Most late payment isn't refusal — it's that nobody asked, consistently. A structured chase process gets the money in without anyone having an awkward conversation, and takes the job off the owner's desk.
Book a 30-minute call →In most small businesses the person chasing invoices is the person who sold the work and will need to sell to that customer again. So the chase gets softened, delayed, or quietly skipped — and the debtor days creep up a few at a time until the overdraft notices.
Handing it to someone outside the relationship changes the dynamic entirely. It stops being personal and becomes process, which is both more comfortable and considerably more effective.
Rarely refusal. Usually one of:
Every one of those resolves with a polite, timely message to the right person. None of them requires a difficult conversation — but all of them require somebody to actually do it, on a schedule.
Confirm receipt. Right contact, right inbox, PO number present, terms clear. Most problems are prevented here rather than solved later.
Courtesy reminder. A note that it's due shortly. Catches payment-run timing before it's late rather than after.
Polite prompt if unpaid. Friendly, factual, no implication of wrongdoing.
Follow-up with a question. Is there a query, or has it missed a run? This is where genuine disputes finally surface.
Phone call. Email stops working around here. A call resolves more in five minutes than another three emails.
Escalation, with your decision. Statement of account, reference to statutory interest entitlement, stop-supply discussion. Nothing happens at this stage without your say-so.
The discipline is the point. A sequence that happens every time beats an urgent effort once a quarter, because customers learn quickly which suppliers follow up and which don't.
Credit control works best alongside the bookkeeping, because the ledger has to be right before chasing means anything — chasing an invoice the customer already paid does real damage. It's also the natural companion to a 13-week cash flow forecast, since collection timing is the single biggest variable in it.
Quoted after a free initial review, because it depends on invoice volume and how far behind collection has drifted. Bookkeeping alongside it starts at £195 + VAT a month, with management accounts above it.
Delivered remotely. Based in Northamptonshire, covering the surrounding counties in person where it helps.
Seven questions you can answer from memory — no logins, no exports. One of them is whether you know what your customers owe you today, and the answer tends to be revealing.
Run the free Books Check → Or book a 30-minute call