{"id":3350,"date":"2017-12-13T10:51:26","date_gmt":"2017-12-13T10:51:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=3350"},"modified":"2026-01-30T10:50:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T10:50:29","slug":"99-problems-late-payments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/99-problems-late-payments\/","title":{"rendered":"99 problems but late payments doesn\u2019t have to be one"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMoney Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t99 problems but late payments doesn\u2019t have to be one\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tStacey McIntosh<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Jay-Z famously rapped that he had 99 problems \u2013 the same could be said for businesses that are working their socks off to keep their firms ticking over and having to deal with late payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Running a business can be a challenging affair. As a business owner, you may have decided to take the plunge and take an entrepreneurial path to prosperity due to a personal passion, a thought-provoking idea or a desire to change the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when you\u2019re running a business, as you know, there\u2019s much more to it than the goods and services that are produced and the desired outcome of a charge of lots of happy customers beating the doors down for more of the good stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From dealing with admin, to making sure you\u2019re keeping on top of cash flow<\/a>, finding new clients, marketing your business, negotiating contracts, dealing with payroll, managing employees, ordering necessary equipment and much more, there are lot of issues to deal with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When one of those issues is being paid late, things can get very frustrating. Having to chase invoices and payments can take a lot of time, leaving you with less of it to sell your products and services and make money for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with one eye on your cash flow, it\u2019s vital that you get money flowing back into your firm to keep it going strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re not alone when it comes to issues with late payments \u2013 in fact, according to research we conducted<\/a>, 17% of all payments to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK are paid late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it doesn\u2019t have to be like that. In fact, in 2018, late payments shouldn\u2019t be a problem at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Sage Business Experts<\/a> have had to deal with late payments. However, they’ve learned from those experiences and are here to share some great advice that you can put into play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Domino Effect: The impact of late payments<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Get our global research report to uncover why customers pay late, the impact on businesses and what you can do to tackle the problem.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload the report<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Make sure your invoice is accurate<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tim Holton, Uniq Systems<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My one piece of advice to facilitate prompt payment from clients would be to ensure they receive an accurate invoice at the appropriate time. If it\u2019s late or wrong then payment will be delayed. Using an electronic method, for example, will remove the vagaries of the postal system especially at Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conrad Ford, Funding Options<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you make a mistake in your invoice, you’re giving a ready-made excuse to be paid late \u2013 particularly if your client is a large business. Recheck the information in each invoice before you send it and use proper invoicing tools such as online accounting software<\/a> to ensure your invoice meets VAT requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

State your payment terms<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sid Moore, Moore Accountancy<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There are a few things that might make clients and customers pay on time, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n