CREDIT CONTROL REVIEW & SETUP
Credit control consultancy
for UK SMEs
We review payment terms, invoicing, chasing, disputes and escalation, then build a practical credit control process your team can run in-house.
Late payment keeps happening?
Download the overdue invoice checklist. What to check, what to send, when to call and when to escalate.
Aged debt reduction in under three months
WHAT WE REVIEW
What does credit control consultancy involve?
Credit control consultancy reviews how your business manages customer payment from onboarding and payment terms through to invoicing, chasing, disputes and escalation.
With this Credit Control Review service – Collect Wise identifies where the process is allowing late payment to happen and puts a clearer credit control system in place for your team to manage in-house.
Where late payment begins
Late payment usually starts before the invoice is overdue
It starts when the payment terms are weak. When new customers aren’t checked properly. When invoices go out late or miss key details. When no one confirms the right person received them. When reminders are inconsistent. When disputes are handled informally and drift for weeks.
By the time the invoice is overdue, the process has already failed. This package helps you fix the gaps that keep turning payment into a chasing problem.
Payment terms are unclear
The terms exist, but they don't give your team enough control when payment slips.
Invoices go out badly
Wrong details, missing purchase orders, unclear references or late sending create easy excuses.
Chasing is inconsistent
Reminders happen when someone remembers, not because there's a proper process.
Disputes drift
Queries appear late, get handled informally, and stay unresolved for too long.
Escalation is vague
No one knows when to move from reminder to firmer action.
The owner keeps stepping in
Credit control becomes reactive, awkward and dependent on one person.
Better credit control means fewer invoices left to chase
Most SMEs don’t need a complicated credit control function – they need a simple, reliable process that covers the basics properly: who gets credit, what terms are agreed, when invoices go out, who checks they’re right, when reminders and calls happen, how disputes are handled, when payment plans are allowed, and when accounts get escalated.
The Credit control review & setup package gives SMEs a clearer way to manage payment in-house, with initial support from Collect Wise and a process your team can run afterwards.
Late payment is a process problem hiding in plain sight
44% of invoices were paid late, with £112bn locked up in late payments. Government-backed research estimates UK businesses are owed £26bn in late payments at any given time, with affected businesses spending an average of 86 hours a year chasing payment.
That time rarely disappears into one dramatic debt – it’s lost to weak terms, poor invoice checks, inconsistent chasing, unresolved disputes and unclear escalation. Credit control works better when the process is built before the debt becomes overdue.
Who this is for
Is credit control consultancy right for your business?
This service is designed for SMEs that want to improve credit control without outsourcing the day-to-day process.
- Payment terms are unclear, weak or inconsistently used
- Invoices are queried after they become overdue
- Chasing depends on whoever has time
- Payment plans are agreed too casually, or disputes sit unresolved too long
- No one owns the credit control process properly
- You want expert support first, then a process your team can run
Who this is not for: Your main issue is a large aged debtor report needing urgent action, you need overdue accounts prioritised first, an account already needs formal recovery, or you want full outsourced credit control.
If aged debt is the immediate issue, the Aged debt action plan & templates may be the better first step.
What's Included
What our credit control process review covers
A complete look at how payment terms, onboarding, invoicing, chasing and dispute handling work together, plus a practical plan to keep credit control consistent and on track going forward.
Our Process
How the credit control review and setup works
1
We review what happens now
2
We find the gaps
3
We set up the process
4
Your team runs it
You can't chase your way out of a broken process
Better emails help. Automated reminders help. A good bookkeeper helps. But if the terms are weak, invoices go out late, queries aren’t dealt with properly and no one is following a clear process, late payment keeps coming back.
This package fixes the process behind the chasing – giving SMEs the structure to manage credit control consistently, with the option to add training if your team needs support using it.
FREE PRACTICAL RESOURCE
The overdue invoice checklist built from £25m+ of debt recovery experience
Built from the same collections experience used across 500+ businesses, the checklist shows you what to check before chasing, what to send, when to call and when an overdue account needs firmer action.
A practical place to start if you want to improve how overdue invoices are handled before deciding whether you need further support.
Go Live Data case study
Credit control consultancy in practice: 42% less aged debt in four months
Rapid growth had left Go Live Data with inconsistent credit control and aged debt building up.
We reviewed the full credit control process, identified the gaps and supported the changes through implementation. That included the order-to-cash process, terms, payment options, policy and automated reminders.
Within four months, aged debt had reduced by 42%, with a clearer process in place for managing collections and future growth.
Reduction in aged debt.
Months to achieve the reduction.
Huge Reduction in Aged Debt For Go Live Data
Does your team need credit control training?
The review gives you the process. Credit control training helps your team apply it consistently, including how to chase payment, handle difficult conversations and know when to escalate.
Things You Need to know
Frequently Asked Questions
What does a credit control consultant do?
A credit control consultant reviews how your business manages customer payment, from payment terms and onboarding through to invoicing, chasing, disputes and escalation.
The aim is to identify where delays, inconsistencies or gaps are allowing late payment to happen, then put a clearer credit control process in place for your team to manage.
What is included in a credit control process review?
Our review looks at the full payment process, including:
- payment terms
- customer onboarding
- invoicing
- payment reminders and chasing
- disputes and queries
- payment promises
- escalation
- internal ownership and responsibilities
We then recommend the changes needed and help you set up a practical credit control process your team can use consistently.
What’s the difference between credit control consultancy and outsourced credit control?
Credit control consultancy is designed to improve the process your own team uses.
We review what’s happening, identify the gaps and help put a stronger system in place.
Outsourced credit control means another provider manages some or all of the day-to-day chasing on your behalf.
This service is best suited to businesses that want to keep credit control in-house but improve how it is managed.
When should a business review its credit control process?
A review is worth considering when:
- customers regularly pay late
- chasing is inconsistent
- invoices are disputed after they become overdue
- payment promises are not followed up
- nobody clearly owns credit control
- your aged debt is increasing
- your current process depends too heavily on one person
The earlier these issues are addressed, the easier they usually are to correct.
Can you help implement the recommendations?
Yes.
The review is designed to lead to practical changes rather than simply produce a report.
We can help you put the new process in place, refine chasing sequences, clarify responsibilities and support your team while the changes are embedded.
Ongoing implementation support is available separately if needed.
Can you train our team after the review?
Yes.
We provide practical credit control training for finance, administration and operations teams responsible for customer payment.
Training can cover chasing, telephone conversations, handling excuses, disputes, payment plans and escalation.
Will this help with customer relationships?
What if we already have a large amount of overdue debt?
If your immediate issue is a ledger containing a number of overdue accounts that need prioritising, the Aged debt action plan may be a better starting point.
We review the aged debt, identify which accounts need attention first and give you a clear action plan for chasing, resolving disputes and escalating where necessary.
Want to improve your credit control process?
Tell us what’s currently happening with your credit control and we’ll discuss whether a review and setup is the right next step.