Claim your due, for your financial and psychological well-being

The period of forced confinement, which is gradually coming to an end, has allowed many of us to highlight certain harmful effects on our private life of our professional life. Late payments are unfortunately part of this since they negatively impact the well-being of self-employed persons and managers. Here are several reasons, if any, to claim payment of your bills.

For financial reasons...

Freelancers and companies constantly need cash. In this period of economic recovery, their needs are increased and no one can afford to leave money behind.

Before providing a service or delivering a product, the entrepreneur must generally pay significant sums. The raw material, the delivery costs, the work of the craftsman or his administrative team has a cost, which he often only invoices once the service has been rendered or the product has been delivered safely. These charges weigh heavily on the cash flow of entrepreneurs. Very often, the contractor waits for the payment of these invoices to pay for subsequent supply orders. The need for working capital, this minimum cash is essential to maintain a healthy and sustainable management of their business.

Let's not forget that the entrepreneur must also pay his suppliers' invoices on time. If he is not paid upstream, he risks finding himself unable to pay his suppliers downstream. He therefore runs the risk of losing the trust of his suppliers, of no longer obtaining the equipment necessary for his future orders on time and therefore, unfortunately, of missing out on new markets. It is therefore very important for the financial health of your company to claim payment of your invoices and to set up a structured and realistic flow in order to avoid as much as possible late payments and the infernal spiral of unpaid bills.

But also for psychological reasons.

The entrepreneur performs work, renders a service, supplies a good. He does his part of the bargain. Then it issues an invoice for the work done. If this invoice is not honored within the allotted time, there may be several reasons (temporary oversight, financial difficulties or bad will of the debtor for example). But very often the entrepreneur who is not paid feels cheated, betrayed, even expresses doubts about his own work, which has nevertheless been carried out correctly since there has been no dispute, but is not not respected. While he came on a public holiday to repair a boiler or she postponed her birthday party to satisfy a patient, while she took out a bank loan to honor this juicy new contract or took on his private life to complete the project even before the deadline and thus satisfy his new client, he/she is not even thanked by the timely payment of their invoices.

Don't we say All work deserves pay? Entrepreneurs deserve respect for the work they do.

But the psychological impact of a non-payment does not only apply to the supplier. The customer who does not pay sets a precedent. Very often even today, customers are acquired via word of mouth, virtually or not. Customers know each other, talk to each other. Via social networks, information circulates even faster. A supplier who does not always claim payment of his invoices is known very quickly and spreads like wildfire. Failing to claim an invoice can have a snowball effect with an increasing number of unpaid invoices from year to year.

For the financial health of your business as well as for your psychological well-being, do not let unpaid debts accumulate. React directly by sending your reminders regularly, by setting up a simple and efficient litigation flow and, if necessary, do not hesitate to call on a debt collection company.