Excuses don't pay

Although the work that we do here in the fabulous world of Paver Smith is very exciting and constantly challenging there are also the more mundane tasks that have to be tackled.

As the company's Financial Controller I have to take control of the not so exciting task of chasing our clients for payment. I'm glad to say that the majority of them tend not to argue when parting with their cash as they are more than happy to pay for the excellent service that we provide.

However, studies show the time spent chasing late payment is costing small businesses an estimated 286 million hours and nearly £3.6 billion per year. Clearly, this issue affects a wide range of businesses and I thought I'd take this opportunity to discuss some of the excuses finance people have to put up with (in the style of Bully's prize winning board)

In 1: we're waiting for the cheque to be signed
In 2: cash flow problems/ waiting for debtors to pay us
In 3: account handler is off sick or is unavailable
In 4: you've missed the payment run
And Bully's special prize goes to: cheque is in the post

All of these are quite viable and easily believable. However, research conducted has found that late payers are coming up with far more complex and, often, outrageous excuses to avoid paying. You may find these hard to believe but they are completely true and have been used:

1: the cheque book has been destroyed in the post/ was caught up in a fire
2: the owner has been buried with his cheque book
3: all names are put in a hat. If your name is pulled out you will get paid. If not, it will stay in the hat until next week
4: the director went for an operation and never returned, as he went off with the nurse.
5: the tide is out and the director is unable to get in to pay the cheque
6: not now, it's the office party
7: the cheque book has fell down the side of my wife's car and we are still trying to get it

You may be reading these in disbelief but embarrassingly these are genuine excuses that people actually think that they can get away with. A book has even been written called "The little book of late payment excuses" which highlights the lengths that people are willing to go to rather than pay on time.

I know that the credit crunch is affecting us all in one way or another but next time you try to come up with an excuse for not paying (or paying late), don't forget we've heard them all!

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