“Oh, it’s Saturday night

  and I ain’t got nobody. 

I got some money cause

I just got paid…” 

You know that song? Are you singing it right now? Then you know what? Too bad you “ain’t got nobody,” but you’re a lucky boss because it’s not everyone these days who can say they’re getting paid.

If you’re not getting what’s owed you and you own or manage a business, there are other options besides law suits, bankruptcy, or hiring a couple of thugs from you-know-which-State.

This screwed-up economy being what it is, if you haven’t stepped back to re-visit your Accounts Receiveable policies and practices recently, maybe this coming week is a good time to jam an up-dated A/R assessment into your schedule.

You might start with an up-to-the-minute cash flow analysis so you have a sense of the shifting sands.

Next, take a good hard look at what your customer payment and credit arrangements are. Have you adjusted terms to both encourage sales and account for customer needs to avoid major lump-sum payments? Have you done this is a way that also allows you some breathing room? Take some deep breaths

HOW you explore this issue is influenced by the type of business you’re in.

Retail and wholesale operations do not have the same dynamics as manufacturing or B to B. (i.e., what works for a car dealership won’t work for a mattress manufacturer or an IT consultant.) 

Every business, though, has key customers.

And special allowances must be made for theses entities whether you’re drilling their teeth, constructing their townhomes, providing their office supplies or maintaining their insurance coverage.

Will your key customers fold or migrate to lower-priced competitors if you don’t extend them better terms? This need not mean lowering your prices, but it might mean extending payment time terms, or offering special incentives for timely payments. Can you go to a “baker’s dozen” with product sell offers, or with service hours? Take a lesson from construction guys.

Can you put more of a burden for collections on third party negotiators — your bank, finance company, credit and collection firms?  It may be less expensive to bite the bullet and pay for outsourcing help than to drag your staff people, who are inexperienced with the finesse needed to succeed at this task, away from the work they do best.

Careful if you opt in this direction . . . 

Insist that contracted people who actually connect by phone or letter or email treat your customers respectfully and courteously. Be sure you are in control of all interface scripts and personnel. Plant a “secret-shopper” or two on the list to gain a firsthand accounting of how your hired guns perform, and make sure they are honoring your sensitivities. They are contacting YOUR customers, not theirs. 

In their zealousness to earn their percentages, many collection organizations “rough-house” targeted debtors or unleash a barrage of annoying calls from (too often) non-English-speaking callers to the point of prompting backlash, instead of gaining cooperation. 

Okay, okay, I know. It IS Saturday night, after all. So go enjoy. But make a mental note for Monday to check out if the policies and practices you’ve been following are working for you or against you. The same can be said, by the way, for evaluating candidates, so:

HELP SAVE THE ECONOMY November 6th, 2012.

Vote to move small business forward… Support 

those who endorse free market competition and 

 job creation tax incentives for entrepreneurs! 

____________________________________ 

302.933.0116    Hal@BusinessWorks.US  

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

 “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Make today a GREAT day for someone!