LATE payments are putting growth - and even jobs - at risk for small firms on Merseyside, a new study shows. Latest figures from invoicing giant Fortis Commercial Finance show that a third of Merseyside businesses expect a drop in growth next year as a direct result of bills being paid late. One in three SME bosses predict significant increases in stress, while a significant number expect to lay off staff to cope with late payments. "There's nothing new about Britain's late payment culture," said credit management expert Jenny Esau, of Wirral-based Esau Credit Control Services. "But as payments get later, and bad debt grows worse, the time when more and more businesses begin to fold as a result is drawing ever closer. "And with Merseyside particularly reliant on SMEs, businesses need to act now to deal with the problem or run the risk of causing serious damage to the area's economy." According to Ms Esau, too many businesses avoid dealing with late payments for fear of upsetting clients. In reality, clients more often feel reassured by businesses with serious, but customerfocused collection strategies. "We know it costs 10 times more to win a new customer than it does to keep an existing one," added Ms Esau. "But too many companies think they are protecting themselves, and raising the prospect of repeat business, by allowing their clients to delay payment for longer and longer. "Unless they deal with late payments now, they might not have a business to protect in several months' or years' time. "What they really need to do is tackle the problem in a customerfocused way which gets them paid and adds to their client relationship at the same time." More often than not, she argues, clients respect a business which tackles these issues head on. "Contrary to people's fears, clients often see businesses which are serious about getting paid as being the ones which are most likely to survive, and therefore the ones with whom they have most chance of developing a profitable trading relationship," she said. tonymcdonough@dailypost.co.uk | 
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