SME News Q2 2018

SME NEWS / Q2 2018 15 What to do if a big customer isn’t paying fast enough? Mark Sherwood is the CEO of DSL, an accounting firm that focuses on helping small busi- nesses get the building blocks in place to grow and achieve their ambitions. may find it a lot easier to locate the source of the problem. 5. Apply for invoice financing Invoice financing is when you turn to a lender who will pay you most of the value of your invoice today. When your client does eventually get round to paying up, the lender receives the payment. Say you had an invoice for £1000, but knew your client wouldn’t pay you for months. You could turn to an invoice financing firm who might pay you something like £950 today, and they would eventually receive the payment from the client instead. This approach should really only be taken as a last resort and be used as sparingly as possible. You should read the finance house’s terms and conditions before opting to do this and watch out for any ‘hidden’ charges.