter.
Gordon Chalmers, Wylie & Bisset’s insolvency partner, said: “If a company is having to chase up payments it is due, then I would advise its directors to re-examine their own purchase ledger and see if they can come to different terms with their creditors.
“From a debt collection perspective, it’s always a case of ‘he who protests the loudest goes to the top of the heap’, so it’s imperative that directors maintain pressure on those debtors who owe them money so that they get paid as soon as possible.”
Mr Chalmers added that, if a business is not receiving payment from its customers, then it has to question if its customers are at risk of failing, so that they might never receive payment. Such a scenario risks a domino effect, with failed debtors exerting financial pressure on creditors’ businesses.
He has urged SMEs confronting late payment to seek business advice as a matter of urgency.
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