Credit control and collections
A new UK subsidiary is usually funded by its parent until customers start paying. How quickly they pay is the single biggest lever on how much funding the parent has to send, which is no one's job by default.
Getting UK invoices paid: purchase order to escalation
A UK subsidiary's cash problem is usually a collection problem. An invoice issued without a purchase order number enters no system at the customer, and surfaces at ninety days.
What you get
- Invoices raised promptly and correctly
- Chase sequence from before the due date
- Calls made during UK business hours
- Disputes identified early and escalated
- Weekly aged debt report
- Escalation route agreed before it is needed
What we do
Invoices out correctly
With the purchase order number, the right entity and the right VAT treatment, because most delays start here rather than with the customer.
A chase before the due date
A short confirmation that the invoice is received and scheduled, which catches the missing-purchase-order problem while there is still time.
Calls in UK hours
By someone in the UK. A finance team eight hours away calling a UK accounts department never reaches anyone.
Disputes surfaced early
A customer withholding payment over a service issue is a commercial problem and should reach your manager in week one, not month three.
A weekly aged debt report
So the parent can see the position rather than ask for it, with what has been promised and by whom.
An honest handover point
We tell you when a debt has stopped moving and needs a solicitor. Continuing to call past that point is just delay.
Most UK subsidiaries do not have a cash problem. They have a collection problem that looks like a cash problem. The invoice went out late, no one chased it, the customer's purchase order number was missing so it never entered their system, and by the time anyone notices it is ninety days old and the person who signed the contract has left.
What causes late payment
- The invoice was wrong or incomplete. Large UK customers will not pay an invoice without a valid purchase order number, and they will not tell you. It sits in a queue silently.
- It went to the wrong place. Accounts payable at a UK enterprise is a portal, not the person who bought from you.
- No one chased before the due date. By the time an invoice is overdue it is already in a queue behind everyone who did chase.
- The timezone. A finance team eight hours away calling a UK accounts department outside its working hours never reaches anyone.
What we run
- Invoices out promptly and correctly, with the purchase order number, the right entity, the right VAT treatment and the right address, because most delays start here.
- A chase sequence that starts before the due date. A short confirmation that the invoice has been received and is scheduled catches the missing-purchase-order problem while there is still time.
- Escalating contact after it. Email, then a call during UK business hours from someone in the UK, then a statement, then escalation to whoever you have agreed.
- Disputes surfaced early. A customer withholding payment over a service issue is a commercial problem, not a finance one, and it should reach the UK manager in week one rather than month three.
- A weekly aged debt report so the parent can see the position rather than ask for it, with what has been promised and by whom.
Where we hand over
We chase, we escalate and we tell you when a debt has stopped moving. We do not take legal action, and we will say clearly when a debt has reached the point where a letter before action is the next step rather than another call. At that point it goes to a solicitor or a recovery firm, and continuing to chase is just delay.
Late payment interest
UK law gives a business a statutory right to interest and a fixed sum in compensation on a commercial debt paid late, unless the contract provides a substantial alternative remedy. Most suppliers never invoke it. Knowing it exists changes the tone of a conversation with a customer who is choosing to pay last.
What we need from you
- Access to raise invoices from your sales records
- Your payment terms, and whether they are in the contracts
- Who at your end can authorise a credit note or a payment plan
- The point at which you want a debt escalated
Common questions
Will chasing damage the customer relationship?
Chasing badly does. A confirmation before the due date and a polite call afterwards is what UK accounts departments expect, and the suppliers who do it get paid first.
Do you take legal action?
No. We chase, escalate and tell you when a debt has stopped moving and needs a solicitor or a recovery firm. Continuing to call past that point achieves nothing.
Can we claim interest on late payments?
Statutory interest and a fixed compensation sum apply to commercial debts unless the contract says otherwise. Most suppliers never claim it, and mentioning it moves some payers up the queue.
Who makes the calls?
Someone in the UK, during UK business hours. That sounds obvious and it is the reason collection improves when it moves from a head office eight hours away.
Related services
Bookkeeping and annual accounts
QuotedUK bookkeeping and statutory accounts
Xero set up in the parent's currency and account codes, bank feeds, monthly close, and year-end accounts under FRS 102, FRS 101 or IFRS filed at Companies House and with the tax return.
Management accounts and group reporting
QuotedA monthly pack in the group's format, on the group's close calendar
Monthly close, the reporting pack in the group's template, budget against actual, intercompany agreed, and the year-end schedules for the group auditors.
Expense management for a UK operation
QuotedA UK expense policy, the system behind it and the VAT it recovers
A UK expenses policy that matches HMRC's rules, an app your people will use, approvals that route to the right person, and the VAT recovered on everything eligible.
Get a fixed quote
Tell us where the parent company is and what the UK operation has to do.
