Getting payment out of companies for work done

[Diydebs]

I do the books for an electrician. He has four or five lads that are subbies. However he struggles getting paid by companies... constantly, but he needs the work. How do you get them to pay on time ?

 

[Midwest]

Hi OP, you have two threads with the same question. I would ask a Mod to close one down.

 

[westward10]

I have reported one.

 

[Midwest]

I have reported one.

Hope it wasn't this one

 

[westward10]

It was actually but before you posted

 

[GMES]

Other thread closed, I was going to close this one just to upset @Midwest but I don't need the Aggro

 

[Midwest]

OP is your electrician's company limited or not?

Just to get the ball rolling!

 

[SparkyChick]

Do a bit of research around invoice factoring.

If you're not familiar with the concept, the basics are you strike a deal with a factoring house (probably not the right name). They go out to finance brokers who effectively pay you and take on the debt. Yes, they take a cut of the invoice, but you get paid the bulk of your money almost immediately and they take on the headache of getting the money from the client.

I wouldn't use it for everyone, but certainly if someone was a pain once, I'd seriously consider factoring all their future invoices.

The only problem is some companies are wise to this and specifically include contractual terms that prevent the assigning of debt to a third party.

A friend of mine provides this service and having spoken with him about it for my own information his company was able to offer me a better deal than I was able to get from my bank. If you'd like to have a chat, PM me your contact details and I'll pass them along.

 

[The Ghost]

First off, do you or your client (the electrician) have a contract? In that contract do you have a "Kill fee" i.e. if the client cancels the contract you agree an amount to be paid, usually staggered to reflect the stage of work you are at. Do you have a late payment structure? i.e. if the client pays late there is an interest charge of (usually) 1.5%. Contact accounts directly, and ensure you are familiar with their payment process. Talk directly to the accounts and keep abreast of late payments and let the client know you are serious about payments on time. The other point about having a contract is that if the client pays late then they have broken the contract, in which case you have a stronger case to escalate the matter at law. Personally I am more than familiar with late payers in the role of chair of a charity and being paid by public bodies who are notorious for late payment. It is a bit of a bind between being diplomatic and not alienating the client and at the same time getting the money to pay wages etc. Can be a bit fraught at times to say the least! However I use a debt collection company and don't waste too much time on collection I just pass it over where appropriate to the debt collection agency.

 

[Midwest]

Are you not allowed to also charge an additional fee for late payment, as a Ltd company?

In any case, if I was after advice about late payments, I would of spoken to my accountant

 

[Octopus]

Unfortunately companies pay when they want to, rather than when you want to.

Is there any pattern to the late payments, ie 30, 45, or 60 days

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

depends on the amount but you do have the option of high court enforcement when you get into the thousands rather than hundreds, the court appointed sheriffs are quite good at getting the money. of course issuing ccj's against the firm pretty much means they wont hire you again.By sounds of it, they aren't the sort of customers you really need. with domestic customer's or landlords not paying then i have friends who have issued county court proceedings and got a charging order on the property, makes remortgaging, selling etc nigh on impossible without there solicitor giving you the money owed. a charging order certainly makes most problem clients wise up!

 

[Diydebs]

Hi OP, you have two threads with the same question. I would ask a Mod to close one down.

Thanks still a learning curve this end

 

[Diydebs]

Do a bit of research around invoice factoring.

If you're not familiar with the concept, the basics are you strike a deal with a factoring house (probably not the right name). They go out to finance brokers who effectively pay you and take on the debt. Yes, they take a cut of the invoice, but you get paid the bulk of your money almost immediately and they take on the headache of getting the money from the client.

I wouldn't use it for everyone, but certainly if someone was a pain once, I'd seriously consider factoring all their future invoices.

The only problem is some companies are wise to this and specifically include contractual terms that prevent the assigning of debt to a third party.

A friend of mine provides this service and having spoken with him about it for my own information his company was able to offer me a better deal than I was able to get from my bank. If you'd like to have a chat, PM me your contact details and I'll pass them along.

Yeah we dismissed the idea of that but may have to resort to it....

 

[Diydebs]

First off, do you or your client (the electrician) have a contract? In that contract do you have a "Kill fee" i.e. if the client cancels the contract you agree an amount to be paid, usually staggered to reflect the stage of work you are at. Do you have a late payment structure? i.e. if the client pays late there is an interest charge of (usually) 1.5%. Contact accounts directly, and ensure you are familiar with their payment process. Talk directly to the accounts and keep abreast of late payments and let the client know you are serious about payments on time. The other point about having a contract is that if the client pays late then they have broken the contract, in which case you have a stronger case to escalate the matter at law. Personally I am more than familiar with late payers in the role of chair of a charity and being paid by public bodies who are notorious for late payment. It is a bit of a bind between being diplomatic and not alienating the client and at the same time getting the money to pay wages etc. Can be a bit fraught at times to say the least! However I use a debt collection company and don't waste too much time on collection I just pass it over where appropriate to the debt collection agency.

Hes been doing it more verbally but clearly this isn't going well.. he does get paid but they drag it out way too much