Customers stretching payments more than 30 days is becoming the norm, not the exception. There are ways to lessen the chances you’ll get victimized by the trend.

A survey by the publication CFO & Controller Alert shows:

• 96% of businesses say in the last three months their customers have stretched out payments more and more
• 46% say customers are going more than 30 days past due before making any payments

Before the problem hits you — if it hasn’t already — consider a couple of steps to take right now.

Loosen up
Something you’d probably never even consider a few years ago: increasing credit lines for customers who pay you late!

But it’s a different world now. And your business needs to keep making money.

For starters, have your Accounts Receivable folks run an aging report. If you have customers who keep paying on time and in-full, now’s a great time to think about raising their credit lines.

(By the way: Calling it a “credit line” rather than a “credit limit” is a subtle nuance, but an effective one – no one likes to feel limits are being imposed.)

Then take a look at which of your customers are still paying within a week of the payment due date, even if it’s after. Think about approaching Sales and talking about extending a little more credit to them, too.

“Rewarding” these people may not only gain you more business, but it may also increase goodwill with those accounts, which could get them paying a little faster (or at least keep ’em from sliding back).

Tighten up
Of course, when customers decide not to pay on time, there are consequences.

Odds are, your company has the option of levying late fees or finance charges on past-due accounts.

First step: Make sure those penalties are being enforced. You’d be surprised how many companies aren’t taking advantage of what’s already built into their contracts.

Enforcing finance charges is one thing – being sure customers feel the sting is another. And that’s just what might get them to start paying more promptly.

Instead of simply telling customers they’ll pay an additional 2% if a payment is late, for example, consider calculating exactly what that translates into in dollars and cents on each invoice.

Granted, it will take extra effort. But at a time when every organization is doing everything it can to save as much money as possible, seeing that they’ll pay $350 more on that invoice could make them think twice before stretching you.