A BNI member told me the older day that he had done printing work for a number of his colleagues in his BNI chapter, but had not chased them for payment - he said " It didn't feel right..! "  The consequence was that he had some invoices which were still outstanding after 8 months.

When I had recovered from choking on my bacon and egg, I felt obliged to point out the error of his ways - and tried not to tell him that he was being an idiot..!

CASH FLOW problems caused by bad and late payment is the biggest cause of business failure in the UK.

Most businesses that fail do so because they run out of cash not because they are bad businesses or lack the potential to be profitable.

Late and bad payment is not a new problem but it has been exacerbated by the recession and is a major problem for many businesses. But it is a problem that should never occur within the BNI member family..!

At BNI, being supportive and acting professionally & ethically to fellow members is at the core of the BNI code of ethics. And it is great to see so many cheques in payment for services being passed across the table at BNI meetings across the country each and every week.

Non-payment of an invoice is considered a major breach of those ethics, and puts the member at risk of instant removal from the chapter

Meanwhile, officials from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills are touring the country trying to get companies and organisations in both the private and public sectors to sign up to the prompt payment code by visiting www.promptpaymentcode.org.uk

Paying legitimate invoices promptly from fellow members, and non-members for that matter, is something that BNI members should all be doing – but it is worth knowing about the payment code.

It is not just the right thing to do but could be the difference between survival and failure for BNI members. That’s why the BNI South West Midlands region is signed up to the code – and is proud of it..!