Exercise 3.8.4

Familiarize yourself with the information below. Tick (Ö) the correct words or word combinations.

We are back in the Accounts Department today. Christopher Thorn, the Management Trainee, is studying | is study | studying the work in the Accounts Department. Having look through the accounts| Having looked through the accounts | Looking through the accounts , Mr. Buckhurst, the Chief Accountant, decided to chase up some bad debt, that is, money which has been owing to the firm for a long time.

Collected bad debts | Being collected bad debts | Collecting bad debts is often a difficult affair. Retail business is usually done on a cash basis, and wholesale business is done on credit. Harper & Grant mainly do business on wholesale terms: they have the credit given | they have to give credit | they have given credit , that is, shops or stores can have the goods they want can have the goods want | can have wanted the goods and defer payment. But credit is usually only given for thirty days.For each individual sale an invoice is sent to the customer, that is a list of the goods delivered | a list of the goods been delivered | a list of the delivering goods and the amount owing | the amount owed | the owe amount, on that particular transaction. At the end of the month each customer is sent an account, which shows the total amount due.

Any company likes to receive long credit from its suppliers and would like to give short credit to its customers. Offered a small discount | Offering a small discount | Having been offered a small discount, the supplier offers an inducement to customers to pay earlier than they need; i.e. the customer pays slightly less if he pays within, say, ten days of the date of invoice.

Sometimes, of course, a debtor cannot pay; for example, it may happen that a firm never gets its money because another firm whom they supplied with goods has become insolvent. In some cases a firm does not pay because the people who run it are dishonest.

Accounts not paid in time | Accounts not being paid in time |Accounts been not paid in time are called overdue accounts. Very often a sales representative has to call and collect the money or make enquiries. Sometimes, in very difficult cases, a firm employs a professional debt collector. No company wants to get a reputation for to be a bad payer | been a bad payer| being a bad payer. It may then be difficult to get supplies on credit. There are agencies which will give information about the financial situation of almost any company, so that suppliers can judge whether they are a good credit risk. Many buyers will suggest a supplier to write | a supplier writing | that a supplier writes to their bank for a reference. Luckily, Harper & Grant always mark their goods with a serial number. Some firms do this, others do not. In this case, it turns out being | it turn out to be | it turns out to be very useful indeed.