Credit Control Solutions

Cash Flow is Critical!

The UK is experiencing a major increase in failures. Many companies are just walking away from their problems. 

When you lose £1,000 on a 10% profit margin you'll need to win and be paid for £10,000 of new business to just stand still!

But while you may be sitting on the fence, others are getting in more quickly to collect what little money may be available.

You can do something about it! Contact us through our website and we will react immediately to start the recovery process.

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow"

2nd earthquake hits Folkestone

Breaking News - An earthquake has shaken Folkestone in Kent.

The British Geological Survey said it recorded the earthquake at 1435 GMT in Folkestone.

A spokesman said it measured 2.8 on the Richter scale, compared with the quake in April 2007 which was 4.3.

I was in my top floor flat in Folkestone when the earthquake hit on this ocassion. Although it was only 2.8 on the Richter scale, the whole house swayed and the contents of my office rattled and shook! I have experienced an earthquake in Turkey before, although that was 5.9 on the richter scale and was very frighteneing indeed!

Resident Terri Julians said the earthquake "sounded like thunder and everything shook". She added: "It was quite scary but amazing."

Stewart Smith, who works in the east Kent town, said all the buildings shook for five seconds when the tremor hit.

He said offices in the area had been evacuated.

The epicentre of the 2007 quake was in the Channel, but this tremor was about three miles (5km) below Folkestone.

Julian Bukits, assistant seismologist with the British Geological Society, said there was an "event near Folkestone" at 1435 GMT, but that "it wasn't anything near as big as the one two years ago".

He said the fact that it was not recorded on monitors further away from Folkestone showed it was a very localised event.

"There are no reports of damage, but a lot of people will have felt it and remembered the last one," he added.

He said a preliminary report showed the tremor to be 2.8 on the Richter scale - a figure that may go slightly up or down.

Mr Bukits said: "On UK terms it's not that huge.

"To give a comparison of how often we have a 2.8, I think that occurs four or five times every year."

Mr Bukits said scientists were still analysing data from the event.

Kent Police said emergency services had received no reports of any structural damage or injuries, but were liaising with partner agencies to ensure officers provided help and support where needed.

Jamieo "Making The Earth Move for You"

"Article, courtesy of BBC Website"

Credit Control Sale!

Sign up for our full outsourced credit control service for 12 Months and get 1 month free! (Please quote Ref "CCSBLOG" to qualify for this unbelievale offer)

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow"

Get Voting in my Poll on the Credit Crunch

http://polls.linkedin.com/p/24615/byawg

The following question, is contained within a "Linked-in" poll that I have created.

I would be grateful if you could please click this link http://polls.linkedin.com/p/24615/byawg and answer the question - happy voting!

What is your one biggest fear as a business owner in the current climate?

• Not being paid by customers?
• Sales drying up?
• Having to make redundancies
• Your bank not supporting you?

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow"

Bank Charges - Banks lose appeal case in charges battle

Banks lose appeal case in charges battle

Latest update: The High Court has ruled in favour of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) today by announcing it can assess bank charges for fairness.

The ruling is in response to an appeal by the eight High Street banks at the centre of the case.

It is unclear at present whether the banks intend on taking their case to the House of Lords to attempt to have the decision overturned.

Either way, consumers will not be able to reclaim their bank charges until the OFT delivers its final assessment on whether the charges are fair.

The OFT has said it will be making a statement on its victory in the appeal case later today.

If the banks do not appeal, the earliest this can happen is later into 2009.

"Article Courtesy of Alan O'Sullivan, This is Money"

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow"

Debt Collection

In the current climate, debt collection is a hot topic.

If you have customer's with debts over 60 days old without a valid reason for not paying you, you should be considering passing the matter to a debt collection company.

Consider this, if you fail to act to collect the debt, you may end up having to write the debt off as a "bad debt". if you refer it to a debt collection company, you may end up recovering part of the debt, thus reducing your loss.

We can set-up data export routines with you where we can automatically assume responsibility for debts over 60 days old, this means, you can rest assured, knowing that these debts are being worked on and stand more chance of being collected.

Our Debt Collection Services offer very good value for money and we charge for our services in a unique way, meaning that more of the money we collect for you ends up in your company coffers rather than our own.

For further information on all of our services, please visit our website.

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow"

Help with Credit Control

Every company/business that extends credit to customers needs to be especially careful to ensure that their credit control is as effective as it can be in the current climate. With business insolvencies expected to rise by 34% this year, can you afford not to beef up your credit control function? Cash Flow has always been king, but even more so in this current economic climate.

We can help with all matters credit control, we are able to:

• Handle your credit control for you on an outsourced basis. This will significantly reduce your costs and improve cash flow at the same time.
• Provide you with advice, guidance & training to help you get the best out of your current credit control arrangements.
• Assist you at the back end of collections by offering you our unique and very cost effective debt collection service.

We have experience within the different industries and can use our knowledge to guide your business.

We are also more than happy for any prospect to talk directly with our customers about the excellent services we provide them with.

I have 22 years experience within the credit management industry and we have been trading as Credit Control Solutions for the last 8 years, so we know what we are talking about and how best to help you.

We also give out free advice, so if you have any questions about a particular situation, please do not hesitate to contact me

Further information on all of our wonderful services is on our website

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow"

Insolvencies to Rise 34%

Credit insurer Euler Hermes warns of company collapses

UK corporate insolvencies will rise 34% this year, with the retail and manufacturing sectors being especially hard hit by the crunch, according to credit insurer Euler Hermes, The Guardian has reported.

Manufacturers need to be especially careful to ensure that their credit control is as effective as it can be. We can help you with this in a number of different ways.

We can:

• Handle your credit control for you on an outsourced basis. This will significantly reduce your costs and improve cash flow at the same time.
• Provide you with advice, guidance & training to help you get the best out of your current credit control arrangements.
• Assist you at the back end of collections by offering you our unique and very cost effective debt collection service.

We have experience within the manufacturing industry and can use our knowledge to guide your business.

We are also more than happy for any prospect to talk directly with our customers about the excellent services we provide them with.

I have 22 years experience within the credit management industry and we have been trading as Credit Control Solutions for the last 8 years, so we know what we are talking about and how best to help you.

We also give out free advice, so if you have any questions about a particular situation, please do not hesitate to contact me

Further information on all of our wonderful services is on our website

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow"

Credit insurers take over from Rating Agencies

Insurers are better than rating agencies at determining companies’ credit worthiness, says Aon

Credit insurers have taken over the mantle from ratings agencies in determining UK companies’ credit worthiness, according to Aon Trade Credit.

This shift in power means that businesses’ have to work with credit insurers – which provide suppliers with cover against bad debts – to ensure that they have sufficient insight to enable credit lines for their key suppliers.

Credit ratings agencies play an important role in identifying a company’s financial strength. However, insurers are one step ahead as they use both historical data and up to the minute payment/ key management information, said Aon. Credit insurers also assess companies of all sizes, not just the large corporations that have been the primary focus of the rating agencies.

In light of increasing levels of insolvencies, credit insurers are being much more stringent and thorough in assessing a company’s creditworthiness. This has resulted in a reduction in cover in volatile sectors such as construction, retail and automotive.

Stuart Lawson, head of Aon Trade Credit in the UK, commented: ‘The key is not to see this as an unnecessary intrusion but view information requests from insurers as a positive step to enable credit lines to be maintained or even increased. If a major customer becomes insolvent, your own business could be compromised if you haven’t or were unable to take out insurance to protect against such an event. It illustrates the growing influence and importance of credit insurers in the health of supply chains and reinforces the benefits of working in partnership with them.’

Article, courtesy of StrategicRisk.

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow"

Governent Launches Financial Schemes to help SME's (Fact or Fiction?)

The support package, which builds upon the commitments outlined in November's Pre Budget Report, consists of loan guarantees and a new Enterprise Fund aimed at helping companies struggling to access finance for working capital and investment.

My View
In theory the financial packages sound like they will help SME's. Well here we are 3 months on, are these schemes helping SME's?  Apparently not, many of my business contacts advise they are still struggling to obtain funds from banks. As usual, the banks are holding SME's to ransom. Not only are the banks refusing (on the whole) to lend to SME's, they are making matters worse by demanding full repayment of existing credit facilities. Unless the banks change their stance and start to lend again, more and more SME's will go to the wall.

What I find incredibly hard to believe is the fact that most banks almost chucked money at the "sub-prime" market, but when it comes to lending money to business they (the banks) are completely risk averse. Entrepreneurs have a hard time getting backing for any venture that is not considered "the norm" by the banks.

The government (in particular, Gordon Brown) have totally screwed our economy and if they fail to act fast and offer "real" help to SME's, who after all are the lifeblood of this country, it will end up costing the taxpayer very dearly indeed

"60% of the people in The UK are employed by SME's"

I understand why the banks were bailed out by the government (taxpayer), but, I still can't help feeling that to some extend the taxpayer has been ripped off. When you consider that the management of these banks have completely screwed up their businesses through poor "risk" decisions and bleeding the banks coffers dry by drawing huge bonuses and paying themselves obscene salaries.

As an SME, we don't get any such support from the government - wouldn't it  be nice knowing that if your business was on the verge of failure, the government would be there to bail you out!.

Press Release 14/01/2009

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson today (14/01/2009) unveiled a package of measures designed to address the cash flow, credit and investment needs of small and medium businesses.

The Government measures include:

* A £10bn Working Capital Scheme, securing up to £20bn of short term bank lending to companies with a turnover of up to £500m

* An Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme, securing up to £1.3bn of
additional bank loans to small firms with a turnover of up to £25m

* A £75m Capital for Enterprise Fund (£50m from Government augmented by £25m from the banks) to invest in small businesses which need equity

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said:

"UK companies are the lifeblood of the economy and it is crucial that Government acts now to provide real help to support them through the downturn and see them emerge stronger on the other side.

"We know that some companies are struggling to secure the finance they need, not because of any failure in their business but due to the tougher credit conditions. That is why we have designed a package of measures addressing different forms of credit and providing real help for businesses."

The Working Capital Scheme is a direct response to the constraint on bank credit available for lending to ordinary-risk businesses with a turnover of up to £500m a year.

The Government will provide banks with guarantees covering 50 per cent of the risk on existing and new working capital portfolios worth up to £20bn.

The guarantee will secure up to £20bn of working capital credit lines for companies - ensuring they are safe from reduction or withdrawal.

In addition, the guarantee will free up capital which the banks must use for new lending as a condition of this scheme. This is lending that would otherwise not have been provided.

The Enterprise Finance Guarantee aims to help smaller, credit-worthy companies which might otherwise fail to access the finance they need for working capital or investment finance due to the current tight lending conditions.

The Government will provide £1bn of guarantees to support to £1.3bn of bank lending to smaller firms with an annual turnover of up to £25m, which are looking for loans of up to £1m for a period of up to 10 years.

The guarantee, available through high street banks, will apply to loans and can also be used to convert existing overdrafts into loans to enable businesses to free up their current overdraft facilities to meet working capital demands.

To help businesses raise new long-term finance, the Government will also offer to invest in viable companies which have high levels of existing debt through a new £75m Capital for Enterprise Fund. Banks are contributing to this fund.

The fund, to be managed externally, will provide long term capital to businesses which have exhausted traditional forms of finance. Companies can then use this capital to invest in and grow their business.

Lord Mandelson also confirmed today the Government is discussing with trade credit insurance providers a Government scheme to help companies affected by reductions in their credit insurance.

In order to help businesses identify their financial needs, the Government is today launching a new "one stop shop" easy-to-use web portal. The portal, on the businesslink.gov website, will direct companies to the most appropriate form of support and help them ascertain their eligibility for a range of government support.

Governement Introduce Scheme to slow Repossessions (Is it too Late though?)

The Prime Minister visited Scotland today and reiterated the Government’s determination to do all it could to stop reposessions.

The Government has announced that it is putting a series of measures in place to help UK homeowners during the current economic crisis.

The Prime Minister said that banks and building societies were in the process of signing moratoriums on repossessions and that some people would be in a position to have the terms and conditions of their mortgages amended.

The PM said:

“What we have been trying to do over these last few months is make sure that there is every procedure gone through before there is any chance of somebody being repossessed.

“We’re signing agreements with the building societies and the banks that there is a moratorium on repossessions for people with these banks and building societies. And we’re introducing measures in the next few days that will be able to underpin people trying to get their mortgage terms of repayment changed.”

The Prime Minister spoke during a visit to Burntisland Fabrications in Fife today. The company has recently announced a £70 million deal to build support structures for an offshore wind farm near Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, creating 150 new jobs.

Mr Brown spent time chatting to workers and apprentices - Burntisland Fabrications introduced an apprenticeship programme in 2007, which now employs 37 young people.

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow"

Lord, Peter Mandelson

Did anyone see "Mandelson" on BBC Parliament last night. He was being questioned by the "Business Committee" in relation to various business issues. Not once did he answer a question directly, he skirted around the issue using lots of words that actually demonstrated to me that he didn't have a clue what he was talking about. I think we should re-Christen him "Mandelson the Vague"

Far worse (for me) than Mandelson being "Vague" was the fact that the Committee & MP's let him get away with it!

Your views on this would be appreciated.

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow"

Credit Insurance Scandle!

A multibillion-pound scheme to help thousands of companies that are struggling to secure crucial credit insurance will be announced by the Government later this month.

Retailers, electronics groups and motor manufacturers have all been threatened by the widespread withdrawal of credit insurance, a highly complex form of protection that allows businesses to trade with each other without worrying about unpaid bills. Business leaders believe that the “unprecedented” rate at which credit insurance is being cancelled or refused could be as devastating to industry as the credit crunch has been to the banking sector.

In recent months, well-known companies with financial difficulties have collapsed after the removal of credit insurance proved to be the last straw. Woolworths has been the biggest casualty.

Businesses that have had their credit insurance pared back include Peacocks, the fashion group, Focus DIY, Gala Coral and DSG International, the owner of Currys and PC World.

Credit insurance pays the policyholder for goods or services it provides if the buyer, such as a retailer, cannot make the payment. About two thirds of credit insurance customers are small businesses. These companies are already facing longer payment periods from bigger firms. In the past, invoices were settled within 30 days. Now a 150-day wait is not uncommon.

The Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform would not be drawn on details of its scheme. However, it is understood that the Government will offer to cover up to 50 per cent of credit insurance payouts. An overall cap of £5billion for total claims is under consideration.

According to sources, the scheme will be offered to medium-risk companies whose cover has been reduced but not withdrawn entirely. The Government will underwrite half a potential payout and the credit insurer will cover the other half. The credit insurers will administer the plans, which will probably cost more than ordinary policies.

John Cridland, the deputy director-general of the CBI, told The Times: “For the companies affected, this is as big a problem as the credit crunch has been for the banks. It is particularly significant for the manufacturing supply chain.”

Three providers - two French-owned and one Dutch-owned — control four fifths of the UK credit insurance market, which provides cover for nearly £300billion of turnover. Euler Hermes is the market leader, both in the UK and globally, with 36 per cent of the global market. Atradius, Britain's second-largest credit insurer, recently withdrew cover from suppliers to 12,000 companies in a single week. Coface, the third-biggest, said that claims leapt by 39 per cent in 2008, mostly in its final three months.

Across the credit insurance sector as a whole, the total value of claims rose by 58 per cent in the third quarter of 2008, compared with 2007, reaching nearly £100 million, according to the Association of British Insurers.

Nick Palin, director of finance for the Forum of Private Business, said: “Trade credit insurance protects small businesses that are not being paid. Every day, more of their customers are forced to close because of the economic downturn, leaving them to foot the bill. Credit insurance companies are reacting nervously, and increasingly labelling small businesses as risky propositions. The consequences of them not providing the necessary levels of insurance could be disastrous for the small business sector and the economy.”  Article Courtesy of "The Times"

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow"

Credit Control Training

We are at the moment undertaking credit control training for a top 5 firm of barristers. Our training services are something that I do not tend to advertise on our website in any great detail. This training is something that has been specifically tailored to the requirements of the Chief executive of the chambers.

We have been appointed to specifically look at:

• Overcoming industry specific reasons for debtors not paying
• Overcoming common excuses for debtors not paying
• Coming up with ideas and methods to overcome industry constraints on collection of monies within the legal profession.

We have worked with this firm of barristers before and it is a pleasure to be called back because it means that they are obviously very happy with the help we gave them last time.

Undertaking your credit control within the current economic climate is a very different experience indeed. Many of you may not have had a business during our last big recession in the late 1980's. We are hearing almost on a daily basis of businesses going bust due solely to the recession. If you do not want to become a statistic of the recession, you will need to change your approach to credit control.

Our Credit Control Training is aimed at medium businesses with their own credit control departments, or indeed smaller businesses where perhaps the business owner would like to make sure that they are undertaking their credit control properly and pro-actively.

Our Credit Control Training can be used in conjunction with any of our services. Please visit our website for further information on all of the credit control solutions that we offer

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow"

Latest Insolvency Figures from "The Insolvency Service"

Insolvency statistics for quarter 4 are released on Friday 6th February and I fear they will make pretty dismal reading. Please click here for insolvency statistics direct from The Insolvency Service Website

All types of Insolvencies (Business & Personal) have been on the increase in the last 12 months.

Don't let your business become an "Insolvency" statistic!

We can help you with your credit control in a number of different ways. If ever there was a time to start taking your credit control seriously, it is NOW!

We offer a whole range of credit control related services that all businesses could benefit from. Your sales ledger is your biggest asset, neglect it at your peril

Please visit our website to see how we could help you

Jamieo "making Your Cash Flow"

UK in Recession as Economy Slides

The UK is now in recession for the first time since 1991, official government figures have confirmed.

Gross domestic product fell by 1.5% in the last three months of 2008 after a 0.6% drop in the previous quarter.

That means that the widely accepted definition of a recession - two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth - has been met.

It represents the biggest quarter-on-quarter decline since 1980, and a 1.8% fall on the same quarter a year ago.

BBC News. Click here for full story

Don't become a victim of the economic downturn. We can help you with your credit control in a number of different ways. if ever there was a time to start taking your credit control seriously, it is NOW!

We offer a whole range of credit control related services that all businesses could benefit from. Your sales ledger is your biggest asset, neglect it at your peril

Please visit our website to see how we could help you

Jamieo "making Your Cash Flow"

Government Sceme to Encourage Prompt Payment is Doomed to fail

The Government’s launch of a voluntary code on payment terms to encourage the prompt payment of bills between businesses as firms across the UK battle to survive the downturn is unlikely to spark a genuine move away from late payment culture in the UK, warns commercial credit agency Graydon UK.

The voluntary code, launched this week under the leadership of Lord Mandelson, aims to prevent companies from reneging on agreed payment terms. This practice is commonplace among large corporate in the UK, with Alliance Boots and Tesco amongst the worst offenders.

The announcement follows the recent publication of research conducted by the Forum of Private Business (FPB) revealing that nearly two thirds (61 per cent) of small firms in the UK are encountering greater difficulty managing cashflow compared with the first week of November.

However, Martin Williams, Managing Director, Graydon UK, is not convinced that the proposals will turn the tide of the late payment of suppliers in the UK, particularly in instances where small firms are the victims.

Martin Williams said: “There’s no doubting the positive sentiment which lies behind the Government’s introduction of a voluntary code but it is highly unlikely that this latest move will make a tangible difference when it comes to helping small companies manage their cashflow.

“Long before the economic crisis really began to bare its teeth, many large corporate were habitually using their purchasing power to squeeze their suppliers through late payment, even though they had plenty of cash in their coffers to pay the bills when they finally chose to.

“The difference now is that as the economic situation has worsened, even large companies no longer have the readily available cash required to pay bills and are failing to pay trade invoices simply because they can’t do so. This week’s Government announcement alone won’t be sufficient to remedy this situation.”

Outsourcing your credit control is a possible answer to poor cash flow - we can help you with this.

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow"

Ltd Co Debtors in Liquidation - Don't Write them off Just yet!

As per Graydon UK, company liquidations rose by 12% between April and June 2008 and there was little change to this rate in the following months.  With this figure being so high, the chances are that most businesses will be affected by at least one of their debtors going bust in the current economic climate.  If your lucky, the liquidation may result in the creditor receiving a few pennies in the pound This can be very hard to take, especially if the debtor has made countless promises of payment prior to the liquidation.   

However, help is at hand in the form of the little known Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. This states that if the director knew, or ought to have known, that the company was continuing to trade whilst insolvent the court may (following an application by the liquidator) order them to make a personal contribution to the creditors.  Of course, some firms go bust and it is through no fault of the directors. if, however you feel that they were making promises they knew they couldn't keep then you should take action in an attempt to recover your money and to stop the dishonest director from doing it again.

In the case of Northern Rock, the lawyers and accountants found 'insufficient grounds to proceed with any legal action for negligence' against the directors who had been in charge at the time of the collapse.  However Northern Rock have already paid back 57% of the £26bn owed which is more than can be said for most company's going through liquidation.

If you are concerned about the financial stability of one of your clients due to repeated failed payment promises, get the promise in writing (email is sufficient) and from a director.  If they won't provide it, that's a huge red flag and it may be worth speaking to a debt recovery agent sooner rather than later. 

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow" (Article courtesy of Eleanor Bateman of Bateman's) 

Pre-Budget Report 2008

Courtesy of Price Bailey Accountants, please find below a link to The 2008 Pre-Budget Report. To download this report, please click here

All we ask in return is that you visit our website to learn more about our services and maybe recommend us to any of your business colleagues.

Many Thanks,

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow"

Changes to VAT Rates

I am sure that you are all aware that the rate of VAT has been reduced to 15% with effect from Monday 1st December 2008.
 
This is just a quick reminder for you all to update your VAT rates in your accounting software! Failure to do this, will result in:

• Customers having a valid excuse for not paying you on time
• Extra work raising credit notes etc

I am certain that all of you have this in hand, but, it doesn't hurt to be reminded just in case!

Jamieo "Making Your Cash Flow"

Credit Crunch: How to Make Money from our Accountant!

Crest Partnership (A partner company) have recently developed a specialism by using depleted asset values caused by the Credit Crunch to generate significant tax deductions that can reduce a company's corporation tax bill.

These schemes include:-

• Sizeable claims for home working
• Asset sales
• Use of FRS accounting standards to claim tax deductions
• Increasing tax losses by changing year end dates 

They are willing to guarantee that their fees for this advice will be covered more than three times by the tax savings you will enjoy in one year alone. It will also resolve any potential section 419 exposure for excessive dividend distribution which is greater than your company's profitability.  Every one of these tax mitigation schemes have been reviewed by a panel of experts that consists of former HMRC inspectors.

If you are interested in talking with Crest about this, please e-mail me and I will put you in contact with them

Jamieo"Making Your Cash Flow"