Wendy van Akker-Vlasveld – HBK
‘I always did the credit management myself. After the invoices went out, I took care of the reminders and the phone calls when payments were not made. That was very time consuming work. Time I’d rather spend working for clients than chasing them for payments!’
‘A relation of ours told us about Debitan. He used the system himself and had positive experiences with the software and the company. Serge came to visit us to give a demonstration and explanation. His story and the possibilities matched very well with what we were looking for. So the choice was not that difficult. We thought: we’ll just start and we’ll see where the ship ends up. But the ship is still sailing smoothly.’
With the customer in mind
‘Debitan takes the calling and mailing process off my hands after invoicing. That is very nice. That reminder process often feels a bit uncomfortable and therefore takes a lot of time. In addition, we also see that strange eyes force. If a third party sends a message about an open invoice, customers often pay faster. However, that force is not the starting point. It is especially important that the entire process feels right for our customers. That is the challenge for the debtor managers at Debitan. They have to estimate a little bit how the relationship with the customer is. But she manages that very well.’
Time saving and efficiency
‘The main advantage of working with Debitan is the time saved. And the fact that I have a quick overview of the state of affairs. Which invoices are on hold, how long invoices have been open, etcetera. I have contact with Laura every week. My colleague ensures that all invoices and payments are updated in Exact Online and then I ask Laura if she can perform the synchronization in the credit management software, so that Debitan can resume the tasks. In addition, I check the bank accounts daily for payments and immediately process this in the Debitan portal.’
Reasonableness and kindness
‘When customers do not pay, it can be because they are slow payers, because they do not agree with the invoice or because there are payment problems. If we notice that customers do not pay, we often contact them ourselves. We think the customer relationship is very important. That is why we always opt for appropriate communication, based on reasonableness and friendliness. We are also always open to a payment arrangement if necessary. Fortunately, the payment reminder from Debitan is often enough to encourage customers to pay. It has only happened 3 times that we have had to hand over an invoice, because there really was no progress. And when there are arrangements, Laura keeps track of whether they are all properly adhered to. That saves me time again!’
Tip from Wendy
‘It is important that you look at exactly how long you have been working on debtor management. How much time do you spend sending reminders, calling and checking everything? You can then weigh up what you prefer: working for the customers or chasing them for payments. And it is also very nice to outsource something like this to a company that is good at it. After all, many people find it quite inconvenient to have to chase after payments. When someone else approaches your customers to pay your bills, there is a kind of distance. That’s nice. Then you can continue working for those customers in the meantime, without any aftertaste.’
About HBK
HBK tax specialist, accountants, expats consultants helps entrepreneurs to get the best out of their business. They distinguish themselves from colleagues by looking at the situation differently. By looking beyond the tax burden and seizing opportunities that others don’t even see. The customer is always central. The focus is not on how the customer did as an entrepreneur, but on how it should be done. HBK unburdens its customers, so that they can focus on doing business. The twenty-five advisors meanwhile limit the payment to the tax authorities and stand on the sidelines as advisor and supporter.
www.hbk.nl