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Small firms share blame for late payments

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20th May 2015
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Late payments were characterised as a crisis in all the major parties’ manifestos, but Steven Renwick, the founder and chief executive of credit control software firm Satago, feels that the problem is more complex.

“A lot of the problem is SMEs aren’t good with credit control,” he explained. “Most late payments aren’t actually malicious”.

While innovations like the Conservatives’ intention to establish a small business conciliation service specifically to deal with disputes over late payment are welcome, Renwick feels small businesses need to get more literate in credit control.

To aid small business owners, Satago has released a new credit risk feature to help small businesses keep track of their invoices. The company was featured on AccountingWEB previously when their partnership with the credit ratings group Experian was announced.

The data gleaned from the Experian deal meant that Satago users could see the top level data of customers. “After the deal with Experian, our users could access could access the risk data of every company in the UK,” explained Renwick. “You could see their credit score, for instance.”

With the new release, the data hasn’t changed, “it’s just used more intelligently,” explained Renwick. “It’s now integrated into your accounts, categorising your customers and outstanding debts into risk categories, going all the way from very low risk to maximum risk.”

Also available is information on how fast your debtor pays other companies and their propensity for late payment. “The goal is to bring enterprise level tools to small businesses,” said Renwick. As an example he raises the point of late payment compensation, legislation that is often overlooked by small business owners.

Under the Late Payments of Commercial Debts Act 1998, a business is entitled to charge to one-off compensation and can also charge statutory interest which currently stands at 8.5%. “This is money which companies are legally entitled to charge, and many simply aren’t aware of it,” said Renwick.

James Morley, a Northern Irish businessman, managed to recover £100,000 in late payment compensation and statutory interest from his debtors albeit after a protracted legal battle.

“The best thing to do still is to have a good relationship with your clients,” said Renwick. “But if things go wrong you need to know your rights.”

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By keithas
22nd May 2015 12:27

Ad

Shouldn't this be headed "Advertisement Feature".

I don't mind Accountingweb having adverts - it's free and has to make its money somewhere - but I do object to starting to read what I believe to be a genuine article, only to soon realise that it's just a blatant advert.

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Replying to Bobbo:
By Steven_Satago
26th May 2015 13:40

response

Hi Keithas,

I can see why you might think that. Sorry if it offends.

I met the author of the article at Accountex and most of our conversation was around the actual application of Late Fees. We had also just announced this feature set with the Experian integration, and given it was a pretty interesting/novel partnership conversation naturally turned there too.

I can assure you I haven't paid anything for this article. Whilst it's great to be quoted in AccountingWeb, I never considered it an advert.

Regards,

Steven

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By keithas
22nd May 2015 12:42

And another thing

I am going to show my age here.

I remember when computers were being introduced to the accounts function. There was this assumption by disorganised businesses that getting a computer was going to magically transform their systems (or, rather, lack of systems). It was an uphill battle to persuade them that, unless they became more organised, computerised accounts were going to be a disaster.

This advert seems to be preying on that same mindset. If you haven't got a decent credit control system in place, you're not going to get it by just buying some software.

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Replying to bernard michael:
By Steven_Satago
26th May 2015 13:58

It really can make a big difference (slightly longer reply lost due to dodgy Virgin train WiFi!): https://www.satago.com/testimonials

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By Younis
22nd May 2015 13:18

Yes I agree Keithas

It is a method of advertising called "Product Placement" advertisement. 

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