Nobody wants to go to collections. Not the business owner and certainly not the customer.
When you own a business there are times when bills will go unpaid longer than 30 or 60 days. These delinquent payments can have a negative impact on your account receivables process and could result in your business to have financial setbacks. After all, if your customers are not paying, how do you expect to pay your bills?
Depending on your type of business, the time frame you decide when a payment is late could vary. Most businesses extend 30 day terms. As a business owner, how do you handle payments that are past due?
- Calling the customer
- Sending out notices
- How much time are you spending out of your day attempting to recover the past due payments?
Many business owners feel they can recover the money while working to build their business and maintain a good relationship with their customers. The moment you stop trying to remind a customer of a late payment and start trying to collect on a debt is when you need to hire a professional collection agency.
The benefit of a professional collection service is that their team understands how to successfully collect the money that is owed to you. Recovery rates are higher than tackling the collection process yourself. Professional collection agencies should also understand the laws and regulations that govern the collection industry, and are 100% committed to compliance.
The thought of turning a customer over to collections can be difficult, especially if, like most business owners, you feel it is important to maintain a healthy and professional relationship with your customer. Make sure your collection agency values your client relationship as much as you do.
Your best option is to look for an agency that doesn’t charge percentages based on what is collected, can start the process early and economically, and who offers contact with customers or patients in your name first.
Contact me for some answers here.
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