It’s unmistakable that we live in a digital age. So many of our processes are now automated and streamlined through innovative technology. Accounting marketing, communication, databases and more are all digitalised now. However, many small businesses are still running processes in the old school way.
A Small Business Insights Report by XERO found that two-thirds of SMEs were not yet connected to high-speed broadband and 30 percent of businesses still lodge their BAS statements in paper form, while 14 percent of small businesses use no IT in their accounting functions. Many small businesses are not participating in digital transformation for many reasons such as lack of awareness, lack of time, lack of funds and fear of change. However, while the old way may still work well for some, others will be left behind.
There are two areas that businesses should really think critically about and those are account receivables and credit management. In the world of small business, cash is king and you should be investing in software that will assist in staying on top of cash flow. Inadequate cash flow is one of the main causes of business failure in Australia.
Late payments, or lack thereof, can really hurt small businesses so it’s essential that they have strong credit management in place. However, lack of time and funds make it difficult to perform due diligence as often as businesses need to. This is where an innovative platform like CreditorWatch comes in.
CreditorWatch enables you to perform a credit check on any entity in Australia. Using an easy to navigate dashboard, you’ll find widgets that highlight risk indicators such as payment defaults, court actions, mercantile inquiries, administration appointments and insolvency notices. A credit score will provide an instant assessment of an entity’s creditworthiness without you having to perform a thorough analysis.
Furthermore, the dashboard allows you to view historical trends, if they’ve had payment defaults lodged against them and more. You also have the option of integrating your Xero or MYOB accounts with CreditorWatch as well, making it even easier to keep track of your database.
The best feature for a busy business owner is the Monitoring and Alerts feature. You can choose to monitor all of your customers, regardless of whether you have one or thousands. CreditorWatch will monitor them 24/7 and send alerts when an adverse change occurs. This allows you time to focus on growing your business and to take action when you need to. Having a plan in place for when you are alerted to adverse changes is important.
Finally, CreditorWatch assists with your debt collection by providing letter templates with the CreditorWatch logo. CreditorWatch customers found that by using the CreditorWatch branded templates, there was a 53% increase in payment and the time to receive a payment was reduced by 7 days.
CreditorWatch helps you to save time and costs in managing debtors. If you aren’t convinced about joining the digital bandwagon for credit management, then why not give it a try for free! Sign up to the 15-day free trial here.
