Payment day!
Don’t know if this is just a Portuguese cultural issue, but if you run a business on this beautiful peace of land by the Atlantic, you probably have been through the same problem: clients tend to delay payments.
By delay I mean paying in three instead of one month, or worse. So there we have it, the whole system is setup to punish (cash-flow-wise) those who pay when due, and enrich those who have the most aggressive and nasty techniques to delay payments to keep cash (without interests) on their side.
Had I known in advance how bad payers some of my clients are, I wouldn’t have done business with them. I’d rather have good payments done on time, tough slightly smaller values, than bigger ones coming late.
Why the system doesn’t auto-regulate, in the sense of bad payers = bad reputation = bad business? a) Because everyone is an accomplice in the crime, it’s a loop, b) Because there’s not enough transparency for it to become a reputation issue for a company.
So I’ve made clear I know how to complain. Now let me try to be part of the solution (besides trying, as good as possible, to pay everything on its due date in my own company)
Plan A
You know those “ISO” company quality certifications? How about one of those, but with a clearer and better brand, for all those who pay on time? This symbol could then be proudly displayed by good companies, and bad payers would implicitly be denounced. Build an online catalog/search to see who has the badge and who doesn’t, and voilá.
Plan B
Knowing that plan A needs a lot of logistics, money and good will, why not just build up a website for corporate reviews. Every company has a profile, and you just share your experience doing business with them, and how fast they do or do not pay. Sure, we would have to make sure there is no abuse, and that reviews are only worth for themselves. But that could be up and running in a week, and potentially build momentum to push for plan A.
Anyone?
