There’s an epidemic of late payments in the UK. 58% of businesses are owed a combined £14bn in late payments.A substantial amount of this is due to companies not having the right payment solutions and processes in place, particularly for recurring customer payments.I’ve been in the payments industry for over 15 years and in my experience, businesses simply want to provide a quality product or service and get paid on time for it. Not too much to ask is it?As a Director with Eazy Collect and now Access Paysuite, I have worked with businesses of all sizes from start-ups to large corporates in over 40 industry sectors, helping them to put in place the right payment solution(s) for their business. Solutions that help their business get the best chance of getting paid on time and get the best payment success rate. Choosing the right payment channels and making it easier for the customer to pay is key.Here are the Top 4 problems I regularly see in businesses:1. Sticking to ingrained manual payment processes and old technology2. Not giving the customer enough options to pay (that also works for you)3. Leaving customers to decide how and when to pay4. Having inconsistent, haphazard customer follow-up communications.You’ll see significant benefits by using the right payment solution to collect payments from customers, but that alone is not the answer. You must:1. Automate as much of the payment process as possible2. Make it simple for customers to pay you3. Have rock solid payment communication channels Use a Payment System with all the latest technology to ensure it fits seamlessly into your sales and credit control processes to maximise your payments with the minimum of effort for you and your customers, leaving you with a solid cashflow and more profits.If your business could do with a Payments makeover or if you just want a bit of practical advice, drop me a message on LinkedIn and I’d be glad to help out.