Keep Your Cash Flowing Over Christmas

This is Money:

Christmas is still some weeks away, but it’s time for franchisees to be making sure they are not left out of pocket over the holiday season.

Payments company Bacs estimates that more than half of small businesses experience problems with late payments and are owed almost £19bn.

With many accounts departments closing between Christmas and New Year, it is vital that franchisees keep on top of their credit control.

‘From the beginning of December, you chase people for money and they say they will sort it out but never deliver,’ says franchisee Simon Edwards.

But Simon, 33, who runs a Flying Colours car repair franchise in Wrexham, North Wales, has mastered his cash flow. His franchise is part of the Dent Wizard and Wheel Wizard stable, which operates a central credit control system. Franchisees hand over invoicing, payments and credit control to a central team that ensures payment within 30 days, irrespective of whether the customer has paid by then or not. Read it all.