The article, Business pay up more quickly, said the analysis showed a fall in the payment terms for Australian businesses in the third quarter or 2009. This means companies are paying their bills sooner than they were previously.
Surely businesses have learned lessons from the global financial crisis and taken a more serious look at their engagements with their customers. Even if they were not directly touched by the financial meltdown, businesses had good cause to look at their debtors and assess their risk and exposure in the event their customers failed to pay what was owed.
As a lawyer helping Australian businesses in the ‘sharp end’ of credit control, we at Streeterlaw Sydney lawyers have observed some changes.
- ensuring that there is clear documentation that evidences payment terms
- tighter internal protocols that require orders be completed in writing by an authorized officer of the customer
- A clear and common understanding of the terms of trade facilitates a more prosperous relationship for both customers and suppliers.
Uncertainty or misunderstanding can lead to dissatisfaction, objections and queries of accounts and consequential delays in payment.
