In our last blog post we talked about how to make sure you get paid even after you fire a client. For the most part we focused on what happens when you terminate the relationship because they are no longer a good fit for your company. Another common reason for termination is that the … Read more
Just like newlyweds who never imagine divorce, when you first start a relationship with a new client you probably don’t expect to one day be firing him or her. But, it happens and just like with divorce, hurt feelings, misunderstandings, and embarrassment can often get in the way of legalities. Every situation is different, … Read more
There are typically signs beforehand that a customer is in financial trouble. Your entire organization should be trained to spot these red flags long before those customers hit 90 days past due. Often times your sales or service teams will be in a better position to spot these problems than your finance or credit teams, so this … Read more
One of the most common excuses we hear in B2B debt collection is a business is struggling to collect from its customers and therefore can’t pay its vendors. Typically the business owner will commit to paying when they get paid, but the problem has been going on for months and there is no end … Read more
Every business owner has experienced the pain of a late or non paying customer. The Commercial Law League of America research shows that as soon as an invoice goes delinquent, the chance of successfully collecting declines by more than 1% per week. If an invoice is 90 days past due, the chance of collecting … Read more
Airtech Corporation is an Arkansas based distributor of HVAC equipment with annual revenue of $35 million. Despite giving net 30 terms, their average days sales outstanding (DSO) was running at 60 days. Management recognized there was a significant problem and with changes in technology and procedures was able to reduce DSO to 42 days and … Read more
The website how-old.net can take any picture of a person you upload and estimate the person’s age. I uploaded two different photos of myself, taken 6 years apart, and it correctly guessed my age both times. Try it yourself – it’s free. What is also amazing about this technology is that 2 developers put … Read more
We recently were contacted by a prospective client who was owed over $30,000 for a consulting project. They had a solid contract with their customer and proof that they had performed the work. They had written acceptance of the work product from their customer and a written promise to pay. But six months had … Read more
For decades, a common sales mantra was to “Always Be Closing.” The Internet and social media have made this an outdated and potentially dangerous approach. Always Be Helping is the updated mantra, and it applies not only to sales, but credit and debt collections, as well as professional and personal interactions. ABC meant that … Read more
All too often, when a small business is up for sale, the net result for many of their vendors is bad debt expense. If you hear that one of your customers is selling their business it’s time to be very careful with outstanding receivables and new orders. WHY WOULD THEY SELL THEIR BUSINESS? If … Read more
