75% of SMEs in the UK are fearful of the long-term effects of the UK’s cost of living crisis.

This comes off the back of Barclays SME Barometer, a survey of business sentiment released each quarter.

Inflation and spiralling costs for raw materials, goods, machinery and energy have dominated headlines this year and even with interest rates soaring to their highest levels in 13 years we’re yet to find a solution.

Almost half of UK SMEs say they were pessimistic about the shape of the economy and 40% say that the current business environment is unstable. This should come as no surprise since we recently saw the number companies in critical financial stress spike 19% this year. CCJs, the clearest sign of an influx of company insolvencies, reached their highest number in a single month for five years earlier this year.

The Federation of Small Business (FSB) recently warned that almost 500,000 UK small businesses are at risk of going bust in just a matter of weeks.

More than a quarter of businesses worry that increasing their prices in line with inflation will make them less competitive, having a detrimental effect on sales, revenue and cashflow.

So, what alternatives do businesses have to boost their cashflow to cope with surging costs without increasing prices for their customers?

What you can do to mitigate the impact on your cashflow

There are options available to you to unlock cash trapped in your sales ledger.

Credit control is a fundamental part of doing business, however it is often overlooked until a business finds themselves in financial difficulty, often because of invoices being paid late.

Over half of all bankruptcies are attributed to poor credit management so it pays to be vigilant and on the ball when it comes to credit control.

If you have overdue unpaid invoices it is critical that you get in contact with your customer. We’d recommend also sending payment reminders just as your invoices are due to bring your invoice back to the front of your customer’s mind and prevent it from being missed.

We have put together a complete guide to sending payment reminders and chasing late payment.

Outsourced Credit Control

Darcey Quigley & Co offer a bespoke credit control management service allowing you to spend more time focussing on other areas of your business.

Our expert team of credit control consultants are on hand to take care of your sales ledger and communicate with your customers to ensure your invoices are paid quickly.

Think of us as an extension of your current credit control function with seamless integration with your existing credit control department and processes.

Darcey Quigley & Co will provide a personalised business to business credit control programme for you including:

• Customer invoicing
• Telephone, email and post reminders
• Scheduling statements and chasing all outstanding payments and invoices.

Collecting unpaid commercial invoices

If you have overdue invoices that show no sign of being paid quickly you are seriously at risk of losing out on what you are owed.

We have seen insolvencies jump to record highs already this year, placing tremendous strain on the credit cycle. Even if you are not at risk of going out of business, your customers might be. And that means they will default on what they owe you and you lose out.

We have collected billions of pounds worth of commercial invoices from around the world for global clients.

Our commercial debt recovery specialists are always on hand to recover your unpaid invoices quickly, efficiently and stress-free.

We have a 93% success rate recovering overdue invoices and we can also recover late payment interest and compensation you are entitled to.  

Get a free quote and find out how much interest and compensation you can claim

The Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act means you are entitled to claim interest, compensation and even debt recovery costs on your overdue invoices.

Here at Darcey Quigley & Co we always strive to recover your invoices as well as interest, compensation and the debt recovery costs you are entitled to claim, so you can effectively get your overdue invoices recovered for free!

Our free online calculator tells you exactly how much late payment interest and compensation you are entitled to! And it takes just seconds.

Find out how much you’re eligible to claim here