How Direct Debit Payments can Save a Business From Cash Flow Struggles - and Worse…

Ali Moiyed, Payments Expert and CEO of AccessPay, urges them to consider using Direct Debits to automate their payments or run the risk of failing at the worst possible time - just as the economy is on the upturn.

Recent research by the payments body Bacs has revealed that the average small business was owed £31,000 in overdue payments in April, amounting to £30.2bn across the economy.

The research also revealed that 18% of small businesses were simply told the customer had either forgotten to pay or just hadn't got around to settling the bill…

There are late-payment laws that give small businesses the right to charge interest, but this has never been a popular course of action. Quite simply, businesses don't want to upset customers and run the risk of losing them.

Ali Moiyed, Payments Expert and CEO of AccessPay, thinks these statistics are a cause for concern. He says, "The fact that small businesses aren't getting paid on time needs to be addressed. I hear that the government has plans in place to support small and medium-sized enterprises as the economy starts to recover, but struggling businesses don't have time to wait. Even though the economy has shown signs of improvement in recent months, businesses need to get on top of their cash flow situation as quickly as possible."

In a recent Bacs News Release, Mike Hutchinson from Bacs was quoted as saying, "We urge SMEs to look at where they can assert some control, automating payments wherever possible to save valuable time and administration costs, and remove some of the stress on the business and its owner."

Moiyed agrees, and explains why Direct Debits make good business sense, "We have learned a valuable lesson from the recent financial crisis - more often than not cash flow is the critical factor that causes a struggling business to fail. Direct Debits can help businesses by ensuring they get paid on time every month, and giving them greater visibility of their cash flow. What's more, a good Direct Debit Management system will also reduce costly errors and improve customer retention."

Moiyed concludes, "Cloud-based Direct Debit Management is an increasingly popular choice with businesses. They really appreciate the benefits it offers them - not least being able to replace complicated, error-strewn spreadsheets with user-friendly, graphic-rich reports. It helps them make smarter, quicker decisions, and for a struggling business it may be just what is needed to help them turn things around."

About AccessPay
AccessPay's innovative cloud-based Direct Debit Management software can help businesses transform their existing payment processes, give them a new depth of insight into their cash management, and gain control of their cash flow.
accesspay.com

Source: Bacs News Release "Payment terms ignored as SMEs wait eight weeks for Money" dated 24th April 2013