Credit Control Guide contents
OurCredit Control Guide is available as part of the FPB membership package. Please note, members must be logged in to the website to view the Guide. Non-members can view Section 3 of the Guide here.  
 
Section one
 
An overview of credit control; this section gives an outline of credit control procedures and looks at the impact of late payment, before using examples to assist you in calculating the impact of late payment on your own business.
 
Section two
 
Section two deals with credit control procedures in detail, showing you where you can get information on potential customers' payment reliability, setting up credit accounts and terms and conditions.
 
Section three (available to non-members)
 
Section three deals with managing debt, measures you can take to ensure your debts are paid and external agencies you can engage to help you collect outstanding debts. This section also examines commercial mediation, arbitration and trade credit insurance.
 
Section four
 
Section four deals with taking legal action. It examines what you need to consider before embarking on legal action and how to proceed in England and Wales, and in Scotland.
 
Section five
 
Section five deals with factoring and invoice discounting, the pros and cons, and how the process works.
 
Templates
 
The Templates section contains useful documents for you to adapt and personalise for your business: 
Template 1 – Credit account application form
Template 2 – Trade reference letter
Template 3 – Sample terms and conditions of contract
Template 4 – Acceptance letter to credit account
Template 5 – Credit account statement
Template 6 – Order confirmation
Template 7 – Purchase order
Template 8 – Delivery note
Template 9 – Proforma invoice
Template 10 – Invoice
Template 11 – First reminder letter
Template 12 – Letter of final demand
Template 13 – Agreement to instalment payments letter
Template 14 – Repeated late payment letter
Template 15 – Deliveries held until past due balance paid letter
Templates 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12 are available to download in our free credit control template bundle.
 
Useful information
 
This section gives contact details for organisations you may find of help in managing your cash flow.