WALTERBORO — Former attorney Alex Murdaugh had such a cozy relationship with law enforcement in the Lowcountry that he put blue lights in his car with their blessing and carried a badge in case he needed a favor.

He’d come from a family synonymous with enforcing the law as prosecutors in the southern tip of South Carolina for more than eight decades. He tried only a few criminal cases himself to spend time with his father, a former solicitor. But despite his limited involvement, Murdaugh treated himself to the trappings of office, including a shiny gold badge.

Small businesses are prime targets for invoices being left unpaid. Unlike a large business with a dedicated accounting department, small business owners often manage their accounts themselves or use a bookkeeper on occasion. This makes it exceedingly difficult to monitor and manage invoices, as well as outlay ongoing fees for an accountant.

Additionally, while an accountant or bookkeeper is equipped to ‘balance your checkbook’, trying to recover money that’s unpaid is an entirely different matter.

When you’re a small business, any unpaid amount is felt that much more acutely. If you don’t have the resources to constantly spend time chasing