“I’m not afraid of taking orders. What I’m afraid is customers who don’t pay.” This is what a Johor customer said during a conversation with me at the beginning of the year. Before he even finished speaking, he had already ushered in a major leap forward for his company: by 2024, his biscuit factory’s turnover had increased from RM60 million to RM90 million, with numerous local and international orders and a staff expansion from dozens to hundreds.

Does it sound like he just moved to a larger factory and bought more machinery? In fact, he did something many SME owners haven’t yet done: he bought trade credit insurance for his company.

Bad debts are the silent killer of SMEs.

This biscuit factory initially only dealt with local supermarket chains, all cash transactions, and low risk. But in recent years, as Malaysian food products have become increasingly popular in Southeast Asia, he decided to expand exports to Thailand, Singapore, and Indonesia. However, the good times didn’t last.

“A new customer placed three consecutive orders, but the last one, nearly RM200,000, was still unpaid for six months,” he said. While this amount of money won’t lead to company bankruptcy, but it made him very wary of overseas customers.

Financial tools give you more confidence to expand.

Afterward, he underwent a business financial assessment with our team. We recommended that he consider trade credit insurance to protect his overseas orders. This insurance has many benefits:

✅ Customer credit check: The insurance company will help you check the customer’s background to see if they have any credit issues, preventing you from making mistakes.

✅ Bad debt claim mechanism: If the customer refuses to pay, you can file a claim with the insurance company for up to 90% of your losses.

✅ Strengthen bank financing capabilities: With insurance protection, banks are more willing to provide loans or working capital.

“I used to judge customers based on my gut, but now I have a system to screen them,” he said honestly. Now, he even proactively tells new customers, “We will evaluate your credit before determining the supply limit.” This not only gives him peace of mind, but also makes customers feel that our company is more professional and worth working with.

SMEs need a bulletproof vest for growth.

Many SME owners will say, “My business is small, so I don’t need this kind of insurance!” But the reality is, bad debts won’t let you off the hook just because you’re small. For a small company, a bad debt of 200,000 yuan can be more serious than a 2 million yuan order.

That’s why I often say that trade credit insurance isn’t a tool to be used only when things get tough, but rather a bulletproof vest on your path to growth. It helps you reduce business risks, identify high-quality clients, and eliminate the need to rely on “luck” in your business.

Making money is easy, but collecting it is the real challenge.

With this protection, the biscuit factory owner has greater confidence in expanding his business. Over the past year, he’s begun to connect with more overseas clients, his order volume has doubled, and he’s even opened a second branch in Southeast Asia. Most importantly, he no longer worries about not getting paid.

This is the value of risk management: it’s not about avoiding every problem, but about giving you the confidence to move forward.

Making money is important, but getting paid is even more important.

If you’re running a B2B business, especially one with clients who have long payment terms and large orders, I sincerely recommend considering this tool. Don’t wait until you run into bad debt to regret it; planning ahead is the way businesspeople should think.

Interested small and medium-sized business owners are welcome to contact our team. We can provide a suitable enterprise protection solution tailored to your business model, allowing you to grow and thrive with peace of mind.