If your company incurs any kind of bad debt, then this could mean that one of your clients has not paid for your service and that you cannot collect the money. This sum is essentially lost, and you also need to write it off in your books. If you fall into bad debt, then you may find that your business declines and that you need to resort to various other credit management alternatives. If you want to avoid this then you need to understand how bad debt affects you and you also need to take the time to know how to avoid it.
How can Bad Debt Affect You?
Bad debts can affect your company in various ways. It will reduce the cash that you have available and it will also compromise your ability to pay the creditors who you work with. Conveying a positive business image is also very important to your customers. Your customers need to know that you are stable, and having bad debt or an unstable working environment will go against you. It may also affect your plans for growth as well so keep that in mind.
How to Avoid Business Debt
It’s more than possible for you to reduce the amount of debt that you have by setting up good policies and procedures. You also need to make sure that you have a strong system in place so that you can manage any problems as you go along. This applies to taking on any new customers that you may want to work with. If you don’t have a good system to follow, then this may end up going against you in the future.
Hire a Lawyer
If you can, you also need to try and hire a good lawyer. If you work in transport and logistics, then hiring a semi truck accident lawyer will also work in your favour. You never know when you’re going to be sued or when a situation is going to arise, so you have to be prepared as much as possible.
Credit Check
Assessing new customers before you take them on is also very important. It will help you to stop working with customers who are going to drag your company down even more and it will also help you to get a good idea of their financial position too.
Set a Realistic Credit Limit
Setting a credit limit that is reasonable will help you to minimise any losses that you may end up accruing through bad debt. Credit limits can easily be increased when you see that your customer is reliable and that they are able to pay on time.
State your Terms
Clearly state any terms and conditions that you may have when you have an invoice that is due. If you can do this, then you will soon find that you are able to establish boundaries when the conditions are broken. It will also help you to be clear on what you expect from your customers in exchange for your services.
