Course description

Every unpaid invoice is money your business has earned but can't use. This course shows you how to get paid on time, and what to do when customers pay late, the UK way: with clear terms agreed up front, sensible checks, invoices that are easy to pay, and a calm, firm routine for chasing.

You'll set payment terms, check new customers and set credit limits, build a weekly collections routine around an aged debtor report, and chase by email, letter and phone with ready-made wording. You'll learn how to handle disputes and payment plans, what the late payment law lets you claim from business customers, and the steps open to you when a customer still won't pay, from a letter before action to writing off a bad debt.

There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons, each with a worked example and a short task to try on your own invoices. You follow Inderjit, who runs a sign making company in Tamworth, and Emrick, her new accounts assistant, as they turn a pile of overdue invoices into a routine that works. Every section has a practice pack with a worksheet, example answers and a cheat sheet, plus chasing emails and letters, call scripts, an aged debtor report and template, a payment plan tracker, a late payment calculator and a letter before action template.

What you'll learn

• What credit control is: the whole cycle from agreeing terms to collecting the money, what late payment really costs, who should do it, and a health check for your business.
• Payment terms customers agree to: choosing terms, terms and conditions in plain words, getting them accepted in writing, deposits, stage payments and changing terms fairly.
• Checking new customers: the four questions to ask, Companies House and other public checks, credit reports and references in general terms, credit limits and an account form.
• Invoices that get paid: what every invoice needs, purchase orders and supplier portals, sending to the right person at the right time, safe bank details, e-invoicing basics and statements.
• A collections routine: a chasing timetable, a weekly calendar, aged debtor reports, debtor days and using accounting software reminders without losing the personal touch.
• Chasing by email, letter and phone: a five-step tone ladder, emails that get answers, firm letters and final notices, call scripts, promises to pay, common excuses and good call records.
• Disputes and payment plans: telling a query from a dispute, resolving it fairly with credit notes, payment plans in writing, broken promises and keeping good relationships.
• UK late payment rights: the late payment law for business debts, the late payment charge and fixed sums with worked examples, when to claim, payment practices reports, consumer debts and data protection.
• When a customer still doesn't pay: letters before action, small claims in England and Wales with Scotland and Northern Ireland signposted, statutory demands and agencies in general terms, insolvency, bad debts and VAT bad debt relief.
• Final project: a credit control policy and a 30-day collections plan for a cleaning company case study, or your own business, with model answers.

Who it's for

Business owners, office managers and accounts assistants in UK small businesses that sell on credit, whether to other businesses, the public sector or consumers. No accounting background is needed. You'll need a spreadsheet app, or you can use the practice figures throughout.

What this course is, and isn't

This course gives general information about credit control and the UK rules on late payment. It isn't legal, financial or tax advice for your business, and it doesn't recommend any software, credit reference agencies, debt collection agencies or other providers. Rules, rates and fees change, so check GOV.UK and talk to a solicitor, accountant or other qualified adviser before you act. The businesses and people in the course are fictional.

What will I learn?

• Explain what credit control covers, from agreeing terms to collecting the money, and what late payment costs a small business
• Set clear payment terms, deposits and stage payments, and get them agreed in writing before the work starts
• Check new customers using Companies House and other public records, references and credit reports, and set sensible credit limits
• Send complete, correct invoices to the person who pays, in time for their payment run, with safe bank details
• Run a weekly collections routine from an aged debtor report, and measure progress with debtor days
• Chase overdue invoices by email, letter and phone using a tone ladder, and turn vague answers into firm promises to pay
• Handle queries and disputes fairly, and put payment plans in writing
• Work out the late payment charge and fixed sum on business debts, and decide when claiming them makes sense
• Know the next steps when a customer won’t pay: letters before action, small claims, insolvency, bad debts and VAT bad debt relief
• Write a credit control policy and a 30-day collections plan for a small business

Frequently asked questions