Assessing payment behaviour risks
2. Payment behaviour
Late payment
Has your customer taken advantage of the full credit lines you granted? Has your customer, recently or repeatedly, failed to pay on due dates? Do you need to constantly remind your customer to pay? Have you found it difficult to contact your customer regarding their outstanding invoices (i.e. phone calls are not picked up, or emails are not answered)? Have your customer's accounts payable staff declined to go into details of why payments are late? Have your customer's accounts payable staff left the company? Has your customer not been able to indicate when they can pay their outstanding invoices? Has your customer asked you to extend payment terms or discuss new payment arrangements? Has your customer offered bills of exchange when their invoices become overdue? Has your customer offered cash payment for upcoming orders in exchange for you stopping dunning them for the outstanding invoices so far? Has your customer kept breaking payment promises because they have to pay other suppliers? Has your customer requested a moratorium on payment? Has your customer told you that payments are delayed until they get a new loan?
Payment problems
Have your customer's cheques been returned unpaid or bills of exchanged been dishonoured? Were there insufficient funds in your customer's account when debited? Has unwarranted rescission of direct debit authorisation occurred? Has your customer suddenly changed their bank? Has your customer started to lie about payments?
Next: 3.Procurement practices