Credit control review & setup
For SMEs with overdue invoices, inconsistent chasing and no clear credit control process.
Collect Wise reviews your payment terms, invoicing, customer onboarding, debtor chasing and escalation points, then helps you set up a clearer credit control process your team can use.
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
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 rhythm
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
Built for SMEs that want credit control handled properly in-house
This package is a good fit if:
- 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
A clearer credit control process your team can use
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 it 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
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 acheive the reduction.
Huge Reduction in Aged Debt For Go Live Data
Does Your Team Need Help With Credit Control Processes
Credit control review & setup gives you the process. Training helps your team use it properly — if admin, finance or operations staff are responsible for chasing payment, training can be added so they know what to say, when to call and when to escalate.