We’ve mentioned it before, and we’ll mention it again: your accounts receivables – i.e., your invoices – are your most valuable asset. Proper handling of those assets through effective collection of money due to your company is key to maintaining cash flow and keeping your business afloat.
A crucial element to the collections process is customer service. It doesn’t end after you’ve made the sale and delivered. It continues throughout the entirety of the business relationship, and at all levels of that relationship. When it comes to collecting on past due invoices, many believe it is just a basic function of business. Not so.
Your company exists to make a profit. You sell a product or service, and are paid from the invoices you send your customers. When customers are past due on their invoices or are altogether non-paying, it negatively affects your profits. Pursuing payment, therefore, isn’t merely a business function. It’s an absolute necessity.
Collecting your receivables in a timely manner is highly dependent upon customer satisfaction, which is truly a measure of the importance you place on customer service. To this end, your most important resource is effective and professional communication both within your company, and with the customer.
Within your company – Reinforce both to yourself and your staff that invoices are your most valuable asset (it’s a phrase worth repeating again and again). Therefore treat your invoices and the collections process with the value they truly deserve. Without a proper view of what your invoices truly are, collections will suffer, and so will your cash flow.
With the customer – Your invoices are valuable. This ultimately means your customers are valuable! Therefore cultivate and maintain an excellent relationship with them that reflects that value. When communicating with customers to collect on past due invoices, communicate with respect and understanding. A customer who knows they are valued and respected will feel satisfied, which only increases the likelihood that they will be moved to make more timely payment.
REFERENCES: http://www.inc.com/articles/2000/03/17863.html
The Jayaram Law routinely and successfully assists its clients in their business-to-business (b2b) collection needs. We take pride in obtaining payment on accounts receivables without fracturing critical business relationships or engaging in time-consuming and costly litigation efforts.
If you need business debt collection services conducted in a professional manner, contact our B2B (business-to-business) debt collection law firm by calling 312.454.2859 or visiting www.jayaramlaw.com.