Osama Bin Laden and debtors

This week I’ve been inspired by the events unfolding in Pakistan & the USA. According to the news the Americans raided Bin Laden’s’ hideout in Pakistan and in the ensuing fire fight Bin Laden was shot and killed. According to the news reports there is jubilation in both New York & Washington and you can’t blame the American’s in taking great pleasure in the demise of the man who was responsible for their blackest day since Pearl Harbour.

Unfortunately, what many forget is that while Bin Laden has been number 1 on the most wanted list ever since 9/11 there are thousands more terrorists ready to take his place and as such the death of this man will not make the world a safer place.

In some small way these events are mirrored in everyday business life and while the majority of us do not deal with homicidal religious fanatics on a day to day basis, we do deal with people who if you are not vigilant will destroy your business.

I know this sounds a bit of an exaggeration but I feel that people who do not settle their accounts when they are due, are as bad if not worse that a religious fanatic. A religious fanatic will undertake their wanton destruction due to their strongly held but misguided religious beliefs. However, there are a small percentage of companies who take great pleasure in not paying their bills and will not lose any sleep if their supplier goes bust.

I would like to remind anyone who is reading this to be extra vigilant by making sure you carry out due diligence when dealing with new and existing customers. Fir those who are unaware of them, please find below a simple check list:

Terms & Conditions:
Are your Terms & Conditions adequate? Who designed them? What are your settlement terms: 7, 14, 21, 30 days?
Can you claim interest on overdue accounts? Can you charge your late payer for costs incurred in the collection of the overdue invoice?
Are you protected against damage caused in the fulfilment of your duties?
Are you protected if the customer interferes with your ability to carry out your work?
If the answer to these simple questions is NO, contact a specialist agency.

Account opening forms:
Do you know who is legally responsible for settling your invoice?
Is your client a sole trader, a partnership, a single Ltd company or part of a group? Where should you send your invoice?
If you don’t have a working account opening form, contact a specialist agency.

Authorisation & Satisfaction forms:
If you are providing an on site service, such as plumbing, electrical, equipment maintenance ask that the client sign an Authorisation form before starting work and then that they are happy with the service after the work is carried out.
The form should be on your company letterhead and should have two boxes.
Box 1) Should have spaces for the customer to write his/her name, property address, and authority to contract your services. There should be a space for the customer to sign that they agree for the work to be carried out as per your terms & conditions.
Box 2) Should have spaces for the customer to again write his/her name and that the work was carried out to their satisfaction or dissatisfaction. In addition, there should be a space for additional comments, good or bad.
If you don’t have an Authorisation & Satisfaction form. Contact a specialist agency.

If you would like to know more about David or Deanem Collections Ltd please visit our website www.deanemcollections.co.uk or if you are in London on May 5th David will be holding a workshop at the London Business Growth Show being held at the MWB Building 55 Old Broad St London EC2M 1RX.