Small Business Commissioner calls for ‘human approach’ to payments

Pranav Sood, VP Small Business at GoCardless, comments: “Even outside of a global pandemic, small business owners wear multiple ‘hats’ – managing employees, customer service, business growth and finances. Regarding finance, there’s no question whether supply chains will be disrupted around the world due to the virus – we’re already seeing this happen. We know that many small business owners already stress about their cashflow, and this will only be heightened.

“A key cash drain, and huge cause of stress, is the time and money spent chasing late payments. For example, according to GoCardless’ research, businesses are spending thousands of pounds annually recovering payments through internal processes. Specifically, in financial services (£140.400), IT (£136,800), business services (£103.200),health and wellbeing (£86.400) and utilities (£85.200).

“In the current climate, it is more important than ever for founders to be selective about working with clients and suppliers they trust, as well as leverage technology and automation to ease the burden of chasing payments. The latter can take the pressures off owners so they can focus on what they do best – leading the business and planning for the rocky times ahead.

“Finding the right fintech is key and there are a number of things to consider. Firstly, businesses should integrate seamlessly with small business accounting software providers like Xero and Intuit. Secondly, they need to have a global footprint that matches SME ambitions for global growth. Thirdly, they need to offer small businesses – and their customers – a consistent and high quality customer experience. Lastly, all of the above needs to come with simple and transparent pricing.”