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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 first...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 and amount of...

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...

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....

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, it’s...

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...

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...

In our world of ongoing technological improvements, it seems that companies are continuously striving to rationalize many aspects of their operations. Whether it’s the assembly line process, in which manufacturing robotics often replace factory workers, many...