Wer'e always talking in our podcasts about how important it is to keep an accurate, complete records, and how important it is to understand the collection laws in your state--and the state you're collecting in. Today we're going to really give you some specific examples of what can happen when you don't do that. There are a ton of legal issues involved in this, and you definitely want to be as knowledgeable about this as possible, or have somebody working for you who is. So, let's just get right into it.

New Rules proposed by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The rewards are huge when you motivate the team, and the effort surprisingly small. Get creative with motivation and stay upbeat with your approach. An enthusiastic team will outperform others, and reduce turnover too. Want to recover in more profits? Take a moment to motivate your team every week and have some fun with it.

There is real value in an empowered credit department and real profits to retain. A few simple guidelines can strengthen your sales team by giving them backing in negotiations that prevent profit erosion. Customers will understand their obligations better and minimize profit leaks.

G03 Keeping Collections Files Secure

It is very important to keep a detailed collection on your legal commitments. This will give you something to fall back on if legal troubles do occur, and it will also make you aware of who exactly is responsible for the debt owed

Screen - Organize - Structure - Early - One Call

1. Make sure you correctly screen your clients
2. Make sure all your client files are organized and accessible by the necessary people in your company
3. Structure your AR department in such a way that you’re collecting your accounts in appropriate order according to delinquency level
4. Get to your customers early in the delinquency stage, preferably in the first 10 days
5. Make sure your AR department where you aim to get the problem resolved by one phone call

Setting up Accounts Receivable brings clarity, accuracy, and repeatability. Avoid profit losses, and problems by having a clearly understood structure for all employees to follow and maintain.

This is a general discussion on the term “performance collections.” What is performance collection? Simply put, it’s collecting on goods or services. It’s really about getting “performance” from the customer—whomever your customer might be—and/or collecting what you were promised.

Let’s look at a scenario that’s a little different from our usual perspective of a collector trying to get a debt paid.

Keeping Great Records!

We have talked about how having accurate, complete records is crucial to successfully collecting the money you are owed. If you do not know what you are owed, who made what deal or what arrangement, how the original contract may have changed, and when an agreement was made, then how are you going to get your money? Your client may say, (Well, your sales person told me I could pay 50% now, and the rest later);if you do not have a record of that, you are depending on memory. Face it, trying to recall conversations that may have taken place amongst many sales calls is not ideal. If anyone in your company makes a special arrangement with a client, it should be recorded and accessible.