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Talk About Your Debts Owed - It's Important!

Do you dislike talking about money – how much you have or what you are owed?If the answer is yes, read on or watch the video, this newsletter is for you. Talking about money can be viewed as unsavoury. Growing up in New Zealand how many of us have been told by our parents that money matters were not to be spoken of.  What is our house worth? – that doesn’t concern you.  How much do we have in the bank? – none of your business.If you have grown up in this environment then unsurp...

Are you embarrassed to chase debtors for outstanding money?

Every day we speak with individuals and business owners who are reluctant to ask their debtors to pay their invoices - even when they're extremely overdue.Some people find the experience very uncomfortable and are embarrassed to ask for money, while others tell us they do not want to antagonise their clients for fear they will take their business elsewhere. Credit management is about getting paid on time (which means earlier for many of you) and is a necessary part of business. Once a business h...

When can I pass an overdue account to debt collection?

Once an account is overdue you have every right to pass the debt on to CollectIT Ltd. There is no legal requirement for you to advise the debtor you are going to do this (although if you do advise them you are sending the matter to debt collection, you may increase your chance of getting paid). At CollectIT we continually see debts that are left far too long. At any time companies can be liquidated, consumers can be bankrupted and contact details can change. If a debtor is unable to be contacted...

District Court Becomes One

On 1 March 2017 the District Court Act 2016 came into force. This Act creates the largest court in Australasia.Instead of 58 individual District Courts there is now one single District Court which according the the New Zealand District Law Society will hear over 200,000 civil, criminal and family cases every year. The District Court Act 2016 came into being as a result of a bill introduced to parliament called the Judicature Modernisation Bill. It has been hailed as the first major overhaul of t...

If your debtor passes away, who will pay you?

Have you ever worked for, performed services or supplied goods to a person who has then died before you have received payment? You might be wondering what happens to your debt and if you can still be paid? This is a situation that arises occasionally for business owners giving credit to their customers.The answer in short is yes, you can still pursue that money owed to you. A debtor's death does not extinguish liability for the debt, the debt is carried by the debtors estate which remains liable...

Are your debtors going to pay before year end?

"We're having a great year, and because cash flow is good we haven't really been too concerned about our bad debts or slow payers. "When times are good it is very easy to let the slow payers stretch you out. The issue with doing this is that the longer a debt is left, the more difficult it is to obtain payment from these clients. It is very difficult to obtain payment if the contact details you have are no longer valid as bad debtors tend to move frequently.Businesses and individuals go through ...

How can CollectIT assist with your financial goals in 2017?

Are you feeling angry with your debtors for not paying? Are your slow payers keeping you awake at 3am? Did you have friends complaining about their debtors over the summer break?There is no need to be embarrassed about your ledger when you phone CollectIT. We would love to help you achieve your cash flow goals in 2017 and would welcome a discussion about your debt/s. Our newsletter below outlines some reasons why choosing CollectIT makes good financial sense. An industry leading success rat...

Do you want to be paid before Christmas?

We only have a month to go before the Christmas break is upon us and that means taking action and sending any overdue debts into CollectIT, TODAY! I came across this quote (Yesterday you said tomorrow) which I thought was so apt for those of us chasing clients to pay. How often have you been told ..... yes, I can pay that tomorrow ... and tomorrow just doesn't seem to come. We understand that every business wants to look after their clientele and work alongside them but if your client has not pa...

Statutory Demands - Recent Court Cases

Last month the newsletter focused on statutory demands and the dangers of using the procedure if a genuine dispute exists about the money owing. To recap, a statutory demand can be served on a company for the amount of the debt owing.  If not paid within 15 days the creditor can apply to the High Court to place the company into liquidation. If a dispute exists that the debt is owing, the debtor can apply to the High Court within 10 days after service of the statutory demand to have the stat...

Statutory Demands - can be an expensive exercise if used incorrectly

If your debtor is a limited liability company, then provided certain requirements are met, the statutory demand procedure can be used as a means of debt collection. Abuse of this procedure is not tolerated by the courts. Getting it wrong can be an expensive mistake. The most important requirement is that the statutory demand procedure is only available if there is no dispute that the money is owed. If there is a dispute you cannot issue a Statutory Demand. At CollectIT we are often told by our c...

NZ Business Numbers Act Comes Into Force

In the middle of May 2016 the New Zealand Business Numbers Act 2016 came into force. The bill was passed by the government in April 2016. What it does is allow all businesses operating in New Zealand to be allocated a New Zealand business number. This is not a new thing for registered companies which have had numbers since 2013. For other businesses though, including those which are not incorporated such as partnerships, trusts and sole traders, these too can have business numbers by 2...

3 Reasons Why Managing Your Debt and Anxiety is Critical For You and Your Business

Here’s what you’re missing out on if you have debt and it’s causing some anxiety and you just can’t find the ‘OFF’ switch for your overactive mind: 1. You’re missing out on having razor sharp focusNot being able to think straight is a common symptom of too much anxiety or stress.This happens because the emotional part of the brain 'swamps' the thinking part.In most situations you want to be able to think clearly. And keeping your 'thinking brain' working actually calms you right do...

End of Financial Year Clean Up

“Today, there are three kinds of people:  the have’s, the have-not’s, and the have-not-paid-for-what-they-have’s.” - Earl WilsonIf you have any of the third kind of people on your ledger, CollectIT offers a number of different options to assist you with getting money owed to you. Below, we have introduced just one of those options.From April 1, a new financial year has begun and many of you will be looking at your list of debtors as you pass your books on to your accountant. ...

Do You Take the Debt to Court or Write it Off?

At CollectIT we do a lot of work for our clients with money owed to them in both the Disputes Tribunal and the District Court.When making decisions around money owing to you, it pays to be informed.The Disputes Tribunal provides a quick, simple and inexpensive way for individuals and businesses to resolve civil disputes involving issues such as goods, services and property damage. It allows people to resolve common disagreements.Disputes TribunalDISPUTED - the claim must be disputed. Less e...

Debt, Stress and Your Health

Money concerns are among the leading causes of stress and anxiety.A recent survey found that money worries continue to plague us and serve as a significant source of stress for 64% of adults, ranking higher than the other three major sources: work, family responsibilities and health problems.Nearly three out of four adults said they felt stressed about money at least some of the time. More than a quarter reported that their stress was extreme and that they fretted about money most or all of the ...

Are Slow Payers Undermining Your Business?

CollectIT can take away that pain and save you a lot of money with their ledger management service.CollectIT ensures that your accounts receivable are managed every week and slow payers are followed up regularly. That means you get paid promptly and should your customers’ have any concerns, these are identified and addressed in a timely manner.CollectIT will take away the hassle of credit control leaving you free to concentrate on growing your business. By staying on top of your ledger yo...

Bad Credit Ratings

Recently the media was full of a story about a soldier who successfully won a long running battle against ORCON, the tele-communications company, in the Human Rights Review Tribunal – see http://nzh.tw/11452062. There were certainly issues in regards to Mr Taylor ever being lodged with Veda but what this case does show is the effectiveness of listing your debtor and debt with a credit reporting agency. The Human Rights Review Tribunal outlined that following the bad credit listi...

Rush Jobs

Have you ever had a client telephone you in a panic?  Their job is urgent, they need it done now, it can’t wait!Like the good conscientious business owner that you are, you oblige them.  You put off your other planned work, and get straight on to theirs.The client is extremely grateful and can’t thank you enough.  Send your bill straight away they say, we will fix you up immediately.You send your bill out and it is not paid!Sound familiar?A large number of the debts CollectIT ...

Beware of Caveats

Lodging a caveat can be an effective mechanism to get a debt repaid, or money owed.However it can only be used where the creditors’ debt in some way relates to the actual land owned by the debtor.If the debt relates to the debtor’s land then the creditor has a ‘registrable interest’ in the debtors land. The creditor can then lodge a caveat with the land transfer office claiming their interest.Once registered the caveat cannot be lifted without the creditors’ knowledge and/or consent.Ca...

All Companies in New Zealand have the word "limited" after their name. What does the word "limited" mean?

The word "limited" in connection with a company describes one of it's main defining features - limited liability.A company exists as an entity in its own right. The shareholders of a company are the person or persons who own shares in the company. This is where limited liability comes in - a company's shareholders are not personally liable for the company's debts and liabilities. This is in contrast to say a partnership where the owners, the partners, are personally liable for partnership d...

Small businesses declared to be the fastest bill payers

Analysis and survey firm Dun and Bradstreet have recently conducted a survey for the March-June 2014 quarter as to time taken for businesses to pay their bills. The results were positive during the second quarter in 2014. 66% of commercial invoices were paid between 1-30 days, this was up from 59% in the second quarter of 2013.Large companies employing over 500 staff were the slowest payers, taking 52.5 days on average.Businesses with 1-5 staff took 40 days to pay their invoices.Businesses with ...

Can you seize assets in New Zealand if your debtor lives overseas?

If you have a court order against your debtor, you know the debtor has assets in New Zealand but he/she lives overseas or has skipped the country, what can you do to enforce your court order?The answer is simple - you enforce your court order as if your debtor lived in New Zealand.In other words make your application to the court for enforcement. In your application list the assets that you want the court to seize or charge.In your application give the overseas address of your debtor. If you are...

Serving Court Documents Overseas

Have you ever NOT pursued a debt owing to you because your debtor has moved or lives overseas? You should not let that stop you as the New Zealand court system has specific rules to allow overseas debtors to be served.The first point to make is that you don't need the Court's permission to sue a debtor overseas, you are perfectly entitled to do so in most cases.When you make your application, list the overseas address and country where your debtor lives. The court will process your application a...

The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress – Charles Kettering.

On July 1 2014, new District Court rules came into force replacing previous 2009 rules. These rules change the processes significantly.The main changes are as follows:Commencing a claim. The notice of claim procedure has been replaced with a statement of claim and a notice of proceeding.Disclosure of documents. Information capsules have gone. Now when a statement of claim is filed, the party commencing the claim must provide a list of the documents that are relied on to the other side and p...

Money isn't everything . . . but it ranks right up there with oxygen - Rita Davenport)

Do you want your clients followed up as soon as your invoices are overdue, but do not have the time or resources? CollectIT can help you. We offer a Ledger Management service and our clients are astounded by the results. Ledger Management is carried out prior to debt collection.At CollectIT we offer Ledger Management because we know the importance of positive cashflow to run a successful business.The advantages of outsourcing your ledger management to CollectIT:You are not having to pay staff wa...