We are in uncertain times, every business dollar has to count the loss of any cash out the back door by any unpaid accounts and can hurt cash flow.

The provision of credit remains the foundation of the `Money Go Round’ for New Zealand businesses, enabling one entity to do business with another while providing goods and services on a basis of trust, but those goods and services must still be paid for within an agreed time frame if the business is to survive, and avoid using any form of Debt Collection

In a perfect world it’s a great arrangement – that is, until the unscrupulous take advantage and break the rules forcing the business to protect its income by minimising its exposure. To protect itself, a business must actively take steps to mitigate loss or potential future losses caused by customers who do not pay on time, or in some instances not at all.

Indeed, It never ceases to amaze me how overlooked the importance of the Credit Application is and how businesses are all too often prepared to spend more on other documentation instead. The businesses are often left open to exploitation due to lack of terms in the document, or when there is no formal document at all.

To have an effective and profitable business long term they must be able to have an effective for of debt control to avoid using the services of a Debt Collection Agency, which is something that should be considered if clients are not paying on time.

Debtforce is a Collection Agency (Debt Collection NZ) based in New Zealand

There are a number of professional debtors who are experts at exploiting the weaknesses of a company’s credit agreements and its credit approval processes which often allow the debtor to walk away from overdue accounts. In such cases, the law does not view it in the same light as shop theft, for instance, though in my point of view, it is very similar.