Pay Up! Stay Up!

"...We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give..."

Winston Churchill

Cash is King, Queen and pretty much the ruler over all businesses and so getting paid by clients is one of our biggest business challenges. I recently held a theoretical debate with some small business owners that tried to imagine a time when every single business paid its invoices on time. What impact would that place upon the creditors, debtors and balance sheets? More importantly, what impact would it have on the looming recession?

Whatever the impact, all of us were agreed that if our clients paid up then we would stay up and trading. Of course we debated many horror stories including one large council who had still not paid a supplier after twelve months. No dispute over the work or the invoice just sheer incompetence, bureaucracy and now a visit to the small claims court.

So credit when it is due. The Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) announced last week that they aim to pay all invoices within 10 days. Whilst this is a small step, it is also a magnificent one and leading the way and they are to be commended. Now all that has to happen is for everyone to follow – easy!!!