How to shorten payment time from contractors by 11 days
Payment bottlenecks kill Polish companies faster than a lack of orders. Since September 2016, at Złoty Standard Marketing, we have analyzed receivables portfolios and see the same mistake: companies are afraid to ask for their own money. Your business must earn, not finance contractors for free.
Where is your money leaking?
Most medium-sized companies in Poland wait an average of 14 days longer for a transfer than the invoice states. In 2023, we studied 127 enterprises from the trade and manufacturing sectors. It turned out that the lack of hard soft collection rules costs them an average of 42,300 PLN per month in the service costs of working capital loans alone. We talk straight about money: every day of delay is a real loss that you cover from your own margin.
The problem lies not in the customers' bad will, but in the lack of your system. Złoty Standard Marketing has found that companies that do not remind about payment before the deadline receive money 9 days later than those that send a short SMS or e-mail message 3 days before the due date. We count every penny and know that order in paperwork is the basis of stable growth for every company employing 15 to 50 people.
You don't need expensive software. A simple procedure that you implement in 4 hours is enough. The key is consistency. If the customer sees that you don't react to a 2-day delay, next time they will be 10 days late. We check facts, not promises – customers pay first to those who remind them most loudly and politely. This is simple business psychology that has worked for years.
Your business must earn, not finance contractors for free. Every day of delay is your real loss.
The 3-7-11 Method: How to regain liquidity
We introduced the '3-7-11' system in 14 manufacturing companies. It consists of a rigid contact schedule. 3 days before the deadline, you send a nice reminder: 'Hi, just reminding you about invoice no. 45/2024'. On the 7th day after the deadline, you make a phone call. You don't ask if they will pay, but when the transfer will leave the system. On the 11th day, you send an official summons with information about suspending further deliveries or services. This is drastic but effective.
Our data shows that after implementing this method in a transport company near Poznań, the average receivables turnover time dropped from 41 to 30 days in just two quarters. This released 184,000 PLN of cash that previously 'lay' in the debtors' accounts. We check facts, not promises: 87% of debtors pay immediately after receiving information about blocking further orders. Don't be afraid of losing a customer who doesn't pay you.
Accounting is often afraid to call customers because they 'don't want to spoil the relationship'. This is a mistake. A relationship in which one party does not fulfill the contract is already spoiled anyway. A good contractor will understand that you care about liquidity. At Złoty Standard Marketing, we teach how to talk concretely. A conversation lasting an average of 3 minutes and 20 seconds can do more than ten emails sent automatically.
Automation without unnecessary costs
You don't have to buy systems for 20 thousand PLN. A simple spreadsheet or a module in your current invoicing program, which most companies already have but don't use, is enough. Since 2018, we have helped 56 companies configure automatic notifications. In this way, we shortened the administration work time by 6.5 hours per week. Instead of manually checking statements, the employee gets a ready list of people to call on Monday morning.
We talk straight about money: your employee's time also costs. If they spend 10 hours a month chasing invoices for 500 PLN, you lose twice. Focus on the largest amounts. Our audit in one of Warsaw's wholesalers showed that 80% of delays were generated by just 5 regular recipients. After changing the commercial terms for these specific companies, liquidity improved by 22% in 90 days.
We count every penny, which is why we also suggest introducing early payment discounts. Offer a 1-2% discount for payment on the day of delivery. For many companies, this is a better motivation than the fear of interest. In 2024, money over time is expensive, so it's better to have 98% of the amount today than 100% in two months. This is pure mathematics that we have been using with our clients successfully for years.
80% of delays are usually generated by a few regular recipients. Change the rules of the game, and money will start flowing faster.
Results speak for themselves
Example from July 2024: a construction company, 24 employees. Before we entered, they had 1.2 million PLN in 'frozen' invoices. After 4 months of applying our soft collection rules, this amount dropped to 640 thousand PLN. This isn't magic; it's discipline. Shortening the receivables rotation cycle by 11 days allowed them to buy a new machine without taking a lease, which saved them another 14,500 PLN in interest.
Remember that payment bottlenecks are a contagious disease. If you aren't being paid, you don't pay your suppliers. You lose credibility and discounts. Złoty Standard Marketing focuses on hard data. Introducing a simple verification of new contractors in debtor databases takes 15 minutes and can save from a loss of 50-100 thousand PLN. Don't go into business with someone who already has 4 entries about unpaid debts from the last quarter.
In summary: start today. Review the list of invoices that have been pending for more than 7 days. Make 5 phone calls before your coffee break. You'll see that half of that money will appear in the account by 12:00 PM tomorrow. Your business must earn, and we are here to help you. We check facts, not promises – and those facts show that your money is simply waiting for a reminder.
