Finance & Cash Flow
Ninety days late, and a third of your revenue
Delayed payment is the most common cash problem in Indian small business, and most owners handle it entirely by hoping. This session covers the terms to agree before the work starts, the credit decision itself, and how to escalate without destroying the relationship.
Most late payments were made possible before the work started.
The terms were never written down, the credit was extended without a decision, the invoice went out late, and nobody followed up until it was sixty days overdue. By then the conversation is adversarial and the money is somebody else's working capital.
Almost all of that is preventable with a few things agreed in advance, and a follow-up rhythm that starts before the due date rather than after it.
How to get paid on time
32 topics across 6 areas. Six things that decide it.
Agree the Terms in WritingBefore the work starts, not after the dispute.6
- Payment period, stated in days
- What triggers the invoice
- Part-payment or advance
- What happens on late payment
- Who signs off delivery
- What is out of scope
A purchase order or a written confirmation is enough. A verbal agreement is what you will be arguing about.
Deciding Whether to Extend CreditIt is a lending decision, made without a bank's tools.5
- How long have they been trading?
- How do they pay others?
- How large is this relative to your revenue?
- Can you absorb it if they never pay?
- What is the smallest first order you can start with?
Invoice Properly, and ImmediatelyA surprising amount of delay starts here.5
- Invoice on the day, not at month end
- To the right person, not the general address
- With the reference they need to process it
- With bank details on it
- Confirm they have received it
Follow Up Before It Is LateThe single highest-return habit.5
A short note a week before the due date is not chasing. It is the message that gets your invoice into the payment run rather than the pile.
- A week before due
- On the due date
- Weekly after
- Escalating the recipient, not the tone
- Keeping every message in writing
When It Is Seriously OverdueWhere most owners freeze.6
- Speaking to somebody senior
- Stopping further supply
- Agreeing a payment plan and documenting it
- Sending a formal notice
- When a lawyer is proportionate
- When to write it off and move on
The most expensive outcome is continuing to supply somebody who is not paying.
Customer ConcentrationThe risk hiding behind good revenue.5
- What share your largest customer represents
- What happens if they pay late for two months
- What happens if they leave
- How to reduce it deliberately
- Why growth with one customer is fragile
Documents that decide a dispute
- A written quotation, accepted
- A purchase order or written confirmation
- Proof of delivery or completion
- The invoice, sent and acknowledged
- Every follow-up, in writing
- Any agreed variation, also in writing
Habits that change the numbers
- Invoice the day the work is done
- Follow up a week before the due date
- Never supply further against a seriously overdue account
- Review receivables weekly, not monthly
- Know your average days to payment, and watch it
How the session runs
An owner and a finance professional work a real overdue account from the beginning — what was agreed, what was documented, where the follow-up stopped. Participants then draft the terms they will use going forward and one escalation message for an account they currently have outstanding.
What your students leave with
- Payment terms they will agree in writing from now on
- A method for deciding whether to extend credit
- An invoicing habit that removes avoidable delay
- A follow-up rhythm that starts before the due date
- A way of escalating that keeps the relationship intact
- A clear view of their customer concentration risk
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Most late payments were made possible before the work started.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.