Winning new customers, whether consumers or business clients, is exhilarating for any small business, providing them with the revenue and confidence necessary for growth. But as any fresh entrepreneur soon finds out, getting new business is one thing, and getting paid is something else entirely. Many the small business has gone belly-up because of disrupted cash flows from slow-paying (or no-paying) customers and clients. It’s the stuff of true business nightmares.

The statistics, as you’d expect, are sobering. Around half of all small businesses in the UK are forced to close within their first five years, because they just cannot get the money they’re owed. Figures from the Office for National Statistics suggest the start-up picture is even worse, with only 45 per cent of new businesses making it past the five-year mark. It’s almost as if the average small firm is setting itself up for failure.

Then there’s the whole issue of credit control and debt collection: assigning precious (and costly) staff hours to these essential tasks to try and keep the cash flow healthy so you can stay in business. Sometimes, just trying to get paid for work or services long since provided can be a real headache, deflecting time and resources that would otherwise be put into running the company and driving it forward. It takes the joy out of being in business for yourself.

The beauty of debt management software

Thank goodness for technology and automation; the saviours of many a small business teetering on the edge. Now, using direct debit collection software ensures you get paid, regularly and on time, giving your cash flow an enormous boost and letting you focus your attention on other critical areas of the company. It’s especially important for firms that are building up large numbers of clients or customers and struggling to deal with the mountains of paperwork and other administrative issues that arise as a result.

So for businesses struggling with financial issues – which, unfortunately, is a great deal of them out there today – the key advantage of setting up direct debits to handle payments is surety. Business owners know when they are getting paid and they generally get the sums on the same day as they’re debited from customers’ accounts. Even in this tough business climate, there’s no waiting around.

Plus, unlike standing orders, they amount can be varied depending on a particular period’s bill. For the business and the customer, there’s peace of mind in knowing it’s all backed up by highly secure transactions processes and protections — and it’s easy to see what’s being debited and credited and by how much.

Getting ahead with direct debit collection software

Essentially, direct debit collection software allows companies to work much faster and far more accurately when dealing with large volumes of direct debits. Among the main features of great direct debit collection software is the ability to carry out customer and data checks before going ahead with setting up direct debits. In addition, companies using debt management software also benefit from a complete accounting module as well as bank statement reconciliation, further reducing the administrative workload.

This powerful business software is also highly customisable to needs of any company. There’s generally no need to worry about staff or other kinds of training, as it’s straightforward and easy to use. Now, managing clients, tracking their activity and processing transactions and accounting can all be done in one place, along with the all-important collection of direct debits.

As with direct debit collection software, debt management software is invaluable in situations where there are a lot of clients owing money. It’s an essential debt management tool that enables firms to view the status of clients’ debts at a glance, as well as tracking finances and generating optimal solutions to client debt.

If you knew that, based on data from a few years ago, many hundreds of thousands of small businesses around the UK are collectively owed billions of pounds in late payments, you wouldn’t hesitate to use debt management software. Getting your payments in and on time will help to ensure that any new business remains healthy and trading in those crucial first five years.

It all adds up to true small business sense, and success.