A game of late payers: Gotta catch ‘em all

25/07/2016

As the world goes mad with excitement over Pokémon Go, we can’t help but think of the similarities the game shares with chasing late payment.

Whilst your late payers won’t be fictional characters, we’re sure many of them will have common characteristics with the likes of Squirtle, Charmander and Bulbasaur.

Here are just a few of the Pokémon-like late payers that may have crossed your path. Have you caught any of them in your credit control efforts?

Pikachu

Pikachu can be a deviant Pokémon, often ignoring requests, shocking its trainer and refusing to be confined to a Pokeball. But, if you take the time to build a bond and train it effectively, a Pikachu will be loyal and respectful. Likewise, whilst some customers will pay past agreed terms if they think they can get away it, with the right procedures in place you can train your customers to be prompt payers. To see if you could improve your processes take a look at our credit control tips section.

Snorlax

Some customers are constantly forgetting to make payments on time, which often leaves us questioning if they spend most of their working day asleep like the lazy Pokémon – Snorlax. If you feel like your customer is having constant sleeping spells when it comes to payment, make sure you put in a courtesy call before payment is due to remind them of their duty to pay you. This will refresh their minds and put your payment at the top of their list. For tips on what to include in your courtesy call take a look at this blog.

Diglett

The mole Pokémon lives a few feet underground, burrowing its way around to avoid being exposed to light. Similarly, some late payers will effectively bury their hand in the sand, evading your calls, emails and personal visits to try and avoid making payment. But, with a consistent and persistent approach, your efforts can’t be ignored and you’ll get hold of one eventually.

Onix

This large Pokémon uses its hard, solid body to tunnel through the ground at over fifty miles per hour, causing tremors along the way. Similarly, some large companies also like to throw their weight around when it comes to payment terms and will often try to enforce their own rules on their suppliers. Here are some of the most resented payment terms small businesses often have to put up with.

Clefairy

When your customers are constantly coming up with bizarre excuses for late payment it might leave you wondering if they are out of this world like the extra-terrestrial Pokémon Clefairy. Recently, our readers shared some of the worst excuses they’ve ever heard. Can you relate to any of these?

Mew

As one of the rarest Pokémon to find in the game, Mew reminds us of the late payers who appear to completely disappear off the face of the earth when payment is due. But, whilst they may seem like they no longer exist, with the right approach you can track one down and get what you’re owed. And, if you’re still unsuccessful, debt collection companies exist which excel at chasing down even the hardest to find customers.

Gotta catch ‘em all

Now you know some of the late payers to look out for, it’s time to put plans in motion to catch them.

And, as with the game, you’ll want to catch them all – even the rarest and hardest to find – because failure to do so could harm your cash flow.

We find that some of the best methods for catching late payers begin before an order has even been placed.

This includes, but is not limited to, creating an effective credit control strategy with regular touchpoints, performing credit checks of all customers and regularly monitoring your sales ledger.

If somehow these tactics fail and you find yourself dealing with late payment you can then put the customer on a stop list and refuse further service until the invoice is settled, charge late payment interest on the amount owed or even outsource your debts to a collections agency.

We might not be Pokémon masters but when it comes to late payers we’ve seen them all. So, if you need help catching your worst culprits please get in touch.

Simply call 0800 9774848 or email collections@hiltonbaird.co.uk to discuss your requirements with one of our collection consultants.