Often the cash to solve a squeeze is already yours — sitting in unpaid invoices. Getting paid faster is the cheapest funding there is, because it costs nothing but discipline.
Invoice promptly and clearly
Invoice the moment work is done, not at month end. State the due date, the amount and how to pay in plain terms. Every day an invoice is late going out is a day later it comes back.
Chase on a schedule
Have a fixed routine: a polite reminder before the due date, a firmer one just after, then a call. Consistency gets you paid; sporadic chasing trains customers to wait. Confirm promised dates by email.
Make paying easy
Offer simple payment methods and, where it helps, small incentives for early payment or clear penalties for lateness set out in your terms. The easier you make it, the sooner the cash arrives.
Faster collections often remove the need for the very borrowing that difficulty tempts you into.
We lend only to UK limited companies and LLPs, and the loan is to the company with no director personal guarantee. As business finance outside the consumer-credit regime, it is not covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or FSCS.
See also: Chasing late-paying customers to ease cashflow, What a late-paying customer means for your loan payments, How to build a simple cash-flow forecast to stay ahead.