There are people out there that could owe your business money without you even realising. Below are just some of the hidden sources of money owed to businesses and how to claim this money.
Customer debts
It’s possible that some of your customers could still owe you money. Without chasing up these debts, you may never get the money you deserve.
Companies with lots of different clients are more likely to lose track of missed payments. Setting up alerts for all customers is recommended to check that payments have gone through so that you can chase them up in good time. You can read this guide to chasing up customer debts for tips on how to do it the right way.
What happens if a client goes bankrupt or goes into liquidation? Do you lose all the money you are owed? Not always. Using a liquidator or insolvency practitioner, it may still be possible to get back some of the money you are owed. This is something that some businesses do not realise and they can end up missing out on money they are rightly owed because of it.
Mis-sold contracts
Sometimes companies will sell you products or services with fees or charges that you did not consent to. This is money that you are legally eligible to claim back as you did not agree to it in writing. In some cases, you may not even have to go to court to claim it back.
Mis-sold PPI is the most well known example of this – until recently it was possible to claim this back without going to court. A more recent mis-sold contract that some companies have become aware of is mis-sold energy contracts via brokers with hidden commission charges. There are companies that can help you file energy claims to get this money back. If you’ve been paying the same contract for a while, you could find that you’re owed hundreds or even thousands.
Duplicate payments
When paying for products and services, errors can sometimes be made, which could result in you paying for the product or service twice.
Some companies will notify you if you have accidentally made a duplicate payment, however not all companies will be so courteous. This is why it’s important to check receipts and regularly check bank statements so that you can claim back any duplicate payments that you may have accidentally made.
Overpaid tax
Many companies also end up paying too much tax by not researching which expenses they are able to deduct. For instance, many sole traders that work from home do not realise that expenses like rent may be partially deductible.
You can claim back overpaid tax, but you usually only have four years to do it. This guide to tax refunds explains how to do this.
Local business grants
There are many local business grants that many small businesses are eligible for but never claim. This is essentially free money to put towards your business.
In order to receive this money, you have to complete an application form – you do not automatically receive it. You can usually apply online.
