3 signs you should consider outsourcing your credit control

16/05/2019

Credit control can be a topic that causes stress for small and large businesses alike. It’s important to remember that whatever size your businesses is, outsourcing can be a cost effective and reliable to keep cash coming into the business.

In house credit control can be time consuming, costly and stressful, and when done poorly can have devastating effects. That’s not to say that there aren’t ways to get it right and, if you’re willing to put the time into it, keeping your credit control in house can be rewarding and deliver results.

If you’re looking to improve your in house credit control, you can take a look at our blogs on credit control strategies to implement after making a sale, how to master your credit control in 7 days and 101 ways to improve your credit management.

But how do you know when it’s time to look at outsourcing?

Here are 3 clear signs that you should start to consider talking to an outsourcing company about your credit control.

You have a history of poor credit control

This may seem like an obvious one, but so many companies continue on with poor credit management and struggle on with a restrictive cash flow.

Not only does regular late payment put a lot of stress on the business, it will also prevent growth and stop you from reaching targets and goals across all departments.

Although poor credit control can be down to many things, it can almost certainly be helped by a specialist agency. They will be able to dedicate the time and expertise that you may not have internally, using all their experience and best practice to improve performance.

You’re struggling to allocate the time to credit control

Credit control is rarely a task to dip in and out of. Perfecting it takes a lot of time and dedication, ensuring that each of your customers is being contacted at key times and that any overdue invoices are escalated quickly.

For many smaller businesses, credit control commonly falls under the remit of the owner manager, office secretary or accounts person – even when the importance of it and the volume of work that’s required means it should be a full-time role.

Then there are the challenges of finding the right person to bring in, someone who possesses the expertise the role demands, comes with the right salary expectations and fits your business ethos. The thought of this recruitment exercise alone is often enough to convince businesses to continue as they were.

This is where specialist credit control agencies can help. By assuming the responsibility for credit control, they can give you and your team back the time to focus on what they do best and avoid the overhead of employing someone full time.

You’ve noticed deteriorating customer relationships or a lack of repeat custom

Ending a transaction with a poor relationship with your customer not only impacts repeat custom but also reviews, recommendations and ultimately your brand.

Although at times a relationship breakdown is unavoidable, if you’ve noticed this becoming a trend it may be time to look at your credit control process more closely.

Assuming that the relationship has been good up to the delivery of goods or provision of a service, a subsequent breakdown of communication can be down to the process of invoicing and collecting payment. When the person responsible for this lacks experience and confidence, it’s not uncommon for it to come across badly to a client.

A dedicated credit control company will have experience in dealing with many types of customers and will be able to manage them efficiently and professionally, contacting them at the right stages of the credit period to make sure you get paid on time – and everyone stays happy.

Next steps

Whatever your reasons for considering outsourcing your credit control (there are many more than just these three!), the best thing you can do is get on the phone and get more information. Talk to an expert and see what they can do to help your business, you may be surprised by how much help they can offer!

Find out more about Hilton-Baird Collection Services’ outsourced credit control service or get in touch to speak to one of our experts now.