The process of commercial collections is part of business. While it would be nice if all businesses paid their outstanding balances on time, it’s unlikely and, at some point, you will need to get involved in the collections process.
There are many reasons why an account may go past due. Here are some winning tactics for commercial collections that may help you in your debt recovery.
Reach Out for Follow-Up Right Away
Keep an eye on which accounts are paid and which aren’t. The day after an account is due, someone on your team should reach out to issue a telephone reminder about the outstanding invoice. If you still mail invoices, it could be that it got lost in the mail. It could also be that the invoice was misplaced or that the commercial client experienced some staff changes. It could be that the commercial client has questions about the invoice. Reaching out gives you the opportunity to do more than gently remind the client about their outstanding balance. It enables the client to ask any questions they may have. This phone call could also result in the client offering to pay you over the phone to clear up the past due balance.
Better Written Contracts and Service Agreements
Another winning tactic that can help you in your debt recovery efforts is to have a better written contract and service agreement. Requiring automatic payments or personal guaranties can make a big difference in the number of past due accounts that you send into the commercial collections process. You should have a commercial collections attorney review your contracts and service agreements to get suggestions that will work for your business.
Provide the Proper Amount of Credit
If you offer credit to commercial entities, you must ensure that you’re providing the proper amount of credit. Giving too much credit to a business that doesn’t have the income to make its payments on time (or who has a credit history that shows unpaid or late paid accounts) can result in a financial disaster for your business. Providing the proper amount of credit involves having a credit application and credit history review for the business. This one step can help minimize the number of commercial collections accounts for your business.
Find a Reputable Commercial Collections Attorney
Not every past due account will be one that you want to pay a commercial collections attorney to handle. However, a commercial collections attorney can guide you through establishing criteria to decide how past due accounts should be handled. A commercial collections attorney can also provide you with more potential avenues to help you get the money that you are owed.
For more information on the commercial collections process, contact attorney Ronald P. Slates today.
