David J Taylor <david-tay...@blueyonder.co.uk.invalid> wrote: >> It can also be difficult to buy items from suppliers with no existing >> relationship. I.e. it may be easy to buy new computers or supplies, but >> difficult to get a GPS receiver from some online shop. >> E.g. where I work it is not possible to buy anything from a shop where >> creditcard or upfront payment are the only options. > > I used to work in a place which /was/ like that. Fortunately, they saw > the light, and we subsequently had one chap who could purchase up to GBP > 250 (~ US $400) on a credit card. Much time and aggravation was saved by > this move. Might be worth suggesting this to your management - perhaps > pop it in the suggestions box and earn a reward - if they have a > suggestion box, that is!
Maybe I should first suggest a suggestion box? :-) In all fairness, this policy is partly motivated by requirements from the tax department. A company has to have a consistent financial bookkeeping, and part of this means that there should be invoices for all expenditures. The easiest way to implement this is to require an invoice before payment is made. That way, the invoice can be checked for legal correctness before it is paid. (and indeed, some invoices are returned asking for a new one with correct company name or other detail) When creditcard- or upfront payments are allowed, it is much harder to enforce this control. That is why the financial department does not allow it. (of course, the risk that goods are not received after upfront payment is another one, but that is for the management to decide) I agree with you that often a lot of time is spent, and higher prices are paid, because of this policy. We have a computer small parts supplier that is at least 20% more expensive than going prices at webshops, but we buy almost everything there because they ship same day and send invoices for later payment. 20% could be saved on the budget by getting a credit card or electronic banking account, but the forces decide not to do it :-) _______________________________________________ questions mailing list questions@lists.ntp.org http://lists.ntp.org/listinfo/questions
