Ten signs that you might not get paid

When is it time to start worrying about overdue payment from a customer? Here are 10 tell-tale signs that your customer might be struggling to settle an invoice …

1. Excuses and broken promises – You know how it works; a customer is promising to pay and then failing to come good on that agreement. If you are constantly hearing that it’s on the payment run and then fails to materialise, you might want to take a closer look
2. Unreturned phone calls – Is it your imagination or are you being ignored? Calls go unreturned and messages not responded to. This could be a canny way of stalling so be persistent and get firm.
3. Unusual purchasing or payment behaviour – A usually reliant customer is late with payment when they are usually pretty prompt or orders are significantly smaller (or larger) than they usually are. All of this nods towards possible financial struggles.
4. Wanting to pay by cheque – this is the ultimate in ‘buy more time’ action and with BACs and online banking this should raise alarm bells
5. Customers disputes  – again, another stalling technique. By disputing service or product and engaging into long and drawn out discussions, the invoice can get put on hold.
6. Requests for more time – This as a one off is not too much to worry about but if it becomes common practice it signals some trouble with cash flow. Don’t get caught up in this – make your payment terms clear and stick to them
7. Director and management restructure – keep an eye out for multiple changes to director structures over a short period of time. This can be indicative of a business struggling and perhaps heading into administration
8. A high turnover of staff – lots of people leaving (who then may not be replaced) can be a red flag; staff tend to jump ship if things are looking bleak and redundancy is a threat
9. Late filing of accounts – this gives a real insight into a business’s financial health. Keep a track via Companies House or via an online portal like identeco
10. CCJs – any detrimental data should ring immediate alarm bells and give you some cause for concern. These are a sign of a customer who is not paying their invoices

If you are concerned about overdue commercial invoices, don't hesitate to act quickly. Be firm and don't stall in making it clear that payment is expected. For a quote on debt recovery - we operate on a no collect, no fee basis - speak to our team today 01527 549 522 or email sales@controlaccount.com