COLLECTING money from late paying clients conjures up an image of burly bailiffs knocking on the door demanding to take away possessions. Jenny Esau has been adopting a completely different approach since setting up her own business after moving back to the Wirral. Her company, Esau Credit Control Services, aims to help clients requiring a full credit control service or overdue debt recovery using 'the gentle touch'. Ms Esau has worked with a range of companies with turnovers from £500,000 to over £200m. The company, based at Port Sunlight and a member of the Federation of Small Businesses, specialises in consultancy, training, cash collection and outsourcing. Managing Director Ms Esau has worked all over the country during the past 15 years, handling credit management for a range of companies, including flooring manufacturers and construction engineers. The pull of Merseyside ultimately brought her back to her roots together with her desire to offer smaller companies the quality of service which blue chip companies can afford and take for granted. Ms Esau, who is also a member of the Institute of Credit Management, said: "There aren't many women doing what I do. Women generally make better credit controllers than men because they are more tenacious and good at working people out. It is vital that companies - particularly smaller companies - get paid for all their hard work and keep the cash flowing in. Any hiccups in cash flow could make all the difference between going under and surviving. "Although the traditional image may be of the big burly man knocking on the door, I am not like that. I work with companies across all departments and the objective is not to alienate clients but to keep communicating with them and make for a stronger relationship in the long term." Research shows that almost half of UK invoices are overdue - 18 days on average - and 1.9% of money owed is never paid. British businesses are losing as much as £20bn a year through unpaid bills. All collection work undertaken by Esau Credit Control Services is made on a no win, no fee basis. The firm can handle specific debts from as little as £50 upwards, take on old and unresolved debts and initiate legal action where appropriate. She also runs one day seminars on credit management at a number of venues across Merseyside. larryneild@dailypost.co.uk | 
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