Nett Magazine Interview with Ezidebit CEO Charlie Holland

Monday, 11 March 2013 09:35

EDITORIAL BY NETT MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 2013, WITH EZIDEBIT CEO CHARLIE HOLLAND

Ask The Expert
Charlie Holland
Ezidebit sell a payment platform that enables your customers to authorize direct debit of BPAY payments to your business. We asked Charlie Holland, CEO of Ezidebit, for his advice on improving cash flow.
What is the first thing you should be doing when dealing with a consistently late-paying customer?
The first thing is to communicate to the customer as soon as the payment due date has passed, advising them of the issue and providing options to immediately rectify the payment. Another option is to introduce this customer to direct debit, this will provide the business control of when the payment is received and also remove the effort of the payer to physically make the payment. I also believe that providing incentives for paying early or for using direct debit, or penalties for paying late are great ways to improve the timing of payments.

What is the biggest mistake you see small businesses make with regards to chasing debtors?
Not chasing outstanding payments early is definitely the biggest mistake. Small businesses are mostly focused on sales and their next customer that often their outstanding debtors can get out of control and without warning their cash flow becomes an issue. You cannot just ignore late payers or expect that everyone will simply pay on time. You need to have a consistent plan and systems in place to control your payments and therefore know your financial position at all times. 

What are your top five tips for reducing late payments?
My top five tips for combating late payments are:

• Ensure you have the administrative ability to efficiently handle invoicing and payment receipting.
• Use direct debit where suitable so that you have control over being paid.
• Use appropriate software to assist in managing payments and make sure staff are trained and up to date with using them.
• Make sure your customers are aware of your terms and conditions around payment terms and any penalties or incentives for late or early payments.
• Keep your accounts and especially your cash flow statements up to date so that a problem can't get out of hand and therefore can be resolved as soon as possible.

Ezidebit Takes Home An Australian Business Award!

Tuesday, 26 July 2011 14:05

Ezidebit are very pleased to announce that we’ve been awarded the 2010 Australian Business Award for Enterprise under the Financial Services Category.

This is a significant achievement for us, and recognises the hard work and effort our team has put into developing Ezidebit as a business.

The Australian Business Awards is a national program honouring organisations that demonstrate the core values of business excellence, product excellence, sustainability and commercial success in their respective industries through an established series of business and product award categories.

www.businessawards.com.au

Credit Card Disputes and Chargebacks

Friday, 24 June 2011 14:03

Credit card disputes can be a timely and potentially costly process for businesses. Ezidebit provides helpful steps that you can take to minimize your exposure to these credit card transaction disputes.

Sometimes Credit Card disputes arise from a disagreement over the quality and delivery of products and services or from a questionable transaction. Your customer may approach their financial institution and lodge a Credit Card transaction dispute.

Ezidebit has the experience & know how in dealing with these situations and we will represent your interests in the dispute. However, if your customer is successful with their claim, a chargeback will result in the reversal of the original transaction. This can be a time-consuming and potentially costly process. Fortunately, you can take a number of actions to prevent — or at least minimize — chargebacks:

• If the cardholder is present, compare the signature on the DDR form to the back of the Credit Card or any additional identification if necessary.
• Retain copies of documentation that relate to a service or product you have provided.
• Verify that the Credit Card number on the DDR form matches the number on the Credit Card.
• Check the expiry date on the card.
• Provide the customer with your contact details - this allows a dissatisfied customer to call you and rectify the situation before they attempt a chargeback.

If you have any questions or would like additional information, please don't hesitate to contact the Ezidebit Client Support team.

New Consumer Protection Legislation - Trade Practice Amendment

Friday, 24 June 2011 14:00

Ezidebit supports any initiative that allows our clients to conduct their businesses with greater clarity, certainty and expediency. That is why we support the passage of the Trade Practice Amendment through the federal parliament. The Amendment is now awaiting Royal Assent, and this will come into effect in the second half of this year.

What it means for Business?

The Amendment relates to consumer protection legislation and will introduce a new regime, voiding "unfair" terms of particular contracts for sale of goods and services to consumers.

The Amendment introduces new penalties for corporations and individuals who breach the Trade Practices Act.

A term of a consumer contract will be unfair if:

• It would cause a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations arising under the contract; and
• It is not reasonably necessary in order to protect the legitimate interests of the party who would be advantaged by the term.

The following are some of the examples of the kinds of terms that may be considered unfair:

1. A term that permits the business (but not the consumer) to avoid or limit performance of the contract;
2. A term that permits the business (but not the consumer) to terminate the contract;
3. A term that penalises the consumer (but not the business) for a breach or termination of the contract;
4. A term that permits the business (but not the consumer) to vary the terms of the contract;
5. A term that permits the business (but not the consumer) to renew or not renew the contract; and
6. A term that permits the business to vary the upfront price payable under the contract without the right of the consumer to terminate the contract.

The reform of the consumer protection regime is important to businesses. You may want to review your agreement in light of the Amendment and if unsure you may need to refer to your legal representative.