Cash flow problems most commonly originate from customers not paying their bills within your stated terms of trade. If you would like to increase your cash flow and have a better relationship with your customers then your business needs correctly written, legally binding and enforceable Terms of Trade.

In our office we have the “Smiling Lawyer” test on all documents. Basically, we look at all our customer’s documents as if we were the lawyer defending a claim. Now that lawyer will either have a concerned look or be smiling. If he thinks he can’t win he will frown, if the paperwork has legal weakness he will start smiling.

Check your paperwork and if you are not sure, get an expert opinion. If your business is in Perth, Welshpool, Kewdale, Gosnell, Victoria Park then give me a call on 0468 347 680.

Good credit management starts from a protect and collect strategy. Protect your business with the right documentation, that is properly implemented, and you will be able to collect debt.

In January 2018 we first met with Paul Figueroa and Dale Rhall from Ec Credit Control, we discussed Terms of Trade, Domestic Building Contracts, Debt Collection and most importantly the PPSR (Personal Property Security Register). We did not know about the PPSR or the ramifications of not having it in place for our company. After a short discussion, we decided that we had to implement this service immediately to ensure we were not vulnerable to loss.

It was great to have the HELP & SUPPORT from the Managers at Ec Credit Control. If you are a CREDIT PROVIDER would highly recommend a free consultation with one of the Area Managers at Ec Credit Control. As a business owne,r I have found their expertise invaluable and believe my company is much more secure now than before hand.

Matt Marcello

Director Impact Plumbing Service

Airmaster Australia from the Knox City Council area has been a client with Ec Credit Control since 2012. In this time they have implemented a credit management system to ensure the company is protected when extending credit. Utilising Terms Of Trade, Debt collection, Credit reporting and Personal Property Security Registrations (PPSR) to ensure cash flow is stable.

Over the past 6 years having Ec Credit Control services in place has helped protect Airmaster Australia.

If you are a business owner who extends credit and would like to learn more about the above services contact EC Credit Control today for a free consultation.

At a recent meeting with a Shop fitter in the Inner West of Sydney, the owner explained that a large local Sydney Inner West business that they had done work for to the value of over $800K to date, went into liquidation. The company still owed the shop fitters $140K which was bad enough in itself. But then they received a demand from the liquidators demanding that the $660K that they had been paid from the liquidated company over the previous 6 months be paid back under the Claw Back provision in the Corporations Act.  

Talk about rubbing salt into the wounds. The preferential payment provision can be invoked by the Liquidator if the insolvent company has paid a creditor within the 6 months prior to the Liquidator being appointed.  

Fortunately for the Shop fitter, the Liquidator had made a fundamental error in their documentation, so with the aid of a Solicitor the Shop fitter managed to escape the Claw Back provision. In the end the shop fitter missed out on the $140K he was still owed and had an expensive legal bill to pay – but a lot less than the $660K they were up for if not successfully defended, which would have put them out of business.  

The moral of the story is, whether you’re based in Sydney’s Inner West or elsewhere in Australia, talk to EC Credit Control about how to protect your business from a costly and painful Preferential Payment claw back scenario.

I recently met with Ray, a builder based in Newtown in Sydney’s inner west. Ray had been trading for over 20 years without any bad debts – a really good effort! Newtown like any other suburb in Sydney’s Inner West has a number of businesses in the construction industry that can fall victim at any time to a bad debt.

After 20 years Ray suddenly had been hit with two big debts at the same time. The first debtor owed him $100,000 and started to question invoices, not only recent ones, but also invoices from previous years. The second, after Ray had supplied 3 months of labour, went into liquidation owing him $80,000. This is a major hit for any small business to try and recover from and highlights the importance of protecting your cash flow with a strong set of Terms of Trade, Contracts and sound Credit Management policy to monitor your clients on 30 day payment terms. Just like insurance on your car you never know when you are going to have to rely on it.

Recently a wine wholesaler, based in the Inner West of Sydney was very happy when EC Credit collected a debt of $12,500 and their Debtor was forced to pay all of the collection costs our client incurred, as per the debtor had previously agreed to. This result was achieved because our client had proactively invested in implementing Terms of Trade documentation back in 2012.

Wherever your business is located in Sydney’s Inner Western Suburbs, EC Credit Control has the resources and knowledge to help you protect your cash flow.

I had a Creditors Report come across my desk today, which is not that unusual, but what was unusual is the number and types of businesses I saw listed as Secured Creditors, having obviously registered themselves as Credit Providers on the PPSR. (Personal Property Securities Register)

Now whilst there were 262 Unsecured Creditors totaling a massive 6.5 million in unsecured credit, against only 44 Secured Creditors, I found myself really paying attention to the names of those secured creditors and the businesses they operate. Whilst I did recognise a couple of our clients on the Secured Creditor list there were quite a number of varied and smaller businesses which you don’t normally tend to see on a Creditors Report.

Which leads me to ask the question, Are Businesses Finally Learning How to Protect their Cash Flow with the PPSA? (Personal Property Securities Act)

What most businesses, and their professional advisors for that matter fail to realise is that no matter if you provide goods or services on credit the PPSA is there to protect their cash flow.

I would encourage all businesses owners to do a little investigation and find out for themselves how they can move from the list of 262 Unsecured Creditors to the list of 44 Secured Creditors.

“It’s your Business and Your Money”

As a member of the South West Sydney Business Enterprise Centre (SWS BEC) I attended their annual Business Night as a guest of the CEO, David Waudby. The night was attended by over 500 representatives of small business from the South West Sydney Region covering areas from Liverpool, Campbelltown, Narellan and Camden. It was a great opportunity to network with business people from the region.

The keynote speaker, Jamie Durie through his own business experience as a landscaper highlighted some key aspects to his success and how those principles could be adopted by others. The other speaker, Craig Rispin identifies himself as a business ‘futurist’ and has made his success through predicting the climate for business in the future. He works with many large multi-nationals to plan strategies for the future.

There was a diverse range of businesses and industries represented giving all attendees the chance to interact with others. During the course of the dinner I had the opportunity to discuss our credit management products with considerable interest in our Terms of Trade documentation and our PPSA Registration service from a local solicitor, a tourist operator and a commercial property agent. The night highlighted the positive and successful growth of business in South West Sydney.

The South West Sydney (SWS) Business Enterprise Centre (BEC) is one of many such government groups designed to help small business in the early stages of their growth. The SWS BEC covers an area from Liverpool, Campbelltown, Narellan and out to Camden. They offer advice on all areas of business set-up and organisation. After becoming a member of the BEC I had lengthy discussions with the CEO, David Waudby about the services that EC Credit Control offer small business in credit management. So impressed was David that he received approval from the BEC board to promote our services as a vital tool for small business to implement. In promoting EC Credit Control in the May 2015 Update David says “a review of existing credit control processes, condition and documentation is a critical part of all small business that must be conducted properly. The correct process for credit provision will save you time and money and possibly your business”.

I continue to work closely with David and his other advisers to create an awareness for all small business owners who provide credit to have the appropriate Terms of Trade documentation and credit plan in place to improve and protect their cash flow.