Owed money by someone you see every morning
Livery is due on the first. Most liveries pay by standing order and you never think about it. A few pay when they remember. One has been a week late for three months running, and another has not paid last month's extras at all. You see both of them on the yard most days. Bringing it up by the muck heap feels wrong, so you do not, and the amount grows.
When you finally check the bank, you find that two standing orders were set up for last year's price and have been short every month since the rise. Nobody noticed, because matching payments to invoices is a job you do in batches when you have time.
Why arrears build up quietly on yards
Late payment on a yard is rarely about bad intentions. It builds because the process for noticing and chasing depends on one busy person doing an uncomfortable job at the right moment.
- Bank payments are matched to invoices by hand, so short or missing payments show up late.
- Standing orders are not updated when livery prices change.
- Reminders are sent only when the yard owner feels able to, so they are inconsistent.
- There is no single view of who owes what and for how long.
- Personal relationships make the first reminder feel like an accusation.
By the time the conversation happens, it is about a large sum, which makes it harder for both sides.
The cost is more than the money
Every month a livery is behind, the yard is effectively lending them hay, bedding and staff time. On a small yard, a couple of liveries in arrears can make the difference between paying suppliers on time and not.
The emotional cost is real too. Yard owners describe dreading certain conversations, avoiding parts of the yard at certain times and feeling resentful towards people they otherwise like. Inconsistent chasing also feels unfair to the liveries who always pay on time, and they notice.
A calm, consistent payment process
We build a process that does the routine parts the same way every month, and hands the decisions to you.
- Your bank feed in Xero, QuickBooks or Sage is used to match incoming payments to livery invoices, including standing orders, with short payments flagged.
- When prices change, liveries paying by standing order get a clear message showing the new amount, and any short payment after that is highlighted.
- Reminders go out on a schedule you set: a friendly note shortly after the due date, a firmer one later, each worded by you and sent by email or text.
- An arrears view shows each livery, what they owe, how long for and what has already been sent, so you are never guessing.
- Anything beyond a reminder, such as a payment plan or a conversation, is flagged for you to decide. What your livery agreement says about late payment, and what you do about it, stays with you and your adviser.
- Payment links through Stripe or GoCardless can be added to reminders, which removes the "I'll do it when I get home" step.
| Step | Usually | With the process |
|---|---|---|
| Matching payments | In batches, when there is time | From the bank feed, daily |
| Price rise | Standing orders stay on the old amount | Liveries told the new figure, shortfalls flagged |
| First reminder | When you feel able to | On a set day, same wording for everyone |
| Knowing who owes | Checking the bank and a spreadsheet | One arrears view |
| Next step | Put off | Flagged for your decision |
Fewer difficult conversations
Reminders go out on the same day for everyone, from the yard's system rather than from you personally. Liveries who forgot simply pay. Short standing orders are caught the first month rather than the sixth. When you do need to talk to someone, you already know the exact figure, the dates and what they have been sent, so the conversation is short and factual.
Most importantly, you stop carrying the list in your head. The yard knows who is behind, and you decide what to do about it with the facts in front of you.
Could this be your yard?
- You match livery payments to invoices by hand.
- Standing orders have stayed on old prices after a rise.
- You put off reminding liveries because it feels personal.
- You are not sure exactly who owes what right now.
- Arrears have grown large before anyone raised them.