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Business Credit & Collections Lessons – Watch Your Cash Flow
There are two things you must have to offer payment terms. Cash is the lifeblood of virtually every company. You must have adequate margins in order to afford the extension of credit, and you need…
Business Credit & Collections Lessons – Watch Your Margins
Understand your volume of transactions and how much of those transactions are on terms. Businesses that run on thin margins can usually least afford the extension of credit to their clients.…
Business Credit & Collections Lessons – Transaction Volume
Understand your volume of transactions and how much of those transactions are on terms. If you have only a few clients, and all are on terms, one default could devastate your business. If you have a…
Extending Business Credit -Credit monitoring services.
Find a credit monitoring service. As a commercial collections agency, we’ve learned that If you extend a lot of credit, then your risk is higher, and the return on the expense of a credit monitoring…
Extending Business Credit – Request Personal Credit Reports
No Busin ess Credit? Request Personal Credit Reports Many businesses simply don’t realize that there is a credit system for commercial businesses, let alone, how to build their business credit. If…
Extending Business Credit – Age of customer’s business?
Age of customer’s business. When it comes to commercial collections, and extending commercial credit, the longer a customer or client has been in business, the more likely they are to weather an…
Finding Hidden Assets – Legal Resources
Finding Hidden Assets – Legal Resources We will be moving this series into a much more productive area for commercial debt collection! Enough with the “how to hide assets”. Let’s talk about what…
Extending Business Credit – Are there open Collection Actions?
Are there open Collection Actions? Good Business Credit Reports will list a history of collections and outcomes. This is critical information if you intend to offer Business Credit. Just because a…
Extending Business Credit – Are there legal problems looming?
Are there legal problems looming? As soon as you see a client in legal problems, filing for bankruptcy protection, liens, or anything of that sort, that client should immediately go on COD terms.…
Finding Hidden Assets – Corporate Umbrellas
Using a Corporate Umbrella to hide assets from Debt Collection Agencies Using a limited partnership or corporation to hide real estate assets is similar to hiding assets with a real estate trust.…
Extending Business Credit – Check Payment History
Check Payment History Some of the better business credit reports list payment history. Obviously, the better the customer’s or client’s payment history, the more creditworthy they should be.
Finding Hidden Assets – Real Estate Trusts
Using Real Estate Trusts to hide assets from Debt Collection Agencies Some people will use real estate trusts to hide real estate from debt collection efforts by naming himself/herself, a close…
Commercial Debt Collection, without an attorney – Credit Action
Here we are at the last of our 5 ways to engage in Commercial Debt Collection, without an attorney. Think about contacting the credit bureau in your state if you are not able to collect money from a…
Extending Business Credit – Risk Taking
Business Credit & Risk-Taking When extending business credit evaluate your client’s patterns of taking credit risk, either through review of their credit rating or based on your personal knowledge.…
Commercial Debt Collection
Our Marketing Team Enjoys these little videos, however the important thing to note is We are a Commercial Debt Collection Agency Only, our specialty is Commercial Debt. We are incredibly responsive…
Finding Hidden Assets
Using Exempt Plans to avoid judgments Exempt Plans are indicative of a very sophisticated, some might say desperate, debtor. Some things are beyond the court judgment’s reach. These exempt plans…
Collecting Without An Attorney – Collection Agencies
Collecting Without An Attorney Debt Collection Agencies Collection agencies are hired by businesses to collect outstanding debts, as you may already know. However, most collection agencies will only…
Extending Business Credit – Utilizing A Credit Report
Extending Business Credit Utilizing A Credit Report When extending business credit, utilizing a credit report is one of the best ways to discover if your customer is creditworthy. These days,…
Finding Hidden Assets – Using Someone Else’s Name
Finding Hidden Assets Using Someone Else’s Name People will often put their assets in another person’s name to avoid a debt collector finding hidden assets that they do not want to be seized. Using…
Collecting Without An Attorney – Arbitration
5 Ways To Collect Without an Attorney Arbitration Arbitration is a form of mediation where businesses involved in a dispute present their cases to an impartial arbitrator. Similar to mediation, it is…
Extending Business Credit – Factoring in the Relationship
I met a very interesting attorney the other day. Like us, he is in the debt collection industry. While our specialty is the effective, efficient and cost-effective collection of commercial debt, his…
Finding Hidden Assets – The Way Assets Are Hidden – Gifts
Finding hidden assets can be a challenge when trying to collect on a debt. Many businesses that owe money may try to hide their assets in an attempt to avoid losing them in the collection and…
Finding Hidden Assets – The Death Index
National Death Index If the person in question may have passed away, the National Death Index of the Social Security Administration is a good place to look. County courthouses are home to copies of…
Finding Hidden Assets – Unearned Revenues
Finding Hidden Assets Unearned Revenues Unearned revenues are any form of income received before providing a good or service. Once the goods or services are provided, the amount in this account…
Receivables Management Systems – Commercial Receivers Incorporated
Business Credit & Collections Lessons Receivables Management Systems Do you have staff that is qualified to collect customer accounts? Do you have software that allows you to adequately track the…
Extending Business Credit – Who gets what terms?
Extending Business Credit Who gets what terms? Let’s be smart about this, a credit policy doesn’t mean open the floodgates. The best customers, with the greatest ability to pay, should have the best…
Accounts Receivables Turnover – How to calculate it
Accounts Receivables Turnover How to calculate your accounts receivables turnover You can calculate your turnover ratio by dividing the net value of credit sales during a period by the number of…
Finding Hidden Assets – Business Records Subpoena
Finding Hidden Assets Business Records Subpoena A subpoena may be useful in obtaining information that the person in question does not want to reveal. In particular, you may want to use a Business…
Collecting Without an Attorney – Mediation
5 Ways to Collect Without an Attorney Mediation There are a few options available for this kind of dispute. For example, mediators are actually provided in some small claims courts. Instead of going…
Business Credit & Collections Lessons – Understand Your Risk
Business Credit and Collections Lessons Understand your risk, can you afford it? Do you have enough sales to support the extension of credit, or is your business still “hand to mouth?” Are you…
Creating a Credit Application – Make it Public
Creating a Credit Application Consider Making it Public Consider putting your credit application on your website. The purpose of extending a line of credit to customers is to drive more business.…
Finding Hidden Assets – Finding the Defendant’s Workplace
Finding Hidden Assets Finding the defendant’s workplace You will want to know where the defendant works. You can choose to do this yourself or hire a skip tracer who has experience in this area. The…
5 Ways to Collect Without Involving an Attorney
5 Ways To Collect Commercial Debt Small Claims Court If the amount of money involved is modest, this an effective option for resolving disputes. In the majority of states, you only need to get in…
Creating a Credit Application – Make it Look Professional
Creating a Credit Application Make it Look Professional This sounds trivial, but a professional looking document makes a difference. It is one of those things, the more professional looking the…
Finding Hidden Assets – Income/ Earnings
Finding Hidden Assets Wage Garnishment Income and wages are considered assets. They may be garnished or used as necessary in order to satisfy a judgment. To collect on a judgment, you will need to…
Creating a Credit Application #4 – Personal Guarantees
Creating a Credit Application Personal Guarantees Personal guarantees are considered a staple of any good credit application. If the client cannot pay their bills through their company, a personal…
Finding HIdden Assets – Finding Assets
Finding Hidden Assets Finding Assets When your business is owed money, you may want professional help to find hidden assets. More than auditors and field agents from the IRS are knowledgeable in…
Creating a Credit Application – #3 Get References
Creating a Credit Application Get References Ask for both Trade References and Banking References on your credit application. The past is almost always a good indication of the future. See how well…
Finding Hidden Assets – Starting a Search for Assets
Finding Hidden Assets Starting a Search for Assets The first step to searching for assets is to do your research on the person. Do this before searching public documents. You should obtain the…
Creating a Credit Application – #2 Ask for Everything you Might Need to Collect Later
Creating a Credit Application: 2. Ask for everything you might need to collect later. The application has 2 functions. First is to establish that the client is actually creditworthy. Second, the…
Finding Hidden Assets – Real Property
Finding Hidden Assets Real Property – Real property involves ownership of land and any property on that land. Commercial and residential properties are real property that can be vulnerable to…
Creating a Credit Application – #1 Have One!
Creating a Credit Application: 1. HAVE ONE! You should not be giving credit either business to business, or business to the consumer without a credit application, it really is that simple. Commercial…
Finding Hidden Assets – Intangible Personal Property
Finding Hidden Assets: Intangible Personal Property – Intangible assets lack physicality and can be harder to evaluate. Some common examples can include legal agreements, income, royalty deals,…
How To Create A Credit Policy #11 – Make Rewards Known
Creating a Credit Policy: Rewards 11. Make your rewards known. This gets back to “negotiate” if you have a payment policy that rewards your customers, make sure it is known, and that this is treated…
Finding Hidden Assets – Tangible Personal Property
Finding Hidden Assets: Assets can be anything that an individual owns. They fall under the categories of personal or real property. Assets can include bank accounts, real estate, stocks, bonds, cars,…
How to Create a Credit Policy #10 – Are you going to reward early payment?
Creating a Credit Policy – Early Payment: 10. Are you going to reward Early Payment? The cost of capital is real, and good behavior from clients and customers is often rewarded. Decide early, are you…
How to Create a Credit Policy #9 – What will penalties and late fees look like?
9. Decide “in advance” what penalties and late fees will look like. Credit terms are the carrot that drives the business.Penalties, late fees, and interests are the stick that drives conformance to…
How to Create a Credit Policy #8 – Employees need to fully understand the credit policy.
8. Employees that work with customers/clients need to fully understand the credit policy. The last thing you need is mixed messages and a breakdown of expectations. Employee training on your credit…
How to Create a Credit Policy #7 – Use credit terms to your advantage
7. Use credit terms to your tactical advantage. Nothing beats the negotiations! Use your credit terms to help further your business objectives by leveraging credit terms to increase sales volume, or…
How to Create a Credit Policy #6 – Your Credit Policy Needs to be Visible and Know
6. Your Credit Policy Needs to be Visible and Known. There are few things worse than an ambiguous credit policy and trying to defend it in court. One thing that is worse than defending an ambiguous…
How to Create a Credit Policy #5 – Be Organized
5. Be Organized. It is called Receivables Management because it needs to be managed. The previous point was about consistency, here we are talking about standardized processes. Every client should…
How to Create a Credit Policy #4 – Be Consistent
4. Be Consistent There needs to be a process in place, that follows a set pattern. Every customer or client should matriculate through the same process of being approved for credit, and the same…
How to create a credit policy #3 – Put it in writing!
3. Which Leads us to… Put it in Writing! Credit is not a handshake, the idealistic 1940’s set it in stone with a handshake between honorable people, probably didn’t really happen in the 40’s and it…
How to create a credit policy #2 – Be upfront
2. Start with a credit policy – Be upfront. Before you extend that trade credit to your customer or client, be sure that they understand your credit policy – up front – no surprises. When both…
How to create a credit policy #1 in a series – Research
Once you have made the decision that you will be in the business of establishing lines of credit of some sort for your clients, the next step is to establish a clear credit policy and then, of…