Finance Articles

Commercial Collections: Business Finance Booster Shot

Commercial collections: fixture of the new B2B culture

If you're in the business-to-business field, or even if you're a consumer products business that works through third-party distribution channels, you probably know what it's like to check your mail anxiously each day, sifting through all the bills for that payment that was supposed to have been in months ago.

It wasn't supposed to be like this. If you were a good, honest businessperson who dealt with other good, honest businesspeople, "commercial collections" wasn't supposed to be part of your vocabulary.

Back in the good old days, an invoice or purchase order that had an established company listed in the "bill to" field was almost as good as a cashier's check. Nowadays, if you're in the business of serving other businesses you may find that your cash flow is less reliable than a small-time bookie's.

Commercial Collections: A Personal Story

This past April I finally got the $2,000 a client owed me for work done in December, after spending almost as much money's worth of my time reminding them to pay.

No, this wasn't one of those hand-shake deals-we had a 5-page contract specifying net-30 payment terms. Nor was this some guy with a lemonade stand. It was the media division of one of the largest retailers in the United States.

The worst part was, I trusted this client based on my experience working with them a few years before. I actually spent the money on Christmas presents, fully expecting the payment to come in before my credit card statement.

Avoiding Outstanding Invoices

Of course, you can nip this problem in the bud by cultivating strong relationships with clients who pay on time. But those clients are getting few and far between-and, as I found, the good can go pretty bad pretty fast.

Worse, it seems that the larger the business, the less likely they are to pay on time. "Net 10 days" might as well be a foreign language in Fortune 500 land. The long-standing advice given to B2B businesses and self-employed people is that the money is in big corporations. But good luck getting it from them before your rent is due.

What I Should Have Done

Looking back on my experience with the deadbeat corporate client, my biggest mistake was doing it all myself, with writing the letters and making the phone calls. With an hourly rate of about $75, I ended up spending the time equivalent of a large chunk of my $2000 fee. I should have gone to a collection agency. I just didn't know then that were collection agencies that would take on small business debts and run the whole process for you for as little as $20 per debt.

Of course, I also didn't know that going to a collection agency didn't necessarily mean "putting an account in collections." Many collection agencies are in fact refashioning themselves as "accounts receivable management" specialists; they'll even manage your invoicing from end-to-end if you want. The client may not even realizing that the person on the phone is from an outside agency and not your own personal assistant.

When I think of all the value of the time I spent collecting that last $2,000, I could kick myself for not handing it over to a collection agency. But, I can always look forward to putting this knowledge into practice the next time I have a client who's slow in paying.

Steve Austin is a regular contributor to Let No Debt Remain Outstanding (http://www.let-no-debt-remain-outstanding.com/), a website with articles on choosing a collection agency, along with recommended the best collection agencies.

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

Jackson & Coker Releases 2007 ?Return on Investment Survey? Associated with Physician Staffing
Hospitals and medical groups can directly calculate the economic impact of services provided by their staff physicians, according to the most recent survey conducted by Jackson & Coker (www.jacksoncoker.com), a premier nationwide physician staffing company based in Alpharetta, Georgia.

John Sauro of North Atlantic Mortgage Releases New Audio Book on Amazon, Inside the Mortgage Market
New Audio Book, Inside the Mortgage Market, Tips for Buying and Refinancing Real Estate, Now Available on Amazon

Getting The Best Car Finance And Insurance Rates
When you buy a car you want to buy the best car that your money can buy but you want to make sure that your car finance program is equally as good. After you have your car you want to make sure that you have the best insurance, but of course you want to make sure that you have the best price for your great coverage.

Reverse Mortgage Requirements
Reverse Mortgage Requirements

Solutions To Small Business Banking
Many businesses find that just knowing the bottom line of their credit limits is not going to suffice in managing their business. There are solutions to Small Business banking that can give business executives more than the bottom line. Through their online banking accounts, they can transfer funds wherever they need to in the world and keep a running record of all expenses.

100% Single Loan Financing with No Mortgage Insurance, Now Available to Real Estate Investors
100 percent single-loan financing with no mortgage insurance is now available to real estate investors.

Using Online Resources To Refinance Your Louisiana Mortgage After Bankruptcy
Thinking about refinancing your Louisiana mortgage after bankruptcy? If so, head for the web. The Internet will prove to be your best resource during the refinancing process. Here are just a few of the things you can do online before applying for a Louisiana mortgage refinance after bankruptcy:

Guaranteed Cheap Adverse Credit Mortgage!
Over the last couple of years, interest rate on mortgage loans have been increasing gradually. Rising interest rate present a difficult situation for new Guaranteed cheap adverse credit mortgage borrowers. The dilemma is whether to opt for floating rate guaranteed cheap adverse credit mortgage or fixed rate for mortgage loan guaranteed cheap adverse loan or the hybrid loan, which is a combination of the above.

How to Secure the Best Mortgage Deal and Save Yourself Thousands in Interest
When you consider that the average home owner will pay out far more in interest over the lifetime of their mortgage than their home actually cost in the first place, you can see why working to secure yourself the best possible mortgage deal now could save you tens of thousands of dollars in interest over the 25 – 30 year lifetime of your home loan.For the majority of us our house is the single most important and expensive purchase we ever make! Because this is the case we invest a lot of time and effort into finding the perfect property in the most ideal location, however few of us invest the time and effort we should into researching and securing the best possible finance method for purchasing our home.

There?s Always a Reason to Borrow
For those who want a no-frills, no hassle, straightforward payday Loan Company on line, a site such as secure-paydayloans.com would be the one for you. They go straight to the point with a simple prequalification screen, asking your name, if you have direct deposit bank accounts, and whether you are employed or receive regular money. That?s it and then you are on your way.

Understanding Mortgage Basics
As common as mortgages are, there are a surprisingly large number of us who are under false impressions about the way they function, and what they actually are. For one thing, though we do commonly call mortgages "home loans," this is not at all what they actually are.

Manufacturing Accounting Software: A Right Choice
Every business software is designed to suit specific accounting needs of the organization. Different industries and business operations need different set of features in the software to make it consonant to their accounting requirements.

Leading Provider of Online Hedge Fund and High Yield Investment Information Launches New Forum Segments
ITalkCash.com, the Internet?s leading provider of hedge fund, high yield investment, and other financial information, recently launched two new site sections giving investors more complete investment insight.

Need Debt Consolidation? - How To Do It With A Cash Out Mortgage
Taking care of your debts can be done rather quickly by getting a cash out mortgage. A cash out mortgage is actually a first mortgage and it will require you to refinance your existing one. There are some real advantages by doing it this way - such as getting the lowest interest rate for any loan. Here is how you can go about getting that new mortgage for you debt consolidation.