No More 30 Days Credit
August 09, 2004
Firstly, I'd like to say thanks to all of those who emailed directly to give their feedback on the telly decision! I never realised there were so many shy blog readers out there. I will not be going on that TV show - the risk of coming across badly outweighs the prize, so that's that decision made.
I'm writing today about the amount of credit that is given to clients. I had been giving 30 days credit from date of invoice. And I normally only produce the invoice when the job is complete.
That's all about to change.
There is an EU Directive that has been written into Irish law which states that small businesses no longer have to give 30 days credit. Why is this? Well, the 30 days and the rest that it takes for companies to pay up was found to be killing small business. There are many cases of companies going under, despite having large amounts of debtors.
I have changed the Brightspark terms & conditions to reflect that change in law. Clients are still expected to pay on receipt of an invoice but payment is expected immediately. Am also bringing in a clause which states that an invoice will be generated after 2 months regardless of whether the site is complete or not. This is because I am finding many clients putting off their website marketing activity to suit their schedules, even though Brightspark has put in the hours of planning and preparation.
I wish I'd brought these in before completing a recent website (note: this used to name the company but since they paid up I've removed their name). That site has the dubious honour of being the longest outstanding debtor in the history of Brightspark. The invoice was sent in early June and we still haven't been paid for it. I know the reason why - there's a sign-off procedure in that company and the person that needs to sign off just hasn't bothered yet, despite repeated reminders from myself and even the Managing Director! But that's what you're up against.
If anyone reading this has any tips or advice on how you handle invoice periods, payment, and credit terms, I'd love to hear from you. You can either contact us using that button on the top navigation bar, or add a comment below.