Credit Control

Credit Application Procedure

Overview

This overviews the process for credit applications data collection, approval and rejection. Including the workflow, documentation, tracking and communication templates.

Current Credit Controllers

Robert McCombe robert@maticmedia.co.uk
Richard McCombe richard@maticmedia.co.uk

Credit Application Document

Current credit application form is available below.

Credit Application Form_2016V1.docx

Process & Workflow

Application Tracking

Steps

CreditSafe.com

Creditsafe is a third party credit controller that tracks payment performance of companies and can provide access to credit reports on individuals as well.  Currently we pay for access to company credit reports only. 

It can be difficult to get credit reports on sole traders as such as do not accept credit applications from sole traders.

URL www.creditsafe.com
Username: Available in Vault
Password: Available in Vault

Filling in Page 2 of the Credit Application

Page 2 of the credit application contains all the information required to approve or decline a credit account.  Failure on your part to fill in this information will slow down your customers credit approval process.

if a customer has scanned their credit application and you cannot fill in the information.  You can fill it in using the Tracking Excel Document, and by copying & pasting the below form in to the tracking ticket.

Date CA Sent


Score


Date CA Received


Credit Limit

£

Latest Annual Return (Year)


Credit Rating

£

Payment Performance


Working Capital

£

Days Beyond Terms:


Total Current Assets

£

Adverse: CCJ’s

Y/N

Total Current Liabilities

£

Credit requested:

£

Long Term Liabilities

£

Change in Score history over the past 12 months Y/N | ____%

Y/N
____%

Total Net Worth

£

Acid Ratio:
(Below “1” is a risk)




Notes








Processed By


Date


Amount Authorised


Terms (Days)


Signature


Creating a Tracking Ticket for the Application

If the current application is not in a ticket, create a ticket in Zammad and attached the filled in created application form.  Then assigned this ticket on to the Credit Controller.

Filling in the Application Tracking Excel Document

The Application Tracking Excel Document is available here: Credit Application Tracking v3.xlsx or it is available in the Matic Media One Drive shared folder "Credit Control" under Shared with Everyone.

The credit application form should be filed in the folder Matic Media One Drive/Shared with Everyone/Credit Control

Fields

Field Description Example
Customer The Company Name Matic Media
Date Sent Date Application Sent 2023-03-03
Ticket URL The Ticket url for tracking communication in regards to the application https://cs.maticmedia.co.uk/#ticket/zoom/245289
Page 2 Form Completed? Where the page two form data is etiher in the application or in the ticket In ticket
Sent By The person who sent the application Robert McCombe
Date Received Back The date the application was received back 2023-03-05
Passed to Credit Controller The date the application was sent to the credit controller for approval 2023-03-06
Date Processed The date the credit controller approved or rejected the credit application 2023-03-07
Time to Process The total application time 2 Working Days
Requested Limit The amount the account requested £2000
Approved Limit The amount the credit controller has approved £1500
Approved or Rejected Whether the credit account was approved or rejected Approved
Credit Controller The credit controller Robert McCombe
Payment Terms The payment terms 30 Days End of Month
Customer Informed Email Sent Date the credit controller informed the customer 2023-03-07
Date application completed The date the application was completed and filed 2023-03-07

Decision Making on a Credit Application

Positive Factors Negative Factors
Good Score (Above 50>) Low Score (< 50)
Increase or stable Score History Decreasing Score History
ACID ratio above 1 CCJ's

ACID Ratio Below 1

Change of Directors

Last accounts filed > 12 months

Increasing Liabilities vs Current Assets


Decreasing Current Assets


Decreasing Shareholder Funds


Decreasing Net Worth

Amount of credit given is generally based on the recommended Credit Limit given by CreditSafe,  Terms are based on the size of the company.  Default is 30 days on date of invoice.

Communication Templates

Sole Trader Rejection

Hi [forename],

Thank you for your request for a credit account with us.  Unfortunately at this moment in time we have decided to not accept account applications from sole traders.  If your status should change in the future please feel free to apply again and we can review your credit application.

Regards,

Credit Controller
Matic Media Services Limted t/a Graphic Warehouse
9 Hagmill Road
Coatbridge
ML5 4XD
United Kingdom

p: +44 (0) 330 380 0172
e: accounts@graphicwarehouse.co.uk

Preliminary Application Rejection

Hi [forename],

We've had a preliminary look over your accounts with company number [company number] and currently unfortunately a preliminary report shows your account will not be approved for credit.  If this is the wrong company number, please fill in the attached credit application and we'll process your account through our formal credit application process.

If this is the correct company number please feel free to apply for a credit account again in the next 90 days if you believe your credit status has changed.

Regards,

Credit Controller
Matic Media Services Limted t/a Graphic Warehouse
9 Hagmill Road
Coatbridge
ML5 4XD
United Kingdom

p: +44 (0) 330 380 0172
e: accounts@graphicwarehouse.co.uk

Credit Application Received Template

Hi [forename],

Thank you for your completed credit application.  I have processed this into our credit application process.  Please expect a response within 5 working days from our Credit Controller.

Regards,

Credit Controller
Matic Media Services Limted t/a Graphic Warehouse
9 Hagmill Road
Coatbridge
ML5 4XD
United Kingdom

p: +44 (0) 330 380 0172
e: accounts@graphicwarehouse.co.uk

Credit Application Rejected Template

Hi [forename],

Unfortunately your account has not been approved for credit with us.  Please feel free to apply for a credit account again in the next 90 days if you believe your credit status has changed.  If you would like more details on why your credit account has not been accepted please feel free to respond to this email.

Regards,

Credit Controller
Matic Media Services Limted t/a Graphic Warehouse
9 Hagmill Road
Coatbridge
ML5 4XD
United Kingdom

p: +44 (0) 330 380 0172
e: accounts@graphicwarehouse.co.uk

Credit Application Approved Template

Hi [forename],

Your account has been accepted for credit with us with the following terms...

Account ID: [Account ID from Xero]
Total Credit: £????.??
Payment Terms: 30 Days End of Month
30 Days from Invoice Date
Invoices will be sent to: [accounts email address]

Your credit account has been applied to your online account available at www.graphicwarehouse.co.uk immediately.  You can see your current outstanding invoices and get copy invoices from your online account immediately.

Regards,

Credit Controller
Matic Media Services Limted t/a Graphic Warehouse
9 Hagmill Road
Coatbridge
ML5 4XD
United Kingdom

p: +44 (0) 330 380 0172
e: accounts@graphicwarehouse.co.uk

Key Performance Indicators

The following metrics are used to track performance of the credit application procedure.

Metric Description Target
Process Time The time from which a completed credit application is received till is has been submitted to the credit controller. 2 Working Days from filled Application Received
Application Approval Time The time from which a processed application is approved or rejected when submitted to the credit controller. 5 Working Days from Application Processing

Reading a Credit Report

Company Number

This is a customers unique number recorded with Companies House, it is a better identifier of company as some companies can trade as a different name from their registered name. 

We are a good example of this - Trading Name is Graphic Warehouse, Entity name is Matic Media Services Limited.

Risk Score

image-1694781855930.png

This is the customer's credit score out of 100,  it takes all the factors below and generates a score out of 100 based on how much of a risk they are.  50 is the average.

International Score

image-1694781863485.png

This is the same as above but on a international scale.  This is graded A to F with AAA being excellent and F being inactive.

Credit Limit

image-1694781870300.png

This is the max amount of money recommended for a credit account to risk.

Contract Limit

image-1694781877055.png

This is the max amount of money recommend on an individual contract basis.

Status

image-1694781884138.png

This is the current status of the business...

Active Currently active
Inactive Currently not trading
Administration Currently in administration
DBT - Days Beyond Term

image-1694781891644.png

This is how many days beyond terms the customer pays beyond.

Industry DBT - Industry Days Beyond Term

image-1694781906722.png

This is the industry standard for the customer e.g. if the customer is in construction what is the average days beyond term a construction company takes to pay.

Financials

This shows all the submitted financial information from companies house in a company return.

image-1694783349406.png

image-1694783360089.png

image-1694783371581.png

image-1694783385102.png

image-1694783394334.png

Acid Ratio

Also known as Liquidity/Acid Test is a measure if in the short term can a company meet its debts.  A positive ratio is generally preferred as it shows they have more liquidity in their accounts vs low debt.

Event History

This shows a customers score history is either increasing or decreasing.  You are looking for stability or an increasing score.  A decreasing score is usually a negative factor.

image-1694783519872.png

Negative Information

This usually includes CCJ's.  CCJ's are when a customer has been taken to court over a debt and lost.  Any CCJ's are bad news.

Aged Debt Procedure

Overview

This overviews the process for aged debt management at

Current Aged Debt Owners

Robert McCombe robert@maticmedia.co.uk
MaryRose McCombe maryrose@maticmedia.co.uk

Aged Debt Report

The aged debt report is available via the following reports...

Process & Workflow

Aged Debt Steps

Monthly Statements

Monthly statements should be sent on the 15th of every month.  This allows us to close off the previous months accounts and make sure any invoicing discrepancies have been corrected before credit customers' monthly statement has been released.

Xero

You can access Monthly Statements for Contacts in xero from the relevant customer page.

The below video shows how to access a statement for the contact Matic Media Services Ltd.

Statey

Domain https://www.statey.app/
Username You log in via Xero
Password You log in via Xero

Statements are automatically emailed by Statey which is paid for annually.  You log into statey with your Xero username and password.

Logging In

Statey is a plugin for Xero that improves your customer statements..gif

Checking Statement Send Report

Statement send reports need to be checked manually to make sure customers have actually received their statements.  This can be checked via running the statement send report here.

Statey.gif

Total Statements Sent

image-1697196592622.png
This shows you the total statements send out in the last statement run.

Statements That Failed to Send

No Emails

image-1697196692288.png

This shows you the number of statements that did not send because they were missing the customer contact email address in Xero (these are usually internal accounts).

Server Rejection

image-1697196746491.png

These are the total number of statements that bounced i.e. were rejected by servers as they were detected as SPAM.

Viewing Issue Statements

You can click any of the statements that bounced or were missing an email by clicking on the relevant tab.  You can then manually send the statement.

image-1697196796526.png

How to Get Copy Invoices

Individual Copy Invoices

MaticTrack

Copy Invoices can be found on the MaticTrack from the project page.

You can click "View Invoice" to get a link to the invoice, customers can download PDF copies of the invoice from this page.  The below video demonstrates the procedure.

Untitled_ Oct 13, 2023 12_56 PM.gif

Xero

On Xero you can search for an invoice by using the search box from the right hand side.  You can then download the invoice as a PDF, send a link to the invoice, or Email a PDF version.

The below video demonstrates the procedure.

Dashboard – Xero.gif

Bulk Copy Invoices

You can bulk generate a PDF of customer invoices by following the below video which shows exporting out copy invoices in bulk for Matic Media.

30 Days Overdue

Chase Up Email 1

This email should be sent when an account breaches 30 days overdue.

This email should contain:

Hi [forename],

Your account has currently drifted in to 30 days overdue, I'm sure this is an oversight on your behalf.

As such I have attached a statement pdf and a copy of all invoices currently standing in a separate pdf.  Please respond in due course with an expected payment. If there are any disputes or discrepancies please reply to this email and I will raise  an action ticket.

Regards,

Accounts Receivable
Matic Media Services Limted t/a Graphic Warehouse
9 Hagmill Road
Coatbridge
ML5 4XD
United Kingdom

p: +44 (0) 330 380 0172
e: accounts@graphicwarehouse.co.uk

Account Warning Email 1

This email should be sent when an account has not responded with a payment date to Chase Up Email 1 with a payment date, around the 45 days mark.  If any emails are in dispute they should be sorted before this email is sent out.

This email should contain:

Hi [forename],

Your account has currently drifted in to 45 days overdue, your credit account will be put on hold in the next 15 days if a payment date is not provided.

I have attached a statement pdf and a copy of all invoices currently standing in a separate pdf.  Please respond in due course with an expected payment. If there are any disputes or discrepancies please reply to this email and I will raise  an action ticket.

Regards,

Accounts Receivable
Matic Media Services Limted t/a Graphic Warehouse
9 Hagmill Road
Coatbridge
ML5 4XD
United Kingdom

p: +44 (0) 330 380 0172
e: accounts@graphicwarehouse.co.uk

60 Days Overdue

How to put an account on hold...

From the CRM

  1. Look up the company
  2. click the edit button (cog beside name) 

    image-1697624986339.png


  3. Change the Credit Status from Enabled to On Hold
    image-1697625023043.png

    image-1697625044108.png


  4. Customers will now not be able to place orders until the status has been switched back to Enabled.

Account Warning Email 2 - Account on Hold

This email should be sent when an account has drifted into 60 days overdue.  The account also needs it status changed to ON HOLD.

This email should contain:

Hi [forename],

Your account is now 60 days overdue. Your credit account has effective immediately been put on hold, any current live orders you have with us will not be dispatched, any rectifications will not be made until outstanding invoices have been settled.

I have attached a statement pdf and a copy of all invoices currently standing in a separate pdf.  Please respond in due course with an expected payment. If there are any disputes or discrepancies please reply to this email and I will raise  an action ticket.

Regards,

Accounts Receivable
Matic Media Services Limted t/a Graphic Warehouse
9 Hagmill Road
Coatbridge
ML5 4XD
United Kingdom

p: +44 (0) 330 380 0172
e: accounts@graphicwarehouse.co.u

90 Days Overdue

Account Warning Email 2 - Account on Hold

This email should be sent when an account has drifted into 60 days overdue.  The account also needs it status changed to ON HOLD.

This email should contain:

Hi [forename],

Re: Outstanding Account

Final Letter Before Action

We have not received a payment in relation to the below outstanding invoices.

Invoice Number Purchase Order Number Date Invoiced Due Date












Despite previous reminders, there remains an outstanding debt of £ [AMOUNT OF DEBT] in respect of the above invoices.  This amount was due on [LATEST DUE DATE].

Please respond with a payment date as soon as possible upon receipt of this letter.  

If the full amount of the sum outstanding, as set out above, is not paid withing 30 days of the date of this letter.  Matic Media Services Limited will begin legal action without warning, for a court order requiring payment.  We may also commerce insolvency proceedings.  Legal proceedings may affect any credit rating.  The costs of the legal proceedings and any other amounts which the court orders must also be paid, in addition to the debt.

This letter is being sent to you in accordance with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct contained in the Civil Procedure Rules which stipulates you should acknowledge receipt of this letter within 14 days.  The court has the power to sanction your failure to respond.

To avoid taking court action, I am willing to use Alternative Dispute Resolution to resolve this problem.

If I do not receive a satisfactory response from you within 14 days of the date of this letter, I intend to issue proceedings against you without further notice. This may increase your liability for costs.

I look forward to your acknowledgement.

Regards,

Accounts Receivable
Matic Media Services Limted t/a Graphic Warehouse
9 Hagmill Road
Coatbridge
ML5 4XD
United Kingdom

p: +44 (0) 330 380 0172
e: accounts@graphicwarehouse.co.uk

120 Days Overdue

Details should be passed to director level to deal with.