Credit Matters Newsletter

 Back to Newsletters

Credit Matters
What's New At Credit Matters?

What's New At Credit Matters?

This month has been full on with networking, a presentation to business owners in Geelong and attending a cryptocurrency course.

Another feature is due out within a week or so which will be available for free on our website at www.creditmatters.com.au The feature's title, B2B Credit in 2020 is my version of what the future might look like by then. Today, as I observe the business community at work, I can see there are already new way considerations at play when extending B2B credit.

The brochures included with this month's newsletter are; a note from Australian Small Business and Family Enterpris­­e Ombudsman about a fair go in court for small business, details of our Guide for Tradies, a copy of an article I wrote for the AICM "Can you afford not to employ a professional Credit Manager", Jan Reeves book for small business "Get Paid" and a brochure promoting the use of the value of the telephone by Jenny Cartwright and myself.

Don't forget, if you wish to promote your business services at an affordable rate, contact Kim at kim@creditmatters.com.au. You will be surprised at what we have to offer.

Quote Of The Month

Quote Of The Month

You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.

Warren Buffett

Monthly Business Observation

Monthly Business Observation

Warren Buffet’s quote is particularly relevant in today’s business environment. The truth behind Mr Buffet’s quote is seen when a business collapses and enters into insolvency. The reasons why a business may go out of business are varied. Not all business closures are caused because of managerial incompetence or lack of money. Some were just in the wrong place and time when bad luck struck.

When a business does collapse and an insolvency administrator is appointed however, as we have seen of late, we find that many have run up large debts and lack the funds to trade themselves out of trouble. Other businesses have failed to collect debt owed to them because of poor sales procedures, a lack of due diligence, outsourcing of accounts, a lack of follow up, or selling to the wrong customer.

In the cases mentioned above, the problem has been a lack of administrative substance, care and managerial incompetence. In other words, as Mr Buffet alluded to, the business may have looked substantial, but it lacked substance. When the pressure was on, they folded.

Many of the businesses entering insolvency were the brightest and the biggest of their kind. They also came from every industry, and the age, or size of the business made no difference.

Furthermore, these are those businesses we do hear about. There would have been many smaller businesses entering insolvency, or just closing down and going out of business. We did not hear about them until it affected us or we made business enquiries.

As we enter a pre-recession period, there is a lot of merit in understanding the value of Mr Buffet’s quote. Many of your current and potential customers are going to be experiencing difficulties when the effects of the next recession become obvious. There are going to be many of those flash, well known, long standing and “too big to fail” businesses, which will cause you grief because they lacked the substance and means to keep going.

Monthly Business Conundrum

Is it better to sell on credit, or for cash up front and part-payments? Or is there are third way?

It really depends on your business acumen, the times and what other opportunities are available. Today however, there are many different sales channels available for a business to sell their goods and services. It is wise to remember, selling on credit is always fraught with danger, irrespective of the size of your customer’s business.

If you offer B2B credit, customers will expect credit terms because today, they believe it is a right, not a responsibility. As B2B credit providers are finding these days, increasingly the fraudsters, the unprincipled, and the naïve, have more rights than they do.

If you sell for cash and part payments, you can generally offer a product or service at a far cheaper price than those offering credit. You have this advantage because you do not need an accounts receivable or credit department, or complete due diligence, or have to pay for all those other costs required when selling on credit.

Perhaps with the right type of technology, employees, and a bit of common sense, you can sell via cash for a few months and offer credit as a reward later on when a customer has proven worthy of a credit facility.

The secret of success as always, is to believe in what you do, operate to suit the current business environment and be innovative. There is no place in the modern world where a business with a lazy approach to sales can survive in the long term. No matter which selling format or formats you use, you will always work hard for your money.

Monthly Business Conundrum
This Month's Business Inconvenient Truth

This Month's Business Inconvenient Truth

Technology and humans can be equally dangerous to your business.

It is probably an inconvenient truth for some people, however both technology and humans can cause equal damage to your business. No matter which business process you favour, technology or people based, each have inherent dangers for your business.

How can this be when one is machine or AI based and the other is a human? Well, the answer is quite simple. The employment of both processes are based on human decisions.

When used with the most purist of reasons for the advancement of humankind such as medical breakthroughs, space exploration, pure research etc., technology delivers wonderful results.

In the business setting, technology also provides us with wonderful opportunities to operate our business more efficiently and cheaper than with humans. Unfortunately, the ethos behind using technology in business, is not always completed with the best interests of all parties. Rather, all too often it is used to satisfy the agenda of people. It is in these situations where technology becomes dangerous for your business.

Likewise, when employing people, if done so with beneficial interests of all in mind, people add value to your business. When they are employed without their best interests in mind, employees can do all sorts of damage.

We see this situation best when technology and people interact with emails. Emails are a wonderful way of creating speedy and cheap communications between different parties. When emails are sent with no intention of causing harm and with untainted content, they add value.

When emails are sent with corruption or malicious intentions in mind, a dedicated and professional employee is unlikely to engage and simply delete the email. On the other hand, the bored, naïve, or the employee with equally malicious intentions, will click on the email and possibly corrupt the business’s technology systems.

At the end of the day, both technology and humans can assist or damage your business. It is always people which decide whether the outcome will be beneficial or destructive.

Word Of The Month

Is the spelling nana or nanna?

When talking about one’s grandmother we often use the terms nan, nana and nanna. In Australia, what then is the preferred spelling? Is nana spelled with one n, or is nanna spelled with two n’s.

First, we do have to remember nana and nanna are considered colloquial spellings and as such, are used informally. Also since people use Nana and Nanna as names, names can often vary in spelling. Having said that, the best approach is to refer to the authoritative references.

The Macquarie Dictionary lists nana as a secondary spelling of nanna and the entry nana refers on to nanna. Thus according to the Macquarie Dictionary the preferred spelling would be nanna. The Australia Oxford dictionary entry nanna states a variation of nan, with nan listing nana and nanna as variations for nan. The Australia Oxford thus doesn’t directly give us answer for nana and nanna.

The online Oxford dictionary doesn’t directly list nanna, but interestingly, states nanna as the British form for nana under the nana entry.

Based on the Macquarie Dictionary it would appear the preferred spelling in Australia is nanna. The spelling preference in Australia appears to be: grandmother, nan, nanna and then nana.

Word Of The Month

Latest Blogs

Updates courtesy of www.asic.gov.au

Media Updates

Events


Media Releases

Credit Matters is a financial risk management resource centre for the Australian business community. If you are in business, Credit Matters is your ideal source of financial risk management solutions.

Read More



Future Opportunities & Possibilities

Credit Matters is continuing to grow and provide marketing and knowledge about financial risks to the Australia business community.

Futhermore, we invite marketing and knowledge ideas from our readers and contributors on how we can assist our respective firms grow. If you have any ideas, please contact me at info@creditmatters.com.au.

If you are interested in finding new ways to reach your marketplace, why not try Credit Matters. Our prices for advertising are very reasonable and advertising packages are on offer to make any cost, even more affordable. So if you are interested in reaching your customers at the right price, please contact Kim at info@creditmatters.com.au for options.