Money matters

7.1 Dea冊g wit旧igures

A w勅e寂pairs Look at the pICtureS and dlSCuSS

these questlOnS;

. What are the people in the pho[OS dolng?

・ When was the la§t tlme yOu deal[ With figures

Or numbers in English? What did you do?

. How much of your time do you §Pend dealing
with figures?
B #芸署請嵩荒島寄書霊詑.1n PaymentS’Declde whlCh of the

+ WhlCh ltemS are left over? Wrlte them out as figures.

c l祭‘.器盤葦聖霊ete the lnformatlOn mlSSlng from thlS rePOrt

しVMH advances in
Slowing ma「ket
LVMH, the French luxury goods group
Which owns a string of prestlge brand names
ranglng from Louis Vuitton luggage to
Hennessy cognac, SaW net PrOfits rlSe
by to FFr l.29bn
($      )缶om FFr
in 血e firs〔 half of血e year ln SPite of
the downtum in 〔he iuxury products
血dustリ.
The group saw overall group sales in the
first sIX mOnths of 〔his year rise by

to FFr         丘om
 2 Wbγk i′7 paiγS Usc the lnformatlOn yOu nOW have to work out the followlng

a) the rlSe in ne[ prOfits ln the firs〔 half of the year

b) the dlfference ln OVera= group sales in the first sIX mOnths
c) [he fa= in sales for wlneS and splrits
d) the lnCreaSe ln OPerating profits for luggage and leather products
e) the dlfference ln §ales of perfume§ and cosmetics

D w般inpaiγS One ofyou should look atFlle 17,the o〔her at47・ You’1leach have an
alr Wayblll, the document that accompanies air frelgh〔・ Wlth mcomplete figures to制In.

Phone your partner to find out what the mis§ing deta11s are.

Ask your partner to dlCtate them to you. Your partner wlll also requlre detalls from
yOu・

7.2 Cash=0W

鵠葦鵠器藍謂豊島蒜
Ifyou,re a §mall busincss, the chances arc血at for every I;100

you owc, O血crs owe you f;155. What’s more’yOu,re probably

w狐ting up to 12 weeks to ge〔 pajd. It,s not right. Some
buslneSS PeOPle ha‘▼e ‘甲′ definlte ideas about what should b⊂
done to make血ings falrer
Improving credi〔 controI can make a world of difference to

your buslneSS PrOSPeCtS. Profit lS gOOd’but it’s cash tha〔 PayS

亡he wagcs
So here are ten tips to help you get what’s due to you

音 ASSESS血e credit risk ofe‘′ery CuStOmer and asslgn a Credit

llmlt tO血em before any good§ are SuPPlied. Trad⊂ and bank
ref料ences should always bc taken up beforc acceptlng a
customcr on credit terms.

2 sTATE the credit terms ciearly on each lnVOICC (a Pay-by

date and details of interest charges)・

3 ASK for a percentage of血e invoice value ln advance as

protection agalnSt bad debt and to hcIp cash flow

4 TRY credit insurance ifcredit chccks do not come up to

standard. It’s not always availablc, but it can provide up to
lOO per ccnt covcr on approvcd debts, guaran〔eeing

Payment by a specified datc.

5 THINK about using debt collec。on agencics for smaller

debts. Agency fees, uSually based on a percentagc, are Only
payable if血e debt is successfu皿y [eCOVered.
 6蒜嵩蒜諾嵩諾護憲霊
7 MAKE SURE you know the name and dcpartment ofthc
pcrson to whom each invoice l§ being sent.

8 cHECK how long cxISting cu§tOmCrS take to pay - and

negotlate nCW CrCdit tcrms if血ey,re not mecting bills on time.

9 oFFER your custom⊂rs discounts for paying up promptly

when lnVOiccd.

1 0認諾豊豊富書経藍蒜葦

2 Read the article once more and match up these statements with the polntS in the
artlCle.

Accordlng tO the artlde …

a) How can you deal with smaller debts?

b) What is a good way of protectlng yOur§elf agalnSt bad debts?
c) What should you do lf present customers delay ln Paylng?
d) What should you do in order to be sure your invoICe has not been forgotten?
e) What should you do before sendlng gOOds to a customer?
f) When should you usc credit iusurance?
g) What can you do lf customers pay up swlftly?
h) How do factors work?
i) What should you wrlte Clearly on the mVOice?
】、 Whose name do you need to know?

3 Discuss these questlOnS:

● Which of the above methods are you famillar Wlth in your own country and

company (or a company yOu have worked for〉?

. H。W uSeful lS SuCh advICe ln yOur COuntry?

7.3 Cha叩iれg Prices‥ DeaIing with invoicing errors

A w般inpa涙Imagine thatyou and

your partner have been worklng in the
Accounts Department of Fimtec for
two weeks. Your boss Ms AaltlO has
asked you亡O fill in the lnVOice for
Frigorifico Ameglio S"A. Use these
i†em:Senso「Swi†che§
d。Cument§ tO bill and invoice the
dient. fype  P高ee    rype  P碇e
A3A $l.50     A6D  $ l.80
A3B $0.80     A6丁 $l.30
B3F . $l.70     A7G 0.90 l.35
B3」 $2.20     A7H

1O%discoun†onbuiko「ders20g「OSSPlu
 S種山「(関田場,細網棚, W“●9 ho)

F工川村丁EC
PO. Box 32与
S戸- 33200 ￣恥MP蹴亡
FIN」∧川D
c〇億〇9○○)         仰隊

NI∧

さ重職●章●1轟

釣棚ぬけ O「der: 0?764     Quan仙川ems: 55’g叩`

抑国書〇着〇回高ま調書
Add「es5:鰯等第㌢′硯102う・
DescripiIon ol mel’Chandi§e:帥soγ訪tche‘ tr 441?

Me書hod of paymenl: #控γ Of C仰謝

B You,ve just found out that new
Prices have been in operation for two weeks, term叩l paymen† agreed: dγ坤抄†
SO yOu need 〔O COntaCt the customer. One of
Melhbd of paymeni 〇g「eed: f姉tfeI如d
you looks at File 18 and phones the
PaymenI due: on pree南tioれ
customer; the other looks at Flle 48 and
Plays the role of Julio MartmeZ.

7.3 ChangiIlg Prices: Oe細れg W緬InVOicing er「O「S

 C豊島黒岩蒜一語藍Om JullO MartlneZ. Look at Flle 85 to see ths

D譜荒業絹業藍詰悪霊盤喜器請書謹上
reque§ted. Indude thlS Phra§e: We亡hank you for your rem￨ttanCe Of∴ ‥

7,4 Letters of Credit

Irrevocable Letter
'OfCredit
CHANGEQUAY: 4う3P」UK

〇一 蕪雑禁器OL巳§しIMITたD lTARYCREDIT lCUSTi9卿 ○

LONDON SE= 8J8

!DKiNcDOM
00.00 【TYTliOUSAND o

ERしINC iRDC708447

LIMITED

e DOCUMENTS REQUIRED葛
A「E

ONc I
e   ￣￣

C
A ¥陶γ信中華s Look a・ the document opposlte. Read the explanat10nS below ofthe
varlOuS SeCtions, and agree which explana[10n gOeS Wlth whlCh numbe「 in the document.

The Documcntary Letter of Credit is a form of payment wldely used in foreign

trade. Most credit§ are Simllar in appearance and contain the followlng detail§:

The terms of contract and shipment (l.e. Whether `EXW’, `FOB’, `CIF’, etC.)

The name and addrcss of the importer

Whether the credlt is available for one or‘ several partshipment§

The amount of the credit言n sterllng Or a foreign currency

The expiry date

A brief description of the goods covered by the credlt
The name and address of the exporter
PrecISe lnStruCtions a§ tO the documents against whlCh payment lS tO be made

丁he type of credit (revocable or lrreVOCable)

Shipping details, including whether partshipments and/or transhipments are allowed・

AIso recorded §hould be the latest date for shlPment and the names of the ports of
shipment and discharge. (It may be m the best interest of the exporter for shipment
[o be allowed `from any UK port’so that a choice is available if, for example, SOme

ports are affected by strikes. The same applie§ for the port of discharge.)

The name of the party on whom the bill§ Of exchange are to be drawn, and whether
thcy are to be at slght or of a particular tenor

書See File 73 for the correct numbered order.

B Q9 You,ll hear a recording of a banker talklng about some of the common mistakes
that are made when people complete letters of credlt. FlⅡ ln the ltemS mlSSlng below:

DociimentS Were Often ln`OnSISte血亡With olle aIIOther ill thc following ways:

. the descrlPtion 〈or 4     ) of goods on invoice(s) differed from that

in the letter of credit

. the       differed between export documents

・ the amounts of 6      shown on the invoice(s〉 and bill of exchange

(dra旬d准ered
● the 7       differed between docunents

● the letter of credit was 8       the value of the order

● 亡he ,       was sh〇億

. some documents lO
C 服,証言′Z g′0印S Compare your answers. Then dlSCuSS these ques〔一OnS:
・ What are your own personai experlenCeS Wlth documents lnVOIvlng figures?
・ What advICe Can yOu glVe eaCh other on how to deal wlth forms and complex

documentatlOn?

7.5 Chasing payment

A 塵!肋,′初年a楯You,ll hear a telephone conversation between

a credit controller, Valentlna Santine11l, and a customer, Wllhelm
Becker, Who hasnt pald an outstanding blll.

1 LISten and mark whether the statements below are true囲or

fa!se囲:

The credit contro=er …

口口口口口口
2 LISten a SeCOnd time and complete the notes wlth the reasons

(Or eXCuSeS) that the cus亡Omer glVeS for the late payment.

枕胸筋          (叩鎚′咋r αレ挑虎雄近称〆`′堆)
2′訪御伽∽巧妙γ
んの銑er掲∽相方0αγ        ん“倍めんの筋硯
材巧クr戸の施侮                一妓uタ毒グ

〆0幼均御伽庇r omd壷
0αγ b鋤ん               l傍白0巌かo′げの``Ollノみ

のをhαル矛的ん偽吻r最新の九の“似妬み毎夕m′り

んのめr α傷め〃∽ `ん0“似Mん毎夕胸′夕

B ImagIne yOu are aSSisting the credlt COntrOlle￨ Valentina Santln。Ili. D.aft 。 l。tt。r f。r he.
to read. It is the end of the month and you still have not received any payment on the
invoICe from Wilhelm Becker. Wrlte a丘rst reminder to them. You aren,t satisfied with

your cu§tOmer’s delay. But you still want to glVe 〔hem a chance to pay up …
Complete this first reminder let[er:

Dear Mr Becker,

Accor.d￨ng tO Our reCC)rds, Payment Of our lnVOice) nO. 35823,

 Yours s￨nCe￨.ely,

園田図回
(Credlt Contro￨￨er)

∵星星口
c A week later you receive thlS letter:

3 August 20_

Dea「 Ms Santlnellli

As you wl†l remembe「 from our telephone cal「 we have rece=tly

been experlenClng a …爪ber of‘ dlff'CUltleS Wlth several la「ge

customers. ThlS has 「esu「ted ln Unfort=nate delays ln Paylng

OUtStandlng aCC。untS

We a「e ext「emely so「「y that you「 company has been affected by

these develop爪entS

We are dolng eVe「ythlng POSSlble to rectl「y the s「tuatlOn

Indeed we hope to be able to settle o=r debts wlthln the very

nea「 futu「e

I would ve「y much app「eclate lt l「 yOU COuld bear wlth us

patlently, aS I am s=「e that llqU「datlOn On OUr Part WOuld not

be 「n your lnte「eSt elthe「

Yours slnCe「e「y.

.∵言∴ ÷,言
(Chlef clerk, Accounts)

Decide what to do. Will you write a second remlnder or phone them up?
Draft a letter, e-ma11 or fax or make a further phone call to find out what the problem is.
If you decide to make a phone call, Student A plays the role of the credit controller and
looks at File 19 and makes the phone call. Student B Iooks at File 27, Playing the

n You receive a letter wlth a cheque. Look at File 74 and decide how to react.