Insights &amp; Industry Knowledge

withholding taxThailand taxVAT

An Invoice of 107,000 Baht Pays 104,000 Into the Bank — Thai Withholding Tax Is Computed on the Pre-VAT Base

Thai withholding tax is always computed on the amount before VAT. A service invoice of 100,000 baht plus 7% VAT totals 107,000, but the 3% withholding applies to the 100,000 base — 3,000 baht — so 104,000 is what actually arrives. Why computing it on the gross total skews every invoice in the same direction, why services are withheld on but pure goods sales generally are not, and why the withheld money is not lost, only slow.

price validityquotationquote validity

How Long Should a Quotation Hold Its Price — Why 30 Days Is the Thai Standard, and Why the Expiry Date Is the Closing Tool Everyone Overlooks

The price-validity line is not a ritual at the bottom of a quotation — it is the ceiling on the cost and currency risk you carry on the customer's behalf, and the most legitimate reason to make a closing call. How to set the validity period to match the product, how to use the near-expiry window as the golden moment, and how to handle an already-expired quote without damaging the relationship.

win ratequote registerquote follow-up

A Quote Register with Win Rate — Why Most SMEs in Thailand Cannot Tell You What Percentage of Quotes They Win

A quotation produced in Word and sent as a PDF into LINE always disappears into the chat history — no register, no status, no count of why deals were lost. How to set up a quote register that makes follow-up systematic, and how to compute win rate the way the sales-management literature actually defines it: won ÷ (won + lost), decided quotes only.

quote follow-upcustomer follow-upfollow-up scripts

Following Up on a Quote in Thailand Without Being Rude — Face-Saving Scripts and the Cadence That Works

Many Thai customers reject a price by going silent, because saying "too expensive" out loud feels like making the seller lose face — how to follow up in a way that opens the door to negotiation instead of forcing a yes/no, with a three-beat script: the first follow-up, the pre-expiry call, and the graceful close after a long silence — and why the cadence must be counted in working days, never on holidays.

overtradingworking capitalDSO

Profitable but Unable to Make Payroll — The Warning Signs You Can Read Weeks Before That Week Arrives

A business whose sales are growing while cash runs short is not unlucky — it is overtrading, which has a well-defined cycle and gives warning weeks in advance. How to read the working-capital cycle of DSO plus DIO minus DPO, the six signals that precede the week payroll cannot be met, and why payroll is a hard deadline in a way no other outgoing is.

cash flow13-week cash flowfinancial planning

The 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast — The Turnaround Profession's Standard Tool, and Why Thai SMEs Should Have One Before They Need It

A 13-week rolling cash flow is the standard instrument of corporate turnaround practitioners, not an accounting report — weekly enough to see which week runs short, long enough to still fix it. Why it must be direct method, why thirteen weeks, why a negative balance does not mean death in the Thai SME context, and why a forecast never compared against actuals loses everyone's trust within a month.

collectionslate-paymentb2b

Customers Paying Late? Chase Hard and Lose the Relationship, Don't Chase and Lose the Cash — a 4-Step Collection Ladder That Keeps Both

Effective B2B collection is not about harsher words — it is a predictable, escalating ladder tied to days overdue: polite reminder, firm date request, formal notice, delivery hold. With face-saving wording that fits Thai business culture, and the fact most SMEs miss: Thailand's 45-day credit-term guideline for large buyers.

de minimisimport vat thailandsmall importers

The "cheap and tax-free" era of small imports is over — re-cost everything, and build the FX buffer into your price

Since July 2024 low-value imports into Thailand attract VAT, and the de-minimis duty exemption ended on 1 January 2026 — the small-importer playing field has new rules. How to re-cost every shipment properly, and how an SME can manage exchange-rate risk realistically without hedging.

landed costimport costingimport from china

Landed Cost Per Unit — how "cheap" imports from China quietly lose money when you only price at invoice × rate

Total Cost of Ownership research shows buyers systematically price at the invoice and overlook hidden costs — how to compute true landed cost to your Thai warehouse: CIF, duty, the VAT that compounds on top of duty, Thai-side charges, and allocating shipment costs per unit so the satang add up exactly.

Form D / Form E — the import duty small importers leave on the table, because one certificate can take the rate to zero

ERIA research finds ASEAN SMEs massively under-use the FTA duty preferences they are entitled to, mostly out of knowledge cost — what Form D (ASEAN) and Form E (ASEAN–China) are, how and when to request them, and how to price the unclaimed right in baht per shipment.

form eform dfta

dsocredit-termsworking-capital

DSO and "Idle Money" — the Credit Terms You Grant Have a Price in Baht per Year, and Most Businesses Never Compute It

Sell on 30-day terms but actually collect on day 70, and you are lending your customer money for 40 days while paying the overdraft interest yourself. How to measure your own DSO, how to price idle money in baht, and why outstanding balances must be computed from the cash you will actually receive after Thai withholding tax.

debtor-registerar-agingaccounts-receivable

A Debtor Register with an Aging Table — Half of B2B Invoices Get Paid Late; the Businesses That Survive Know Who Owes What, Every Morning

Global B2B payment research says roughly half of invoices are paid late and bad debts average 6–8% of credit sales. How to build a debtor register and aging table that answers "who do we chase today" in ten seconds — including the parts international templates miss in Thailand: billing dates, cheque rounds, and withholding tax.

job-costingpricingdiscount

How Far Can You Discount? — The Four-Number Ladder to Know Before You Answer

Instead of guessing or giving way, use four figures worked out in advance: the price to quote, the lowest price clearing your minimum margin, break-even, and the cash floor. With the wording that works at each rung, and what to trade for every baht you concede.

job-costingworking-capitalcredit-terms

Cash Locked Up in Finished Work — Pricing the Cost of Waiting for Payment

Ninety-day terms are not expensive because of interest. They are expensive because of the money you must keep standing by. How to size the cash locked up in a job business, net off what suppliers finance, and put it back into the price at quotation time.

job-costingdirect-labouroverhead

Labour Counted Twice — Why Your Calculated Price Is Higher Than It Should Be

Fitters' salaries already sit in your fixed costs, yet the same people are charged again as an hourly rate inside the job. The most common error in job costing, how to check whether you are making it, and the correct fix.

job-costingcustomer-profitabilityoverhead

Which Customers Actually Make You Money — Why the One Who Orders Most Often Is Usually the One Losing You Money

Revenue per customer does not tell you who pays. How to read profit per customer after spreading overhead by the hours each one consumes, with a worked table where the second-busiest account loses nearly half a million a year, and what to do about it.

job-costingpricingbreak-even

Can You Take a Job Below Cost? — Break-Even and the Cash Floor Are Not the Same Number

A customer pushes the price under your cost. Why 'below break-even means a loss' is the advice that makes job shops turn away work that would have paid, the two lines you must keep apart, and the three conditions that void the rule.