This is the month most of us go on holiday, especially if you need to coordinate with school breaks. If you’re about to go on a well-earned break, have a great time, and if you’ve come back, I hope it lived up to your expectations.
Of course, your business has to carry on while you’re away. I highlighted one of the ways criminals could take advantage of your absence, and I’ve also posted that on my blog. Besides this, your credit control needs to keep working in your absence. If you do return, though, and find yourself having to chase unpaid invoices, you’re very welcome to get in touch with SJ Collections.
If you run a business, it’s almost inevitable that at some time you’ll need to make an application for credit, whether that’s to finance expansion or to get you over a temporary dip in cashflow.
You normally want credit sorted out as quickly as possible. I’ve given a rundown of exactly what you’ll need to include to make sure the application doesn’t keep bouncing back to you for more information.
Courts Closing — Is This a Sign of the Future?
For some time now, there have been suggestions about streamlining the court system. Last year, for instance, I reported on proposals by the Master of the Rolls to develop a digital court system.
While embracing new technology to make the system more efficient is generally welcome, the subtext of many of these proposals is to save money by closing existing courthouses.
Last month, it was announced that seven courts from Fleetwood to Maidenhead were to close, including two in London. An eighth (Cambridge Magistrates’ Court) was originally included in the list but has been reprieved. Most of these are Magistrates’ Courts, but two, in Wandsworth and Banbury, are County Courts and will affect people bringing action in those areas to recover a debt. To make that worse, Wandsworth had already taken over cases from the now-closed Uxbridge County Court
While the government argues that alternatives are “within reach”, these closures will have the biggest negative effect on people most in need. Those, for instance, who’ll have long journeys on public transport to reach alternative courts that might be more easily accessible by car.
In reality, these particular closures may only have a negligible effect on people’s ability to access legal processes. The worry, though, is that this could be the pattern for the future. If we are to have a well-planned, effective digital court system, well and good, but surely that must be in place before the traditional courts start to close.