Most small business owners know they have to do something to collect receivables in a timely manner. Even if you don’t know the statistics, personal experience has surely taught you that not everyone pays on time, and those late payments cost you money. Does this scenario sound familiar? Business has been pretty good. It’s Friday […]
I wrote an article last year about collecting small balances and in it I suggested that “putting a simple system in place for collecting your small balances will reap the rewards without draining you of time and energy” but I didn’t give you the system. Don’t know what I was thinking. So here it is, […]
I was recently surprised by the question – “How do I send an overdue bill to collections?” I suppose I’m so immersed in this world of accounts receivable and debt collection I’d forgotten not everyone knows what to do or how to submit a bad debt to a collection agency. So let’s talk about it […]
plat • i • tude n. A trite or banal statement or remark, esp. one expressed as if it were original or significant. Printed in the Wall Street Journal weekend of Aug 16th, 2014; originally printed in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Aug 12th – Economist Donald Boudreaux wrote: A good way to test if someone is speaking […]
I was checking out some competitive websites this weekend and noticed the headline “No Time to Call Past Due Customers?” Naturally we are always looking for companies that have no time to call past due customers so I stopped to read it. Nothing new there, essentially the same pitch we give, if you don’t […]
2014-06-29 I’ve maintained for years that in-house collections, done properly is a very Pavlovian process. (I’m not sure Pavlovian is really a word, but it ought to be) What I mean is, if you follow up on unpaid invoices, on time and consistently, you will train your customers to pay faster. Have you ever […]
While most small business owners and managers get the “Cash is King” maxim and understand the need to collect accounts receivable quickly and without aggravating their customers, collections work tends to resemble the neglected step child of the back office environment and is frequently neglected in favor of more urgent or more agreeable tasks. […]
There are several good reasons… the first that comes to mind, small balances add up. One customer of ours was racking up close to $30,000 a month in unpaid small balances when we came on board. Your situation may not be that bad, but whatever the amount, if the number of unpaid small balances is […]
I noted last month that third-party collection letters, in other words collection letters written and mailed from a collection agency, are more effective than In-House collection letters. While this is true later in the collection process, In-House collection letters have their place. In-house collection letters can and should be a component of any complete accounts receivable […]
So, your customer went out of business owing you a pile of money and you’re wondering what to do next. If you’re reading this I imagine you’re hoping for some kind of collection agency magic trick to get your money back, and there are a few things you can do to try to track your customer, now debtor, down to […]