Telecoms recruiters that operate internationally are increasingly having to keep a tight reign on costs due to international payment terms, according to Scott Simons, director of global recruitment services Networkers International.

Simons told Recruiter: “Within telecoms, the challenge internationally is payment terms. Clients are trying to push invoicing terms of 90 days (time to pay). As a recruitment company, where you work to small margins, it’s very important to be a well-run machine and be cash positive.

“They want to pay us in 90 days and in the UK it’s 30 days. You have got to pay your contractors every month without fail. If you run a contractor book of 700 contractors, you need to make sure that your credit control is managed efficiently and you’re a cash-rich company.”

For more from Simons, see Recruiter’s IT & Telecoms sector focus in the latest issue of the magazine, out this week.