Easy Techniques to Prevent Being a Victim of Business Fraud

You might normally think of victims of business fraud as clueless consumers duped by a devious salespeople. However, business fraud exists at all levels, and many victims are actually other businesses. A surprising number of businesses fall prey to fraud, allowing non-existent, or otherwise fraudulent businesses, to establish lines of credit. It is almost always … Read more

Tips for Successful Debt Collection by Phone and Email

Some of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to collect on unpaid debt is communicating in an unprofessional, impolite, or potentially illegal manner. Being in debt and collecting debt can both be stressful situations and there are numerous laws around debt communications. Learning best practices for communicating with those who owe you money is … Read more

Collection & Attorney Fees and Interest in Commercial Collections

At The Kaplan Group our goal is to try to recover your money without going to court. We do this on over 97% of our successful claims.  However, sometimes litigation is necessary. Clients often wonder if they can add our collection fees, or attorney fees, to the amount to be collected. These costs can only … Read more

Don’t Let Summer Vacation Stop Your Collections

One of the standard pieces of advice we give to people creating credit applications is to make sure they require complete contact information, not just for the accounts payable department, but for other finance people and principals within the company as well. Complete contact information means email addresses, phone numbers, and a mailing address, at … Read more

Don’t Let Collections Ruin Your PR

  Companies like United Airlines, Pepsi, and PricewaterhouseCoopers spend millions of dollars every year on marketing and advertising. As we’ve seen recently though, all it takes is one mistake or one ill-advised interaction and all that money is wasted. When less high-profile companies suffer from poor PR they may not have the same public nature … Read more

When Collections Require Legal Action

  It’s a general truism that no one wants to go to court, especially over financial issues. Even if you win a court case, you’ve still lost valuable time and money. Litigation costs more and takes longer than negotiating outside of court, and winning a judgment does not guarantee payment. However, usually the threat of … Read more

Individuals, Companies, The FDCPA and Collections

Potential new clients frequently ask us about the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and whether or not we conform to its rules and regulations. Interestingly, The FDCPA does not apply to commercial collection agencies. The FDCPA was enacted to protect individual consumers from unfair and harassing collection practices. The law has been around since … Read more

Collecting Uncollectible Debts and Tax Write-offs

One question that business owners often have to wrestle with at tax time is whether or not to write off a debt as “uncollectible.” If your business uses a cash basis accounting system, this isn’t an issue for you. In a cash basis accounting system, you don’t count money that you’re owed until it’s paid … Read more

5 End of Year Tasks for your Business

  The end of the year always brings some predictable events. You know that magazines and websites will be releasing their lists of “best movies” or “most memorable events.” You know that car dealers and other large item retailers will be trying to sell off expensive merchandise. You know payroll departments will be preparing to … Read more

5 Clients We’re Thankful For

The end of the year is a hectic time for most businesses. I’ve always appreciated Thanksgiving as a time to pause before things get more intense. At The Kaplan Group, we love all of our clients, but we especially appreciate the clients that make our jobs just a little bit easier. These aren’t necessarily the … Read more

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