Slow Paying Debtors
Careers in the veterinary field attract those of us passionate about animal welfare. You might assume that they would not have issues with slow paying debtors?
When Chris Wain Equine Veterinary Services in Queensland reviewed their cash flow, they were surprised to see how many invoices were going unpaid.
April Wain, Veterinary Nurse, said she identified two issues:
- When they were called out, the welfare of the animal was the first priority, not thinking about the likelihood of a customer not paying them
- Individually, unpaid invoices did not justify taking further action, typically they could be $300 to $600, however a number of invoices were not being paid, so it was impacting their cash flow
The Solution:
April needed a solution that would address the issue of non-payment, whilst being affordable so as not to cut into her margins. She also wanted to work with a team who were focused on results, but not at the expense of her reputation, brand or customer relationships.
April now has a membership with Kearley Lewis, whereby for $180 a year, she has access to unlimited debt collection services. She can utilise the services whenever she needs to, and only pays a commission when she gets paid.
Not only that, her terms and conditions have also been updated, so that the commission costs Kearley Lewis charges are paid by her customers when their payments are made.
Minimum of cost, margins maintained. Simple.
What does April say?
Kearley Lewis has proven to be an organisation that take pride in their interactions with clients and debtors alike. They have provided us with a personal service that takes into account the idiosyncrasies of the horse veterinary service industry. Being able to use their expertise to help us concentrate our efforts on providing the service that we pride ourselves on has been of immense benefit.
So far Kearley Lewis has been almost 100% successful in retrieving outstanding amounts, some as old as 12 months.