There were a couple of email reminders and also a couple of letters, but here’s the thing: I run a tech company, I have three kids under five years old, oh, and I really suck at admin.
When it comes to getting paid the taxman doesn’t muck around. He sends reminders. He jumps on the phone. He also says he’s from the debt recovery unit. So very quickly you get the message: he’s serious about getting paid.
So I’m paying my bill ASAP. Not that I ever intended not to pay it, sometimes I just get crazy-busy and important details get overlooked.
What I love about the taxman is that he’s firm but fair. Firm because he always follows his process — reminders, letters and phone calls — every time. And fair because he treats everyone the same. (Though if you’re really in a tight spot they often offer a payment plan to get you back to square one without breaking the bank — or your business).
So the taxman gets paid because he’s onto it. He cares about his cash and he’s got a plan for collecting it. After all, he’s got a country to run and I imagine the bills are quite large.
Compared to the taxman, how good are you at collecting cash from your customers? Are you too busy to follow up and therefore bleeding cash left right and centre? Our research shows that the average small business would gain an extra $18k in the bank for each day faster their customers paid them.
Bottom line, you’re leaving money on the table if you’re not regimented in your follow up.
