Beefing up credit control

It must be a priority that all businesses ensure that their customers are settling invoices on time.



With slim operating margins the norm, very few companies can afford the spectre of significant bad debts.



The following are some procedures which companies can employ to increase the efficiency of credit control.



Set credit limits for each customer and review these regularly.



Be concise in trading terms for example it is better to specify 30 days from date of invoice rather than 30 days from end of month.



Issue monthly statements detailing invoices paid and those outstanding.



Score your customers and set a collection policy accordingly.



Do not let overdue payments go unchallenged.



Evaluate aged debtors on a weekly basis.



Prioritise collections and press for settlement of the highest values first.



Have a plan of action if payment is not forthcoming within a set date.

Evaluate the efficiency of the Credit Control function, the best measure is Days Sales Outstanding (D.S.O).

DSO is important because the speed at which a company collects cash is important to its efficiency and overall profitability. The faster a company collects cash, the faster it can reinvest that cash to make more sales.

 

A relatively low DSO indicates that a company collects its receivables quickly, and a high DSO indicates the opposite.

 

Here is an example:

Total receivables - £4,600,000

Total Credit Sales - £9,000,000

Number of days in period 90

(4,600,000/ 9,000,000) x 90 = 46 days

 

In this example it takes 46 days (on the average) to collect the receivables.

The industry standard is for DSO to be no more than 10-15 days longer than the company’s standard terms of sale. So, if the standard terms are net 30 then the target for DSO is approx. 45 days or less.

Before the alarm bells ring

 

Complacency has resulted in the demise of many companies who were supposedly being well managed. However there are usually some tell-tale indicators that a crisis is looming.

 

The following is a basic check list which should help to determine whether the problems are of a temporary nature or have more serious implications for the future of the company:



The most important element in any business is maintaining a healthy cash flow. It is imperative that a strict control is maintained on all outstanding invoiced amounts.



The value of an efficient credit control system cannot be over emphasised.

 

Do not focus on generating sales with little margin in the belief that over time things will improve. Being the “cheapest supplier” will not provide an automatic route to more satisfactory profits in the long term. It is often better to keep your powder dry.



If you are constantly in danger of breaching your credit arrangements with the banks or suppliers this is a clear indication that the company is not trading satisfactorily.



As conditions deteriorate more and more time is spent focussing on the problems and not enough on to how to position the business for the future.

Particularly for owners of SME’s it is not easy to take the necessary remedial actions and very often this is where an outsider can be of assistance in repositioning the business before it is too late.

 

Sound management principles

 

In order to achieve success all organisations must have effective leadership. It is the responsibility of management to lay down a set of ideas and objectives that are articulated, understood and supported by the workforce .Good people do not like working for organisations whose values are muddled.

 

Managers have to take difficult and unpleasant decisions. These often need to be made swiftly balanced against conflicting demands. It is not always possible to access cast-iron evidence to support the decision making process. This is one of the tests of strong management.

 

A clear and defined vision are essential requirements. Managing a large company, and dealing swiftly with a variety of challenges and issues is a complex task.

 

The desire to succeed which provides the drive and focus on excellence is one of the hallmarks of a good manager.

 

The workforce is the company’s most precious asset. Accordingly the ability to judge people and value their contribution is an essential prerequisite for any manager.

 

To build a talented team requires working with people who may be better at their job than you are at yours, and to guide and motivate them. People learn far more about the art of leadership from a good mentor than from any course or training exercise.

 

The ability to respond quickly will prove invaluable when things go wrong. Surviving a reverse and changing direction is the utmost test of resilience and flexibility.

Asleep at the wheel

 

Recent events have underscored how vital it is that senior management set clear defined operational and reporting procedures.

 

In many companies the Directors simply do not have the understanding of the mechanics or the day to day activities of the business which they purport to run.

 

HSBC executives have been accused by MPs of incompetence for saying they were unaware of tax evasion activities in their Swiss private bank. Chris Meares, the ex-head of HSBC's private banking division, said he didn't know what staff "were up to".

 

This is not a new phenomenon for example I have worked in trading environments where totally unrealistic profit targets have been passed from Board level to trading departments. No cognisance having been given to the disproportionate risks which need to be taken to achieve these targets.

 

Some of the most spectacular financial disasters have followed a period of ostensibly highly successful trading. In their desire to recognise these “profits” no thought were given as to how they were being made. In such times it would be well to take note of the old adage that is something looks to be too good it usually is! It is a truism that recessions catch what the auditors miss

 

Morale is the lynchpin of efficiency

 

There is no doubt that there is an increasing sense of demoralisation amongst many sectors of the work force.

The causes for this are readily identifiable, many people are struggling with their own domestic finances whilst at the same time the need for increased levels of performance and efficiencies at work have rarely been as intense.

It is the responsibility of management to ensure that during these times staff members are encouraged to give of their best.

Unfortunately too many managers are remote from the day to day activities of their staff and appear to have the attitude that the people who report to them are lucky to have a job.

This mentality is counterproductive. All employees need motivating and incentives do not necessarily have to come solely in the form of financial rewards.

 

A Harvard study in 2012 found that companies that cut down on workforce costs actually become less profitable.

Some of the best run and therefore by definition most successful commercial entities are those where the workforce is engaged and feels part and parcel of the organisation rather than merely there to make up the numbers.

 

Maximise cash utilisation with efficient stock turnover

 

Stock turnover ratio equals cost of goods sold during a specific time frame, divided by the average stock holding during the period.

 

The result of this ratio gives the "number of days that on average money is tied up in stocks". The longer this is, obviously the worse this is for the business as the money is not available to be used elsewhere.

 

An stock turnover ratio of 20 means that the average amount of stock holding during the year has been renewed, or turned over, 20 times over the course of the year.

 

Dividing the number of days in the period under consideration by the turnover ratio tells you how many days it takes, on average, for the warehouse to empty and then be refilled. The number of days in a year, 365, divided by 20 is 18.25.

So the entire stock is fully sold and replenished every 18.5 days, on average.

 

As a general rule, the higher the stock turnover ratio, the more efficient and profitable the firm. A high ratio means that the firm is holding a low level of average inventory in relation to sales.

 

Carrying stock ties up money. This money is either borrowed and carries an interest charge, or represents funds that could otherwise be better used in servicing other elements of the business.

 

There are additional costs in holding stocks such as storage and the risk of getting spoiled, breaking, being stolen, or simply going out of style.

 

Wherever possible companies need to reduce stock holdings and there are various means by which to achieve this aim:

 

Liquidate slow-moving or obsolete stocks.

 

Introduce more efficient production techniques to reduce stock holdings.

 

Rationalise the product range weeding out the under performers and thereby reduce stock carried.

 

Negotiate sale or return with suppliers in order to avoid being stuck with unwanted product.

 

All that glitters

 

The electrical appliance retailler AO has just completed its first year as a listed company. At the time of its stock market debut the company was worth £1.2 billion.

 

A year later underlying earnings of £16.5 million compared to predictions of £18.6 to £21 million saw the share price fall to 192 pence half the value of the float euphoria.

 

It is obvious that any company about to float must by definition be bullish about its prospects. There is a growing trend of companies coming to the market whose history suggests that there is no basis for concluding that they will ever make money.

 

That’s the stock in trade for a company about to float whilst losing money. If it were making a profit before its IPO, it would be harder to make bullish forecasts about how much profit the company will generate in the future.

 

Ironically for a company losing money, the sky’s the limit when it comes to predicting how bright its future revenues will be.

 

In tandem with the ability to forecast a spectacularly profitable future is the functioning of one of the market’s most basic laws: momentum. In other words powered by its own performance a stock that is gaining value up will continue to appreciate in value just because it is going up.

 

More specifically, when there is no real positive cash flows on which to value a stock, its price will rise because investors who do not own the shares will want to climb aboard the bandwagon rather than miss out.

 

This wave of “new buying” can help to drive up the shares further, which will attract a new investment creating a dangerous bubble.

 

It would probably be a more prudent strategy to avoid the money-losing IPOs and invest in companies who are making a profit before they try and float their shares. 

 

However forecasting the price of stocks remains an inexact science and unfortunately for the investor there is as yet no failsafe basis on which to explain why stocks go up and down.