Posted on Friday, 3rd September 2010 by Vanessa Miller
Late payment is the scourge of many small businesses, a hindrance that can put paid to efficient cash flow and pressurise relationships with suppliers. With talk of a double dip recession still being bandied around, the last thing you want to be worrying about is the possibility of that troublesome invoice being delayed any longer.
Worryingly, research suggests that the fear of losing business is stopping many SMEs from chasing bad debt, with 74 per cent of small businesses stating that they are likely to accept late payment excuses. If firms knew about the alternative to rolling over, and I imagine many don’t, they might be offered some assurance. Compensation can be claimed for any invoice that is not paid within the credit period, amounting to £40 for debts of under £1,000, £70 for debts between £1,000 and £10,000, and £100 if the amount owed is £10,000 or more.
If these numbers sound paltry to you, you can claim more in the form of late payment interest, which is 8 per cent above the Bank of England base rate. Technica
Retirement planning is largely centered around, or even predicated on, interest rates. Unfortunately for many retirees (and would-be retirees), as the stock market has been volatile to say the least (e.g. “flash crashes” followed by near-historic gains), there has been just one constant – low interest rates. In fact, interest rates are so low that bond yields have dropped below 1950-levels (less than 2.6%), leaving many retirees and would-be retirees wondering how the difference can be made up.