{"id":4665,"date":"2020-11-23T10:00:12","date_gmt":"2020-11-23T10:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=4665"},"modified":"2026-01-29T10:01:42","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T10:01:42","slug":"the-art-of-being-paid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/the-art-of-being-paid\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Being Paid: A free kit to help your business speed up late payments"},"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\tThe Art of Being Paid: A free kit to help your business speed up late payments\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\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

In the UK, there are currently \u00a323.4bn worth of late payments owed to small businesses. This sheer amount is not only impacting cash flow for many firms but could also threaten the survival of many of them beyond the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research shows coronavirus lockdowns imposed by the government have also had a significant impact on late payments, having almost doubled compared to 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping late payments to a minimum could help to reduce the number of bankruptcies and subsequent level of unemployment from rising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While schemes have been introduced by the government to support small-to-medium businesses<\/a> (SMEs), the issue of late payments still looms large.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what can businesses do to work with their clients and customers to ensure timely payments are being made in full?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help, check out the Art of Being Paid kit \u2013 a useful guide full of tips to help businesses get paid on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Download your free copy of The Art of Being Paid<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

How to get paid on time: Start with the customer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chasing the payments themselves is a contentious topic in itself for many SMEs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our 2017 report (The Domino Effect: The Impact of Late Payments<\/a>) found that 40% cited \u201cprotecting client relationships\u201d as the biggest barrier to chasing payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As uncertainty in business is still rife, the pandemic will likely have amplified these worries, making conversations around payments even more challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help SMEs gain a better insight into the type of customer they\u2019re dealing with, the Art of Being Paid kit includes a quiz to ascertain how best to approach the topic based on your customer\u2019s characteristics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what else you\u2019ll find inside\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Art of Being Paid: Your free kit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alongside getting to know your customer better, the Art of Being Paid kit includes a host of information and advice on various elements of the payment process, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n