Aged Debtors

As you know, Grand Lodge carries on average about $142,000 per month in unpaid membership fees.  This has a significant impact on service delivery rightly expected by the membership.

To try and address this, Grand Lodge started advising lodges early in the year that interest rates set out in the schedule of fees for some years will now be enforced as a way of trying to curb this high level of continuing debt.  The advice was also sought from Grand Lodge’s financial auditors confirming that Grand Lodge was acting appropriately in charging an interest rate on late payments.

Current invoice payment terms follow a standard business model where payment is required within 30 days of an invoice being issued (unless otherwise stated).  However, Grand Lodge took the view that as most lodges meet monthly, it would be more fair and equitable to allow an additional 30 days for payment which amounts to an overall 60 days to pay an invoice.  This allows adequate time for lodges to meet and deal with the matter in open lodge.

The half-yearly membership invoices for the period 1 January 2022 – 30 June 2022 were issued on 4 July 2022.  With two weeks remaining before the end of the 60 days as outlined, there was still about $168,000 of unpaid invoices for not only the latest invoice period but in some cases, unpaid debt as far back as 2016.

Grand Lodge does not want to see any Lodge pay interest if it can be avoided, so a massive effort was undertaken to personally contact Lodge Secretary’s and Treasurer’s and Worshipful Master’s with ‘high end’ invoices to ensure that those Lodges were given every opportunity to avoid an interest charge.

The latest table provided below shows the outcome of this work and lodges are to be congratulated in reducing debt by over $100,000 in that three week period.  However, the table below unfortunately reflects a total of nearly $600 charged in interest so far for payment still outstanding.