Your accounts receivables – in other words, your invoices – are among your most important assets. They represent sales that haven’t been paid for yet. Your company’s financing or line of credit may be directly tied to the value of your accounts receivables, a value which typically diminishes over time as the likelihood of collecting on an aging debt declines. Receiving training (or even retraining) in accounts receivable management can go a long way in helping to reduce customer payment delinquencies, as well as maintaining your company’s healthy cash flow.
It is the role of the accounts receivable manager to oversee the various aspects of your company’s outstanding credit sales. The AR manager’s duties might include such functions as extending credit, engaging in collections, payment processing, account reconciliation, billing, and reporting. A training program for AR managers should provide coaching in these areas as well as performance evaluation. In this first of two articles on accounts receivable management training we will discuss the account reconciliation, credit extension, and customer service roles of an AR manager.
Account Reconciliation
Where payments, finance charges, and balances are concerned, your customer’s records may differ from those of your company. It is your accounts receivable department’s responsibility to reconcile those differences so that they do not inhibit payment or cause confusion. A training program for accounts receivable management might include mock exercises to instruct candidates the steps that need to be taken to resolve these issues.
Credit Extension
When deciding on whether or not to extend credit to a customer, it is the responsibility of the accounts receivable manager to assess the company’s financial risk in relation to the customer’s ability pay on invoices. Firm credit management policies can offer guidance to an AR manager trainee.
Customer Service
When training in accounts receivable management it is important to include customer service training. It is about instructing on proper and professional communications skills. Depending on how well and how professionally your accounts receivable team communicates with customers could have an impact on future sales.
In the next article in this series we will discuss training in billing, payment processing, and collections.
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.