14 Days Net?
Most businesses that CNCROi.com has the honor to call a customer do a double-take when they see our invoices. Our payment terms? 14 days net!
14 Days Net?
I had just delivered a big project to a client and gave the invoice to the general manager on the way out after making sure everything was as expected. Just as I was entering my truck, he ran out and told me he was surprised to see my 14 days net… he’d never seen such a thing from his suppliers!
I told him that I run an optimistic company and part of that is HOPING for 14 days net, but if all he can manage is 30 days net, I can manage. He was relieved and I got my 30 days in stone.
This field stone took thousands if not millions of years to form, we just came in around the end of the production line to brand it.
Why 14 days net?
Of course, not all companies actually LOOK at terms on an invoice much less follow them but the reason I put down 14 days net is so our services don’t end-up becoming a bridge loan. Most companies generally have 30 days but others, like some automotive suppliers (won’t name names), actually have terms up to 360 days! That’s a one year no-interest loan!
The other reason I put down 14 days net is that it opens a conversation regarding payment, at the end of the day, CNCROi.com does work for your company, we expect to be paid for it. Payment terms are generally part of contracts but sometimes we do things on a handshake and things like payment terms area easily forgotten. This opens the door to that conversation if it wasn’t agreed to beforehand.
I also learned while running my 3D animation studio here in the Niagara Region almost 20 years ago that the best time to give a big invoice is when the client just got a project and is happy with the result, they sometimes give it to the accounts payable department and I got to leave with a check within a few minutes!
Business is about cashflow
Operating a business is the same for most industries, it comes down to cashflow. Check comes in, you pay suppliers, utilities etc. and then get to keep a bit for shop improvements and capital expenses. Some companies like Apple have such massive profit margins that they end-up building a war chest worth more than the GDP of some countries but for most businesses, the margins are pretty tight at the end of the day. We are no different, our ship is tight but steadily going in a positive direction!
Talk to any business owner and cashflow is the biggest concern they have, of course, that same business owner can quickly list a number of capital expenses they hope to take on as soon as they lock down a new potential contract or build-up their war chess with more disposable funds.
CNCROi.com keeps on pushing forward!
CNCROi.com is no different from most of our clients and suppliers, we all have dreams of what we would do with a bit of extra cash on hand, for us, building a custom shop and getting a full sheet CNC router is at the top of our list as well as another laser of course. Each month, our client list grows and so do our project requirements and having space and equipment are a constant constraint and opportunity leader for us.
I realized long ago that I can’t sell services for a machine we don’t have easy access to anymore than we can promise deliverables without sound knowledge and experience under our belt. Rest assured, regardless of what you throw at us, we’ve done it many times beforehand and that confidence allows us to meet your tight deadlines and quality expectations.
Having a net 14 days allows us the breathing room to build things up at an expedited rate… just last week for instance, we ordered a new industrial metal hole punch and will be getting a lot more equipment to augment our CNC router for our woodworking division to improve the quality of our finished products! There are so many areas we can expand into, each piece of equipment allows us to provide that extra little bit to make our clients happy!
We got an industrial stamper over a month ago and I’ve been so busy I haven’t even had a chance to post any blog articles about the capabilities of that machine much less our CNC router that’s been in the shop since August of 2015 when we officially opened our doors.
Have a project that requires the high quality finish our CNC laser, router or stamping machine can provide? Looking for a skilled operator that keeps his promises and delivers things on budget and on time? Contact CNCROi.com!
