Bad debt – where customers fail to pay for goods and services rendered – appears to be problematic for over a quarter of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, with 27 per cent having to write off money in the last 12 months.
This is according to new research from Bibby Financial Services, revealing that over 1.4 million companies have had such problems in the last year, with the average amount written off by companies because of unpaid invoices coming to £11,829.
The sectors most affected by this are transport and construction. Construction companies actually wrote off nearly £15,000 on average in the past 12 months, the study found.
Following the UK’s vote to leave the EU there is clearly some anxiety amongst SMEs and throughout the wider economy. But now is the time for businesses to take growth and stability into their own hands and this must start by taking a more planned approach to chasing payment and protecting themselves against the effects of bad debt,” David Postings, global chief executive for Bibby, said.
The key to keeping on top of bad debt is good organisation and to that end, enterprise service desk software could really prove incredibly beneficial. Such platforms will enable businesses to keep tight control over their costs, while making sure that customer services are managed efficiently and effectively, no matter how many channels of communication there are in use for customer interaction.
To find out more about this kind of program, get in touch with us here at Simplisys today.
