Getting paid on time

Most wholesale businesses do not run short of cash because they sell too little. They run short because the shops they sell to pay late, and nobody chases until the bank balance forces it. This tour shows the three o'clock credit control check: where the money is stuck, who to call first, and what goes out automatically so the calls are only the ones that need a person.

Step by step

1. Open money owed by age. The screen splits everything customers owe into four bands: not due yet, up to a month late, up to two months late, and older. In the tour's sample, £760.00 is not yet due and £1,523.00 is up to a month late. Nothing is older, which is what a healthy ledger looks like. The bands tell you whether the problem is one customer or a habit.

2. Read the customer list, oldest first. Below the bands, the customers behind the money are listed by how late their oldest invoice is. Each shows how many days past due and how much. The first name on the list is the call that matters most. In the sample, a shop owing £1,180.40 at 12 days past due sits above one owing £342.60 at four days.

3. Check each customer's tag. Each customer carries a simple label: On time, Late, or Over 30 days. Over 30 days is where a polite reminder stops being enough and a phone call is due.

4. Look at the reminder schedule. For a late customer, the screen shows the reminders on their schedule: a gentle one a day after the due date, a firmer one at seven days, and a final one at fourteen days with the statement attached. Each shows whether it has been sent or is due today.

5. See what the shop receives. On the customer's phone, the reminder arrives on WhatsApp as a short, polite message in your business name with the amount due. The final reminder carries their statement, so they can see every invoice and payment without asking for a copy.

6. Let paid mean quiet. As soon as an invoice is paid, it drops out of the schedule. A customer who paid yesterday never gets a reminder today. This is what makes automatic reminders safe to switch on.

7. Mute a customer you are already talking to. If you have agreed a payment plan with a shop, or the owner is in hospital, mute them. Their invoices stay on the aged list, but the automatic messages stop until you say otherwise.

8. Open the statement before you call. For anyone you do ring, open their statement first. You want the same figures in front of you that they are about to see.

The reminder schedule

A worked example

Take the shop owing £1,180.40 on a £1,500 credit limit, 12 days past due. It has had the gentle reminder on day one and the firm one on day seven. The final reminder with the statement goes out in two days. Meanwhile, it has £319.60 of credit left, which means it can still order on account at the counter and through the rep.

That combination, a late balance and credit still available, is where a quick call earns its keep. Ring now, agree a date, and if the date is reasonable, mute the reminders so the shop does not get a final notice the day after you spoke. If they cannot give a date, it is reasonable to ask the counter and the rep to take further orders as cash or card until the balance comes down. Our guide to customer credit for wholesalers covers how to set limits and terms you can hold to.

Should you switch automatic reminders on?

Some owners worry that automatic messages will upset good customers. In practice the opposite is usually true. A shop that pays on time never receives one, because nothing of theirs is late. A shop that forgot gets a polite nudge a day later, which most people prefer to a phone call. And the shops that are genuinely struggling show up quickly on the list, so you can talk to them before the balance grows. The two safeguards that make it work are already built in: paid invoices are never chased, and any customer can be muted.

Tips for credit control

• Do it at the same time every day. Fifteen minutes at three o'clock beats an afternoon at the end of the month.
• Let the schedule handle the polite part. Save your calls for the customers on the list who have already had two reminders.
• Mute with a note to yourself. If you mute a customer, decide when to unmute them, or the reminders will never restart.
• Watch the bands, not just the names. If "up to a month" is growing week on week, your terms or your limits need a look.

Common mistakes

Chasing by who shouts loudest. The customer who rings to complain is rarely the oldest debt. Work the list from the top.

Sending reminders by hand. Manual reminders go out when someone remembers, which is usually too late and never consistent.

Reminding customers who have paid. It damages the relationship more than the late payment ever did. Make sure payments are recorded against invoices promptly, so paid really does mean quiet.

Forgetting a muted customer. A mute is a pause, not a write-off.

Where the money comes from

Every balance on this screen started as an invoice: a trade counter sale on account, a rep's order or an order the office edited. When a payment comes in and is put against the right invoice, that invoice leaves the aged list and the customer's credit left goes back up. If payments are recorded late, the list looks worse than it is and reminders risk going to people who have paid.

What to do next

For practical ways to get paid sooner, from clearer terms to statements that are easy to act on, read how to get invoices paid faster. To see how late payments affect what you can spend this month, our guide to cash flow for small business shows how to forecast the money coming in and going out.