Covid-19 And Your Cash Flow

There is no doubt that we are living in unprecedented times. A pandemic of this scale hasn’t been seen in decades, and the whole country is in full lockdown. Businesses are being forced to close their doors, going digital when they can, or putting staff on furlough if they can’t. And without exception, every business owner is worried about their cash flow, and if they are going to be able to weather this storm. Know that you aren’t alone, everyone is going through the same thing right now, and we have a few tips to help you manage payment issues during this difficult time.

Be Understanding

Under normal circumstances, we recommend being empathetic with your customers if they pay late, as taking an understanding approach is often more effective than being assertive straight out of the gate. But right now, we all need to be mindful of the pressure businesses of every size are under, and try to be understanding when talking about payments. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pursue late payers – it just means you may need to change the way you approach it. Most companies will be experiencing late payments and possibly bad debts at this time, and that tends to have a knock on effect. So when you’re talking to your late paying customers, make sure you let them know that you understand. Potentially approach them with other options for payment, like payment plans, which will allow you to still collect the money owed, but ease the burden on them. It’s this attitude and these actions that will keep your customers happy, loyal, and more likely to stay with you during and after the pandemic.

Have A Contingency Plan

If you’ve been organised, you would already have had some form of contingency plan already in place in case of disaster – otherwise known as a disaster recovery plan. The problem is that most of these only cover data problems, not necessarily pandemics impacting income. Hopefully by now you have adapted to remote working, so for most businesses the focus is now on is finances. Firstly, review your income and outgoings, and establish whether you think it will be impacted by Covid-19. If you think there will be a significant impact to your business, then we recommend looking into some of the Government support schemes being offered by the government. There are multiple options to try and cover every kind of business, so take a look here and see what you are eligible for. If you have loss of income insurance, see if you can claim some or all of it. Schemes like this will help you shore up your cash flow in the short term, allowing you to weather the storm and still be standing on the other side. Once the pandemic is well and truly over, it may be prudent to put plans in place in case of a resurgence, or similar event in the future.

Stay In Contact

Right now all business owners are feeling quite isolated, so staying in contact is important. Make sure you are reaching out and letting your customers know what’s going on, how you can help them and what actions you will be taking. If payments are late, we recommend you remain in contact and try to establish when payments will be made, and potentially offer additional payment terms in light of the circumstances. Remember, no one wants to be in this situation, so we all need to support each other where we can.

How Is Debtcol Helping?

Of course, like any business our main priority is to protect the safety and welfare of all our staff. So in line with Government advice, our staff are currently working remotely from home, which means we can still provide all of our services without any interruption. That means we are still on hand to help you manage your relationship with our debtors, and assist with the collection of outstanding invoices during this period in a thoughtful and sympathetic way.

If you need some support during this time, please reach out to us by email (as this is the most efficient way for us to process your enquiry), or by phone. And in the meantime, take care and stay safe.