RIABU - Tips and tools for getting paid on time by your customers

Why understanding your customer’s internal payment process is vital

You've been supplying to a particular customer for many years and there's an established process that helps deliver the product or service and get paid on time. But what happens if things change at the customer end and their process suddenly becomes more complex.

In this podcast, RIABU’s Simon Littlewood and Mark Laudi discuss how SMEs can deal with the difficult situation through customer intimacy, a relationship-building process that is a core element of RIABU’s Virtuous Revenue Cycle, and why having a cash flow forecast is important for your working capital.

Negotiate your contract price at acceptable profit margins

More than half of the USA SMEs experienced late payments from large companies which significantly impacted their business, delayed hiring, and reduced their ability to recover from the pandemic. Late payments are a persistent dilemma for small businesses which affects their ability to maintain a steady cash flow and invest for the future. With about 31.7 million small business firms operating in the United States, accounting for 44% of US economic activity, what should these firms do to get paid on time? RIABU’s Simon Littlewood and Mark Laudi have some ideas. Read more about this topic here.

Customer intimacy is about nurturing relationships at all levels

Around half of Australia’s big businesses are failing to pay small business suppliers on time. Despite ongoing efforts to reverse the tide, three reports - late payments, transactions, and a survey - show Australian SMEs are just treading water to survive, and with banks tightening their lending and government handouts having disappeared, the risk of survival has increased. What can SMEs do to get paid on time? RIABU’s Simon Littlewood and Mark Laudi offer some ideas. Read more about this topic here.

How UK SMEs can deal with rapidly rising input costs

UK SMEs are struggling to operate efficiently as input costs are rising rapidly in the country, which is impacting their operating margin significantly. As a result, one in five SMEs is finding it difficult to pay their suppliers. In addition, one in four SMEs is facing late payments from their customers as they are also struggling with higher prices.

 

In this podcast, RIABU’s Simon Littlewood and Mark Laudi discuss how SMEs can focus on strengthening relationships with their customers by understanding their needs and wants, which can result in a faster collection of receivables and improved cash cycle. Read more about this topic here.

 

Borrowing money can’t solve SMEs’ cashflow problems anymore, but operational efficiencies can

The US interest rate received its highest increase since 1994 because the country's inflation reached a level not seen in the last 40 years. All these statistics are making headlines, but how does it impact SMEs? It means that economic conditions are deteriorating and the cost of doing business may increase further which may increase pressure on their margins.

 

In this podcast, RIABU’s Simon Littlewood and Mark Laudi discuss how SMEs can navigate the turbulent times ahead by giving particular attention to receivables and thereby increasing the cash cushion. Read more about this topic here.

If you want customers to follow payment terms, internal stakeholders need to sing from the same hymn sheet

Top-down ownership requires internal stakeholders to adopt a common culture where employees at all levels – from the boardroom to salespeople - are responsible for collecting cash from the customers. The cash collection process can be incorporated at all levels of the organization structure by providing proper training and accountability through KPI metrics.

In this podcast, RIABU’s Simon Littlewood and guests, Yvonne Rankin Constantine, Director & Founder at Rankin Constantine Global Consulting, and Peter Hone, Rig Inspection Manager in the Asia Pacific and Southeast Asia, discuss the eight elements of RIABU’s Virtuous Revenue Cycle (VRC) which is a cycle of continuous improvement in service culture and delighting customers by anticipating and responding to their every need and ensuring that you get paid on time.

Get more tips on effective cash flow management from our book, Let The Cash Flow. To find out more about how RIABU helps small businesses get paid on time, visit RIABU.com

How clear communication can get you paid on time

In Australia, small businesses have been suffering from being paid late by large corporations for years, and the pandemic has made their cash situation even worse. But there is one method to help them get paid faster: clear communication.

In this podcast, RIABU’s Mark Laudi and Anne Nalder, Founder and CEO of Small Business Association of Australia, discuss how communicating clearly with your customers can help your business get paid on time and improve your cash flow in this challenging environment.

Payment of invoices on time benefits all stakeholders

While the world’s attention is focused on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, about 440,000 or 8% of the small businesses in the United Kingdom face insolvency from cash flow problems arising from higher operating costs and difficulties in getting invoices paid on time.

In this podcast, Liz Barclay, UK Small Business Commissioner, and RIABU’s Mark Laudi, discuss the importance of the prompt payment code introduced by the UK government in 2008 to encourage large companies to commit to good payment practices, and how, barring a few outliers, the industry average of payment days has been improving. But Liz believes that more needs to be done. She emphasizes that a company’s board of directors have an ethical responsibility to pay invoices on time. To safeguard the sustainability of their suppliers, it must be a strategic decision rather than an operational one. This, in turn, helps all stakeholders because it enhances the supplier's bottom line, which attracts more investors and qualified workers.

On the other hand, small businesses or suppliers lack negotiation skills and make a variety of invoicing errors. Liz points out that while digital technology has helped many small businesses save time and minimise the number of invoicing errors, it isn't the ultimate solution for getting paid on time. They must be bold and confident enough to propel their business forward by negotiating better payment terms with their customers.

The important link between environmental sustainability and cash flow

Greenhouse gas is an issue for the whole world and large or small companies have an important role to play in reducing it, but until SMEs bring their cash flows in order, it may be difficult for them to make any meaningful contribution. RIABU’s Simon Littlewood and Mark Laudi have some ideas. Read more about this topic here.

Outlook for SMEs in China, UK, and eastern Europe

Small businesses continue to face challenges like rising costs and lower demand, which are leading to higher bankruptcies across the globe. While the Chinese government is extending support to SMEs, the UK is moving in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, Eastern European businesses remain vulnerable to external border shocks. Listen to RIABU’s Simon Littlewood and Mark Laudi discuss what SMEs worldwide can learn from these different situations.