by Nancy Seiverd | Jul 15, 2019 | Feature Article
As originally published in the Credit Research Foundation 2Q 2019 CRF News. Have you ever thought about from where the concept of benchmarking originated? Like most people, I never really gave it much thought. But interestingly, way back in the days before mass...
by Nancy Seiverd | Jul 15, 2019 | Hector the Collector
Hi Everyone! One of the most exciting sports I enjoy watching is beach volleyball. It’s not just the extreme difficulty of running and moving around so quickly on the sand that boggles the mind, but it’s seeing how two players work together with such agility and...
by Nancy Seiverd | Jul 15, 2019 | Uncategorized
Which financial ratios should credit professionals rely on the most? a) Profitability ratios b) Liquidity ratios c) Management Efficiency ratios d) Leverage ratios e) Valuation & Growth ratios There really is no right answer. In my view, it’s wide and various as...
by Nancy Seiverd | Jun 19, 2019 | Feature Article
In the Wild West days of collections, collectors went out to the customer’s location to “persuade” them to make good on their payment obligations. Unfortunately, the term “persuade” didn’t always have the best of meanings and other terms, such as “intimidate and...
by Nancy Seiverd | Jun 19, 2019 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I work at a mid-size company of about 150 employees and I’m part of a team of four collectors. I’ve been working at my company for over fifteen years and I have the title, Senior Collector. Over the past few months I’ve noticed that I’m getting more...
by Nancy Seiverd | Jun 19, 2019 | Uncategorized
Since many readers where both pleasantly surprised and challenged from our last crossword puzzle, please enjoy exercising your credit and collection mind....
by Nancy Seiverd | May 16, 2019 | Feature Article
If every company manufactured and delivered their products and services perfectly all the time, the courts would be a very quiet and boring place to work. The reality however is that commercial disputes come in all flavors, colors, shapes, and sizes in which the sheer...
by Nancy Seiverd | May 14, 2019 | Hector the Collector
Hi Everyone! As collectors, we’ve often been trained to overcome the objections with replies and sound bites that quickly neutralize the reasons why someone can’t or won’t pay. However, there are times that we need to step back and explain “what happened” in...
by Nancy Seiverd | May 14, 2019 | Uncategorized
How many different kinds of bank letters of credit are there? • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • More than 6 Answer: More than 6 A letter of credit (LC), also known as a documentary credit, bankers commercial credit, or letter of undertaking (LoU), is a payment...
by Nancy Seiverd | Apr 17, 2019 | Feature Article
As many of you already know, the last step in the collection process on a commercial delinquency is the filing of a suit against the debtor, especially when the balance due is large and there remains some viability of collecting. Although every effort is taken...
by Nancy Seiverd | Apr 17, 2019 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I’m the accounting manager at a small wholesaler and like many small companies, we have just a handful of clients. Although there’s the general formula that 20% of your clients make up 80% of your sales, in our case we have one client that makes up 80% of...
by Nancy Seiverd | Apr 17, 2019 | Uncategorized
This is a hard one but take a stab at it. How many countries have declared bankruptcy over the past 200 years? • 15 • 35 • 68 • 83 • 111 Answer: A total of 83 countries, including the world’s biggest economies such as the U.S., Germany, Japan, and...
by Nancy Seiverd | Mar 18, 2019 | Feature Article
With all of my years in the credit and collection field, I have probably spoken to thousands of debtors of every kind. Without question, it has been a tremendously valuable lesson in understanding the psychology behind the payment of money. From this life-long...
by Nancy Seiverd | Mar 18, 2019 | Hector the Collector
Hi Everyone, From time to time I receive a claim in which the creditor has forewarned me that the debtor hung up on them. Subsequently, when I called the debtor, they told us that the creditor was saying this and that and they needed to abruptly end the call. Although...
by Nancy Seiverd | Mar 18, 2019 | Uncategorized
Whether you’re an industry veteran or just starting out, we know readers like you want to be challenged! Please take a few minutes and give our CMI Credit & Collections Crossword Puzzle a good old college try. We know you’ll enjoy testing your credit and...
by Nancy Seiverd | Mar 18, 2019 | Employee Spotlight
As we are delighted to spotlight Vaughn Williams for our March newsletter, please read through his interview, which conveys his passion for CMI and the collection business. Q-1: What was the initial opportunity that brought you to CMI and into this industry? A-1:...
by Nancy Seiverd | Feb 18, 2019 | Feature Article
Like Ernie is discussing with Bert, including interest on past due accounts is not always an easy idea to implement. As a case in point, not too long ago our office received a claim for $85,000 for the sale of electrical supply products. In reviewing the statement of...
by Nancy Seiverd | Feb 18, 2019 | Dear Crabby
Our company is a small business with about thirty employees and I have been there about five years as the person in charge of collections. After I arrived, I inherited a long time customer who always had a very up and down payment record with us. Although he would pay...
by Nancy Seiverd | Feb 18, 2019 | Uncategorized
In which ancient kingdom or empire were the concepts of accounting first developed? Egypt Greece Mesopotamia Phoenicia Babylon Answer: Mesopotamia and Babylon Accounting records dating back more than 7,000 years have been found in Mesopotamia showing lists...
by Nancy Seiverd | Jan 14, 2019 | Feature Article
As we enter this New Year, I’d like to share some thoughts with you on the importance of improving and strengthening the credit application process. Information – In many companies, even prior to any sales proposals and contracts, the credit application is the...
by Nancy Seiverd | Jan 14, 2019 | Hector the Collector
Hi Everyone, It’s Hector the Collector and now that the New Year has begun, it’s also a time for me to set some HOPES for this year. I use the word “HOPES” because every year when I proclaim my “resolutions,” I just get too overwhelmed trying to make them a...
by Nancy Seiverd | Jan 14, 2019 | Uncategorized
In which country, principality or city was the first stock exchange established? China Venice Belgium London Constantinople Answer: Technically Belgium but credit will also be given for choosing Venice. Please read below. When people think of stock markets, images...
by Nancy Seiverd | Nov 7, 2018 | Feature Article
One of my passions is sharing some of our collection stories with our readers as a way of imparting advice or knowledge that I feel can be of help. This story goes back a year or so when we received a claim from a new client against a customer with whom they had only...
by Nancy Seiverd | Nov 7, 2018 | Dear Crabby, Uncategorized
Dear Crabby, I meant to reach out to you much sooner as I’ve got a customer (very small business, 2-3 employees) who rambles on and on with a new excuse each time I call them to make their payment. For example, four months ago the problem was due to severe cash flow...
by Nancy Seiverd | Nov 7, 2018 | Uncategorized
Which group of people developed the first cheques? The Romans The Vikings The Knights Templar The Merchants of Venice The Founding Fathers Answer: The Romans The ancient Romans are believed to have used an early form of cheques known as praescriptiones in the 1st...
by Nancy Seiverd | Oct 16, 2018 | Feature Article
As credit professionals we are always on the lookout for ideas that will improve our credit goals. Surprisingly, those ideas may come from unlikely places. It’s not very often that we think of the intersection between marketing and credit. In fact, we usually see the...
by Nancy Seiverd | Oct 16, 2018 | Hector the Collector
Hi Everyone, It’s Hector the Collector and as always, I enjoy sharing my collection ideas with you. As I was recently asked about how far collectors should go in getting involved in a debtor’s personal struggles, let me take a moment to share my thoughts on this...
by Nancy Seiverd | Oct 16, 2018 | Employee Spotlight
As we are delighted to spotlight Eric Allen for our October newsletter, please read through his interview which conveys his passion for CMI and the collection business. Q-1: What was the initial opportunity that brought you to CMI and into this industry? A-1:...
by Nancy Seiverd | Oct 16, 2018 | Uncategorized
Which country was the first to use paper as money? a) England b) India c) Spain d) China e) None of the above The answer is (d). The first bank notes were printed on paper nearly 1,400 years ago in China, during the Tang Dynasty. At first they were used for exchanges...
by Nancy Seiverd | Sep 18, 2018 | Feature Article
In our busy world of trying to get new customers and hold on to the currents ones, every company strives to attain three sales and credit goals: to maximize sales safely to maximize cash flow to minimize credit risk, past due accounts and bad debts When these three...
by Nancy Seiverd | Sep 18, 2018 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I’ve been reading your column for some time now and as the accountant at my company who is also managing some of the credit and collection functions, I finally decided to put pen to paper and seek your advice. My company is in the service business,...
by Nancy Seiverd | Aug 14, 2018 | Feature Article
I received a call recently from the accounting manager at one of our smaller clients who asked me about what I thought the credit authorization levels within her company should be. I responded that the credit authorization level depends on many factors. Even if I...
by Nancy Seiverd | Aug 14, 2018 | Hector the Collector
Hi Everyone! It’s Hector the Collector and I hope you’re having a great summer. Here at CMI, we’re having a great time too but it’s not all arts and crafts, fishing, and singing around campfires. Instead, we’ve taken advantage of the summer time by boning up on...
by Nancy Seiverd | May 9, 2018 | Feature Article
How I loved the scene from the musical Cabaret with Liza Minelli and Joel Gray when they sung and danced to the song, Money Makes the World Go Round. With the catchy lyrics and foot tapping melody, I feel the song definitely resonates with my profession. Recently, one...
by Nancy Seiverd | May 9, 2018 | Hector the Collector
Hi Everyone! It’s Hector the Collector and I hope that as part of your spring cleaning, you’re sweeping out winter’s past due receivables and handing them over to your collection partner. For most businesses, once a claim is placed, the next time they may want to hear...
by Nancy Seiverd | Apr 11, 2018 | Employee Spotlight
As we are delighted to spotlight Desiree Shelley for our April newsletter, please read through her interview which conveys her passion for CMI and the collection business. Q-1: What was the initial opportunity that brought you to CMI and into this industry? A-1: At my...
by Nancy Seiverd | Apr 11, 2018 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I’m at my wits end and I need to vent! To make a long story short, as the credit and collection manager at our mid-sized home interior decorating company, I’ve got dozens of past due accounts where the customer wants to pay but is holding back until we...
by Nancy Seiverd | Apr 11, 2018 | Feature Article
Broadly speaking, conglomerates are huge multinational and publicly traded corporations that either partially or fully own a number of other companies in a wide array of industries. One of the most well known conglomerates is Berkshire Hathaway, which has throughout...
by Nancy Seiverd | Mar 13, 2018 | Employee Spotlight
As we are delighted to spotlight Sharon Smith for our March newsletter, please read through her short interview which conveys her passion for CMI and the collection business. Q-1: How long have you been working at CMI and as the Collection Coordinator? What was the...
by Nancy Seiverd | Mar 13, 2018 | Hector the Collector
Hi Everyone! It’s Hector the Collector and like myself, I’m sure you’ve been having a very hectic winter season. Last month was particularly busy with our sales team doing a great job getting so many new customers. All of this new business has certainly given us a...
by Nancy Seiverd | Mar 13, 2018 | Feature Article
As we credit professionals hurry to gather all of the substantiating documentation to evaluate a customer’s creditworthiness, which may include the customer’s financial statements and trade and bank references, not much thought may be given to the timing...
by Nancy Seiverd | Feb 6, 2018 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, I’m the credit and collection manager at my company and I have a customer who ended up owing us several tens of thousands of dollars. Since this customer had been with us for a couple of decades, our president agreed to let him pay off the receivable over...
by Nancy Seiverd | Feb 6, 2018 | Feature Article
As credit professionals, we may sometimes find ourselves at odds with the sales department and the executive management. The main reason is that while the sales team is trying to push the credit envelope to reach their sales goals, we’re pushing back trying to protect...
by Nancy Seiverd | Jan 3, 2018 | Credit & Collection History
It is believed that one of the first western urban civilizations, Sumer, is also the place where the first commercial and consumer loans were provided. You may ask, “Where is Sumer?” Sumer is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern...
by Nancy Seiverd | Jan 3, 2018 | Hector the Collector
Hi Everyone! It’s Hector the Collector and hope you had a nice New Year holiday. As you know, from the Northwest Rockies, through the Midwest, and over here where I am in the Northeast, ringing in the new year has brought with it some brutally cold arctic weather and...
by Nancy Seiverd | Jan 3, 2018 | Feature Article
Now that the holidays are over with all of its family, food, and fanfare, it’s time to get back to work. I imagine that except for the few who are super organized, most of us have a pile of papers on our desks that resemble a mini Mt. Everest waiting to be reviewed....
by Nancy Seiverd | Nov 14, 2017 | Dear Crabby
Dear Crabby, Although I’m not formally a credit professional, I was asked a few months ago to take over the credit position at our company. As I plod along, I’m evaluating some of the documentation we use in the credit granting process, which includes our new customer...
by Nancy Seiverd | Nov 14, 2017 | Feature Article
As a credit and collection professional for a few decades, I’ve seen my share of ploys by debtors who have attempted to show they have paid. At a minimum, this illusion is an effort to buy a little more time to eventually make a legitimate payment. At a maximum,...
by Nancy Seiverd | Nov 14, 2017 | Feature Article
Another Thanksgiving is upon us and it’s time for millions of Americans across the US to share a beautiful meal, have lots of laughs, and enjoy one of the most important holidays in our country. Sadly, there are still millions who have no where to go for this special...
by Nancy Seiverd | Oct 17, 2017 | Feature Article
Some of us, in spite of spending a lot of time planning our days and weeks, know that with one phone call at 8:00am, our entire schedule can be thrown off and all the things meticulously planned can be put on the back burner. But before we let the backlog of our to-do...
