smcapstick
Member
- Location
- Kirkby Lonsdale
Should it be acceptable
- Thread starter Kevtherev
- Start date
- Location
- Bedfordshire
Do the right you an invoice when they leave then?
opininionated
Member
I can beat that, we used to have a customer for silaging that paid us when we arrived, back in the days when 200 acres was a sizable job and 40 acres was the order of the day.
Ted
Member
- Location
- New Zealand
For that to work here you must supply your clients with your terms of trade and effectively get them to fill out a credit application and sign it ,agreeing to any late charges and or collection costs for late payments.
Now generally, the people who you need to be charging interest for late payments are probably the people who would be the last on your list if you even got to them at all.
If someone needs to pay their account later or spread over a few months that's fine but a phone call to sort that out is appreciated.
Credit after all is a privilege not a right.
Unfortunately, as mentioned before there will always be someone ready to step in if you decide to withdraw your services until a bill is paid...
Steevo
Member
- Location
- Gloucestershire
Customer reads TFF?!
Ted
Member
- Location
- New Zealand
More often than not the legal system and debt recovery services available are generally ineffective and will cost more than the debt is worth.
Bad and dubious payers have worked this out a long time ago and it's not just the agricultural sector which suffers from slow payers as I'm sure everyone is already aware.
I think you have to have it stated in the "terms" section of original invoice, cannot be added to statement as an after thought.
Old Boar
Member
- Location
- West Wales
I copied mine from the vets invoice as I thought they had probably had it checked for legality!
Make sure the interest rate states it is compound! It is legal to charge any rate you fancy - I used 8%.
Make sure the interest rate states it is compound! It is legal to charge any rate you fancy - I used 8%.
We work on a system of a couple of pounds/acre cheaper if they pay on the day ... have also been known to agree to chop second cut and turn up when the rains coming, row it all up and then say we will chop it when he pays his bill plus the bill for this time... [emoji23]
DeeGee
Member
- Location
- North East Wales
Why would anyone ask for a contractor or mechanic or whatever to do a job if they knew they had not the money to pay?
I would never do such a thing unless I had told the 'service provider' that they might have to wait a few months for payment.
Luckily I have always been able to settle bills fairly quickly: if I were ever in a position not to do so I would tell the contractor before hand of the situation, and let them know when I might be able to pay the bill.
If those owing money have the funds available and are just using the contractor as a lending bank then they need a swift kick up the arse and be made to pay before any future work is done.
I would never do such a thing unless I had told the 'service provider' that they might have to wait a few months for payment.
Luckily I have always been able to settle bills fairly quickly: if I were ever in a position not to do so I would tell the contractor before hand of the situation, and let them know when I might be able to pay the bill.
If those owing money have the funds available and are just using the contractor as a lending bank then they need a swift kick up the arse and be made to pay before any future work is done.
Tarw Coch
Member
- Location
- Bottom of Wats Dyke
Every contractor I use seems to be very slow issuing bills, 6 months behind is about where they are.
The contractor who cuts our hedges rolls up out of the blue with a bill about February. The bank have been terrible issuing cheque books lately so this year when he came we didn't have a cheque to pay him, first time I'm aware of that anyone has brought a bill and had to leave without money. Ten minutes later the postman rolled up with a new cheque book
The contractor who cuts our hedges rolls up out of the blue with a bill about February. The bank have been terrible issuing cheque books lately so this year when he came we didn't have a cheque to pay him, first time I'm aware of that anyone has brought a bill and had to leave without money. Ten minutes later the postman rolled up with a new cheque book
- Location
- South West
That's why mobile phones are great as could have always phoned him up to return and when given the first cheque outa the new book he would fully understand.Every contractor I use seems to be very slow issuing bills, 6 months behind is about where they are.
The contractor who cuts our hedges rolls up out of the blue with a bill about February. The bank have been terrible issuing cheque books lately so this year when he came we didn't have a cheque to pay him, first time I'm aware of that anyone has brought a bill and had to leave without money. Ten minutes later the postman rolled up with a new cheque book
All these comments are fair but it's not always that simple
customers I've had for years with no problem suddenly become a slow payer, cash flow problems most probably, but years of a good working relationship you both become loyal then you find yourself in the slow payed situation because farming isn't going so well.
A new customer rings, old hedgecutter man retired or letting them down, you take the job on, slow payer, make some phone calls "he is getting slow" or "no problem there getting paid" not everybody is right.
Then you get the non payers ringing and you know this so you don't go, some of the farmers here commenting want to work for farmers full time as a living and see it isn't that easy as paying a visit or a phone call for the cash, we can send out 20 invoices a month and 10% can be late, the most unlikely can be the slow payer out of the blue, when I started 9 years ago it was no problem but every year it seems to get more common.
I had a large farming contractor unable to pay me £360 for 9 months until his spf came through, didn't stop him paying for his Range Rover every month.
customers I've had for years with no problem suddenly become a slow payer, cash flow problems most probably, but years of a good working relationship you both become loyal then you find yourself in the slow payed situation because farming isn't going so well.
A new customer rings, old hedgecutter man retired or letting them down, you take the job on, slow payer, make some phone calls "he is getting slow" or "no problem there getting paid" not everybody is right.
Then you get the non payers ringing and you know this so you don't go, some of the farmers here commenting want to work for farmers full time as a living and see it isn't that easy as paying a visit or a phone call for the cash, we can send out 20 invoices a month and 10% can be late, the most unlikely can be the slow payer out of the blue, when I started 9 years ago it was no problem but every year it seems to get more common.
I had a large farming contractor unable to pay me £360 for 9 months until his spf came through, didn't stop him paying for his Range Rover every month.
Internet banking tis good,
but only any use if my wifey is about, as I neither know nor care as to how it works
Tarw Coch
Member
- Location
- Bottom of Wats Dyke
We put a cheque in the post, he'd have got it next day, it was an awkward situation to be in but in sure most folk know when there's a genuine reason or someone's taking the pee.
I don't understand why you should feel bad when he was 9 months late? Bills are paid at the end of the month here, regardless of when the work was done. I know we get good service because I've seen it happen, our local engineers broke off an urgent job to do mine as "he doesn't pay his bills and you do".
Some contractors are terrible at getting their invoices out. Maybe so many people pay them late that they don't see the rush .
Local machinery dealership on the other hand, seem to have taken to sending the bill before you've even had the parts, closely followed by a stern reminder.
Local machinery dealership on the other hand, seem to have taken to sending the bill before you've even had the parts, closely followed by a stern reminder.
It's probably because they are too busy trying to get everyone work done in a small weather window, and deem that to be more important than getting invoices out, and as to when contractors send bills out is their business, if it's 6 months after work is done then so be it, still does not make it acceptable to think "ach well he took ages to send the bill, i'll just wait and pay next month,"
holywell farmer
Member
- Location
- holywell, north wales