Don’t be that customer: the one vendors are always tracking down and negotiating late payments with. When your business is growing or struggling, on-time payment to vendors is the last thing on your mind. But on-time bill payment, accurate accounts payable tracking and vendor relationships can be just as crucial to your business’s future and bottom line as revenue and happy customers.

You are focused on generating revenue, collecting your receivables, and getting product or services out the door. Paying an overdue invoice to your bookkeeper or landlord may not seem like a priority or a big issue. If you are tight on cash, you may hold off responding to a couple of emails to wait for inbound revenue. If you don’t say anything, your vendor may not notice and you get a little extra time to fund the payment, right? Not quite. There are three big problems with this stance.

First, there is the legal issue. An account payable is a contract to pay. And on time payment is part of that contract. The contract or invoice states the time limit you have in which to pay a vendor—anywhere from due on receipt to 30 days for most small business vendors. This contract is a legally binding agreement; if you don’t pay, they can sue you.

Most vendors have a specified period of time they wait before legal action. Legal action can include sending the invoice to a collections agency, which negatively impacts your credit or a letter from their counsel requesting payment and threatening court involvement. Excellent communication and timely accounts payable management is a good way to prevent legal action.

Second, there are monetary penalties. Legal action is not the only negative outcome. Many contracts, especially utilities and rental agreements, have penalties for late payment. These penalties can add up to significant sums over time. Especially when funding it tight, it's critical to keep a clear picture of accounts payable and any late penalties.

I’ve had many clients that have received notices of overdue bills and had no idea they were behind on payments. Keeping track of what you owe and when it is due is essential. If you or your accounting staff are crunched for time, try using an automated bill entry system like Bill.com. There is nothing worse than paying late fees—not because you didn’t have the funds, but because you weren’t tracking the billing cycle accurately.

Third and most important, is vendor relationship management. If financial and legal action isn’t enough to persuade you to keep an eye on accounts payable, then let’s talk about something a little more personal: relationships.

Here is the dirty secret about your vendors; they are human, and they have businesses to run just like you. You would do anything for that client who writes sizable checks and pays Johnny-on-the-spot, wouldn’t you? Your vendors aren't any different.

You might move your Johnny-on-the-spot up in priority for deadlines and special last minute requests—quicker return to your business on your time investment, right? You might give them a larger credit line because you know they will pay on time. A good vendor will not provide poor customer service, but consistently late bills may be the difference between good customer service and the larger line of credit you need in a pinch.

Good relationships with vendors are essential. Your vendors are the key to your growth.

If you pay bills on time or explain (and apologize) when you don’t or can’t, you are far more likely to get that favor when you need it. If there isn’t a cash crunch and you are simply busy, then it is time for you to invest in better accounts payable management options. The stretch order that’s beyond your credit limit for a big event or a reduced price on a one-time large order is much more likely to be approved for a client in good standing with the accounting department. That's the hard truth.

Side Note: If you ask a vendor for a favor and notice hesitancy where you expected enthusiasm, check your day's payable record with that vendor. Late payments may be negatively impacting the relationship. Or you can ask the vendor what your record for payment is. There is a good chance they are tracking your late payments very closely.

For an assessment of your accounts payable management email blair@relieffinancialconsulting.com for a consultation.

Small businesses are incredible places to work. They offer plenty of opportunity for additional responsibilities. For those multi-taskers, for those who get bored when there isn't enough to do, there is always something you could be doing, another hat to put on or fire to put out. But be wary of the job descriptions and make sure you understand the full responsibilities of these multi-hat positions. 

For small business owners in growth mode, people placement is critical. It’s not just about finding the right person for the business's current challenges, but piecing together the right skill sets for the team as a whole. 

Small businesses are saddled with another unique challenge. Sometimes they need a COO and a financial analysis expert (CFO) but have the budget for one of the two. Since COO is the daily firefighter and executor, that’s the obvious first hire. 

When unable to hire two full time people, many business owners strive to find a two-in-one employee. COO + Marketing, or COO + Finance. Depending on the stage and complexity of your business, this can work. 

But have a bit of caution. Usually, a two-in-one employee is a bit of a myth, or if this employee is genuinely multi-talented, expensive. Often, it’s more like one and a half people in one. With one strong skill set and one less robust skill set. There are great COOs with scaling and operations expertise who can handle some bookkeeping or number tracking. There are some CFOs who can execute daily operations. 

Hiring a person with the wrong expectations for their true skill set usually ends in heartache. The employee is stressed by the tasks they are not prepared for or do not have time to complete. And the employer ends up with a mess to clean up when they finally cut the cord. Usually it is a matter of a bad skills match-up rather than a bad employee, but the results can still be extremely painful to clean up.  

It’s important when interviewing candidates to identify their stronger skill “half” and determine if you need to hire fractional support or find another team member with the skill set. Another option is to hire a less expensive person to help support the other half for the skill set. For great COOs, a part-time bookkeeper/analytical Fractional CFO combo can be a great way to make sure the daily business is executed, fires are put out, AND bills are paid on time with clean books to review at the end of each month. 

How can you tell an employee is struggling with multiple rolls? There will be early warning signs of missed deadlines and incomplete reports. Sometimes there is an easy solution, a bookkeeper or administrative assistant for a few hours a week can be a huge asset at low cost. A simple solution like this can save an otherwise good hire from a bad result. Identifying problems early can also save money later on cleanup work and late fees. 

If you, as an employee, find yourself in this situation, speak up. If you are being asked to do two jobs and one would be better served by some fractional support, suggest hiring support as a way to improve efficiency. It will probably save your job in the long run and may save the company as well. 

The conclusion for business owners is that the skill sets for two positions may not be possible in one person. But this doesn't mean your business has to forgo expertise or that certain tasks must be left undone or constantly completed late. With some careful thinking about the whole picture of skill sets your company needs, you can piece together the right team with a combination of employees. Hiring two fractional people or one full time and one fraction versus one person may seem like a lot to juggle. But think of it this way: you are diversifying your risk. If that 2-in-1 person doesn't work out or drops one of the two balls he or she is juggling, how does that affect your business?

For further tips on how a financial team should be structured and a description of roles and responsibilities for financial team members, see my post on how to structure a financial team or email me at blair@relieffinancialconsulting.com

I will admit it: I am a huge fan of machine learning and new technology. Especially in finance and accounting. More, better, and quicker information means better decisions for business owners. I'm not a first adopter of machine learning. Forms of the technology have been around for decades, but I hope to be an enthusiastic one for this next phase. Gone are the days of data entry and manual AP checks.

I know many are still using printed checks, some grumbling over the annoying processes of loading the printer with checks and announcing to the entire accounting department not to print anything until you say. It's a tried and true process. That can take hours of time. First, the checks are approved, then printed, then sent to management for signatures, then they are enveloped, addressed, stamped (heaven forbid you don't have a postage stamp) and sent. The checks arrive in the mail and are deposited at some point in the future. Between three and five business days after they are put in the mail. Sometimes checks are lost in the mail, old addresses are used, or someone “fat fingers” an address. 

The days of manual AP, and frankly the ability to “fat finger” any data entry—I believe—are, thankfully, at an end. With automated AP processing systems like Bill.com that allow you to send all invoices to a billing or AP email and have them automatically entered into your accounting system, the future is here. Once the bills are entered into these online systems, you merely approve bills for payment (I recommend a two-tier approval), then schedule payments online. Turning hours of work into minutes. Old addresses are impossible because the client sets up a profile on their end and fills in their own information. ACHpayments are an even easier option. 

Suddenly, we've moved an entire department of AP workers into one person funneling invoices to an email account via forwarding and scanning paper invoices—and to one person approving legitimate payments, scheduling payments, and sending final approval to management who can easily approve even when traveling. 

I'd love to hear what automation systems you are using for your business or what new technologies your machine learning start-up is building. Please send me an email at blair@relieffinancialconsulting.com.