Credit Management… With a little help from your friends

The Better Payment Practice Group (BPPG) has launched a new ‘email a friend’ facility on its website so that businesses can alert customers and suppliers to the benefits of good credit management and the availability of information on the Late Payment legislation. The email feature can also act as a valuable prompt to potential or persistent late payers.

The website, www.payontime.co.uk, received over 160,000 visits in the last 12 months. It was launched in 1998 and is now one of the UK’s leading sources of free credit management advice for businesses.

Companies can now email a contact directly from www.payontime.co.uk to tell them about the website, which includes:

• A free guide on using the Late Payment legislation,
• An online calculator for working out how much interest to charge on overdue commercial invoices,
• A ‘Business Doctor’ email facility that supplies answers to questions on credit management and late payment issues,
• A Better Payment Practice Code, which a business can sign to show its customers and suppliers it is committed to prompt payment and that it expects like treatment,
• A large number of template letters on topics ranging from checking credit worthiness to final demands for payment and
• Tips and hints on “appointing a debt collection agency”, “dealing with excuses for overdue bills” and a host of other issues.

Stephen Alambritis, member of the BPPG representing the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “We are hoping businesses will use the ‘email a friend’ facility to spread the word throughout the supply chain, including those firms that do not have a credit policy or are unaware of their statutory rights under the Late Payment legislation. This simple move will be highly effective because www.payontime.co.uk has already played a huge role in raising awareness of the benefits of good credit management amongst small businesses.”

You can keep up to date with the Better Payment Practice Campaign by sending us an email