Real solutions for real business owners tired of chasing payments.
This article was prepared by Mel Curwood and is being published by the New Zealand Herald as advertorial.
Is it time to rethink the way we manage payments and cashflow that’s fair for both upstream and downstream?
Because when good businesses are stuck chasing invoices, juggling bills, and waiting weeks to get paid, something’s not working. And in a system where delays ripple from the top down, it’s often the small operators – on the tools, behind the wheel, or running the books – who feel the pinch first.
Every business and business owner benefits when they receive payments faster, improving cashflow and reducing risk. So why are so many still stuck chasing money they should’ve had weeks ago, while juggling jobs, bills, staff, and gear?
Mel Curwood knows the feeling well. She’s been in the trenches with SME owners for the past seven years, from muddy worksites to conference rooms, and says something has to give.
“There needs to be a change,” she says. “The pain that exists when businesses are affected by liquidations or non-payment or slow payment or the distress of expecting payment and just not having it come in, it’s very, very real.”
Curwood works with one of New Zealand’s longest-standing credit management providers. Her job? Helping business owners protect themselves before things go wrong and giving them the tools to deal with it when they do.
That means tightening up the paperwork, doing proper credit checks, identifying risk upfront, and making sure if someone folds, you’ve got a shot at getting your money back.
She’s also out there pushing for change because too many good businesses are stuck in old-school systems that don’t work anymore.
“We know that the business owners of these SMEs are the ones often contributing to local fundraisers. They often volunteer in the community. They also want to be able to provide really good employment for their staff… but when there’s that bottleneck coming from the top down in terms of that cash flow, it really can hamstring all these businesses.”
She’s not against big business, but she’s clear-eyed about the damage being done.
“I’m just suggesting that the system that works for them doesn’t necessarily always work for those who are servicing all of their jobs and projects.”
In a tightly connected economy of just over five million, when one major business collapses, many others are dragged down.
“There’s a recent liquidation here in the Waikato that’s affected everybody from plasterers through to the companies who are installing garage doors.”
She says the emotional toll is too often overlooked.
“It’s very, very real and it affects not only the businesses, the business owners, their families, it affects their communities.
“These business owners are not just a number on a statistic. They are mums and dads, real people, real teams that play important roles.”
And when they’re ready to make a change, to put better systems in place, protect themselves, and stop being used as a free bank, Curwood is already out there with them. On the front line. Helping them do it.