Advice on how to get bills paid

An engineering organisation has come up with ways of helping smaller companies cut delays in their bills being settled.

The Engineering Employers' Federation Yorkshire and Humberside is offering firms ways to cut the time it takes for bigger companies to pay up.

This follows the revelation that three out of four British businesses are now losing money because of delays in their bills being settled. Late settlements are now costing firms an estimated £2 billion a year.

Association director Ian Hughes said: "The position can be particularly critical for small and medium sized businesses, where the very survival of the company often depends on cash flow control and sound management of debts."

To help member companies, the Association has now set up quarterly debt recovery workshops which are designed to give firms a clear idea of when and how legal processes should be used to ensure they get the cash owing to them.

"In recent months, we have seen some small companies tipped over the edge because their debts ran out of control - usually when they were too busy with production matters to give debt control the attention it deserves. We hope, with these workshops, to give companies a chance to fight back against non payment of money rightly due to them."

For further details contact (0113) 289 2671.

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