Government Does Not Pay Its Bills on Time

Many small companies work very hard to get new accounts. Occasionally they try to get government contracts to supply products or services. Some small business people believe this will help them in case of recession, because the government has to keep going no matter what. They therefore seek a contract as a protection security blanket and guaranteed income to pay their own bills, make payroll and have the cash flow they need to survive at a time when over regulation and hostile litigation is taking its toll on small businesses.

What many small businesses do not understand is that the government pays very slow and often holds payments back due to their own budgetary mess. Often they will be in the rear some 120 days. Ninety plus days is very typical and should be expected for any small business doing business with any branch of government; city, county, state or the federal clusterfuck. I speak from total experience and out of frustration having run a 23-state wide franchise company; all of our franchisees of course, small businesses.

The government wants things, doesn't everyone? They have needs, which they are too inefficient to do themselves without blowing more taxpayer's monies inefficiently, so they seek the power of the small businesses to help them get the job done. In my experience there were so many jobs that the government, due to their inherent ineptness; needed from our franchises to service that they could have kept most of them busy full time, yet after such services they were very slow to pay. How slow, so slow in fact that any normal business would have been cutoff and put on cash basis from our accounts receivables twice or three times had they not paid. I can remember one account, which was 180 in the rears and they had claimed that they lost the paperwork, needed tax ID numbers, more information, even though all that information was on the face of the 110-page solicitation and actual contract. Go figure, the paper work whores lost their paperwork?

No small business should ever seek business with the government and if you think that the contract will protect you for quick payment you are wrong. Our contracts generally say "contractor will be paid no later than 30 or 45 days," often they say "2/10, net 30" and 1.5% per month on non-paid invoices. This is no guarantee of timely payments or interest on your money. There is no worse customer than the United States Federal Government, yet if you are in a business and they find a violation on your premises they will put you in jail if it is not taken care of on time. Cities and County even state governments are no better. Procurement officers, purchasing agents and buyers turnover is much too fast to develop relationships to get paid on time and it is worse than anything Dell, Wal-Mart or the atrocities of Sears pulled in years gone buy to stringing out vendors.

If you take on a contract with the government, you better have the cash flow for 4-6 six months and expect them to renege on their contracts in a similar fashion to Islamic Governments in peace treaties or Oil Mineral Rights royalties. The government is a horrible customer, does not pay its bills on time and is the most hypocritical parasite on the planet when it comes to their token gestures to small businesses in this nation. It is completely disrespectful of government agencies to treat small businesses this way when we are holding up the economy with 70% of the employment base, which pays the taxes into the system. I personally cannot figure out which is worse the ponzi scheme we call Social Security where the payments go into the general fund or deliberate drowning of small businesses in past due times ten accounts receivables for prior government purchases of goods and services. What a complete and utter sham. It is unconscionable for the government to tout small business and then abuse the hard labor of these mom and pop firms who built this great nation on the blood, sweat and tears.

If you disagree with this article you can go to hell, because I have proof thru reality based observation and experiences. Ask any company who does business with the government at any level. What a bunch of hypocrites and jerks, that hold themselves out to be helping our small businesses when they bend them over and screw them like this. What a complete fraud being perpetrated on the small business community. What a complete lie it is for the podium pusher politicians to promote themselves thru positive small business speeches and rhetoric when all the government ever does is use and abuse America's greatest assets.

Thank god we still have freedom of the speech and press to point out these lies, abuses and this hypocrisy to future upcoming entrepreneurs. God bless the little guy, the government, well they are busy blessing themselves with our money. Think on this, because it pisses off every time I do.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs