Deferred payment date – what does it actually mean?
Deferred payment sales are, in effect, the granting of trade credit to a counterparty. What does it consist of? From the buyer’s perspective, the process is as follows:
- First, the buyer places an order.
- In the process, he requests deferred payment and sets a deadline (usually 30 days).
- The seller sends the ordered goods.
- The buyer pays on time.
The seller’s point of view is slightly different from that of the contractor. The granting of trade credit involves taking on the risk of a situation in which the buyer decides not to pay. In theory, it works similarly to a bank – the lender always takes a bit of a risk when deciding to lend money. In the case of a bank, however, we are talking about a large institution that not only has the means and capacity to collect debts, but is also able to properly vet the borrower and thus minimize the risk of granting a loan that will not be repaid. Few small or even medium-sized companies can afford to hire an analyst to make an initial assessment of the financial situation.
How do you protect yourself from business customer insolvency?
Ideally, entrepreneurs offering deferred payment service to business customers would verify the financial situation of the counterparty every time. In many cases, however, this is difficult or even impossible. So what can you do in a situation where you want to offer deferred payment, but are worried about payment problems from contractors?
Take advantage of deferred payment methods provided by proven companies. If your store’s customers include entrepreneurs, you can use PragmaGO’s ready-made solutions – payments for e-business. This way you leave the handling of deferred payments to us, as well as the risk of customer insolvency. We do not use recourse in deferred payments.
What’s more, every contractor who uses PragmaGO deferred payments for your store will be vetted by us, further reducing the risk of problems further down the line.
Deferred payments and B2C business
If you don’t have business customers, but still want to offer deferred payment to contractors, you need to know how to minimize the risk of payment bottlenecks.
First: documents
Remember that although the invoice is proof of payment, it does not determine whether the service was provided and the goods delivered. That is why it is necessary to establish very carefully the terms of the transactions concluded with customers. Make sure you have all the documents proving that, for your part, you have made every effort to deliver the goods or perform the service on time and in accordance with the contract. It will also be a good idea to have copies of all evidence, preferably also in electronic form.
Second: insurance
If you have doubts about your client’s financial health, make sure you have additional protection in the form of insurance.
Third: the wicket for assignment
If you enter into contracts with your counterparties, leave yourself the option of assigning receivables, which will be helpful if you want to use a factoring service. The ban on assignment will severely limit the ability to finance receivables. If the ban is not there, you can sell the issued invoice at any time, and thus immediately receive the funds resulting from the sales document – you do not have to wait until the customer decides to pay!
What’s more, the factor can assume the risk of insolvency or, if necessary, take care of debt collection.
What to do when a payment jam has already occurred?
You may be reading this article at a time when you are already struggling with the effects of payment congestion. There is still a lot that can be done in such a situation! If your store has granted trade credit (deferred payment) and the counterparty is late with payment, you can use other PragmaGO services. Keep in mind, however, that the following options are only available for transactions with business customers:
- Single invoice financing – sell us the invoices you issue to your customers! Remember, however, that you can sell in this way only invoices not covered by the prohibition on assignment and those whose due date passes in no less than 7 days from the date of notification.
- Online factoring – choose financing in an annual package – if you regularly invoice your regular customers, but often need access to cash, this is the option for you. With online factoring, you get access to the Customer Zone and a factoring limit – you can spend the allotted amount on invoice financing at any time!
- Purchase financing – we will finance your any business expense. When using PragmaGO purchase financing, all you need to do is send us the invoice you received from the seller. You can spread the payment into convenient installments.
