Partner Article

Snow causes business chaos - Q&A

I own a small carpentry company. The forecasted snow conditions could be an absolute nightmare for us, because we will not be able to send invoices or receive cheques on time due to the wintery conditions on the roads.

This is a dilemma that we have faced before with the postal strikes and no doubt, something we will encounter in the future. Can you provide some advice on what to do when these unexpected situations occur?

Tracy Ewen, managing director of IGF, the leading independent commercial finance company specialising in the small and medium sized business market, writes:

Situations like this are a nightmare for SMEs.

The only guaranteed solution to the problem of postal delays is to stop or minimise your use of the postal system. Switching to electronic invoicing (e-Invoicing) and encouraging your clients to pay by BACS or by debit/credit card will alleviate the problem. At IGF, we accept debit and credit card payments, so rather than cheques getting lost or delayed in the post due to events like heavy snow or the postal strikes, debtors can now pay straight away over the phone. This speeds things up in time of crisis but also means you will maintain steady and efficient cashflow in normal business conditions as well.

Here at IGF, we’ve also developed a web-based system - Client Manager - which enables customers to upload their invoices into a secure web portal. The system allows customers to see their invoice availability, load any new debtors, see whether cash has come in, check statements and view all reports. The client is then able to send hard copies of the paperwork in the post at a later date if required. This year, we have also launched an app – The IGF App – that allows customers to access all this information securely, on the go from their smartphone.

As well as reviewing your own processes, you should speak to your business finance provider. At IGF, we see it as part of our job to make sure we’re doing everything we can to ensure that our clients’ cashflow is smooth and regular. When bad weather strikes we try to put precautions in place to allow for severe delays and will be able to offer our customers an online system to ensure payments can be made immediately. While we still expect customers to send over the backup paperwork work in the post after using our online Client Manager system, we will allow customers more time to do this. We will also be accepting both credit and debit cards from debtors, rather than asking people to send their cheques in the post, which should reduce the strain a little bit. Check what your own bank or finance provider is willing to do to help you out.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tracy Ewen .