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In the Weeds of Credit Management: Are Joint Check Agreements Good or Bad for Your Business?
Experienced credit managers frequently deal with joint check agreements, and you already probably understand that you need to treat such agreements on a case-by-case basis. But it takes time to gain the experience needed to determine whether a particular agreement will be good or bad for your business. For many teams, it’s helpful to have […]
Credit Department vs. Sales Department? Get On the Same Team!
Nearly every business experiences a certain level of strain between the sales and credit teams. This conflict happens for a variety of reasons, but it often has to do with poor communication, differences in goals, and a lack of training. However, conflict can be reduced or even eliminated by training your sales team members to think […]
Avoid the Credit Management Brain Drain
Across all industries, accounting departments are facing a common challenge: Experienced workers are heading for retirement, and they’ll be taking their specialized knowledge of credit management and industry-specific accounting and regulatory issues with them. While we can’t blame anyone for planning for the next step in life, there are some strategies your company, and specifically […]
Thinking Of Passing Credit Card Fees to Customers? Think Again
“The check is in the mail,” is an excuse that most business-to-business (B2B) companies don’t miss. In today’s economy, electronic payments of all kinds have made it easier and more convenient for your customers to pay you. For the most part, businesses embrace the change, but one element of electronic payments is a fly in […]
3 Standard Questions for Screening Commercial Collection Agencies — Plus 1 You Can’t Skip
Choosing the right commercial collection agency is a tricky step to take, especially with the number of agencies there are. It’s an important decision; in order for the partnership to work, you must turn over confidential information about your company and your customers, which means you must know that the agency has the integrity and […]
Should Your Company Outsource Collections to an Agency?
How many of your accounts are past due? How many are seriously past due? If you aren’t sure how to answer, you’re not alone. Despite having sizeable outstanding past-due accounts, many credit professionals in smaller and midsize companies still find themselves leery of working with commercial collection agencies. They may think that turning a customer […]
Who Is Looking at Your Commercial Credit Report?
Most of us know that our personal credit score affects our ability to access credit and reach our financial goals. The same is true of a business’s commercial credit score. These reports are more than just a list of whether we paid a bill late; they provide a vast range of data that paints a […]
Fall Is Here! Time for Vendor Reviews
A quick peek out the window at the changing leaves and dreary weather tells us fall is here! You know what that means: It’s time for you to start thinking about annual vendor reviews. Doing your job effectively without the help of other businesses would be impossible to successfully manage; in fact, this business-to-business exchange is […]
Avoid the No. 1 Mistake in Your Procure-to-Pay Cycle
For businesses working to maintain a healthy cash flow, managing what goes out is just as important as managing what comes in. A balanced purchase-to-pay (aka procure-to-pay or P2P) cycle is essential. However, mistakes in the process can be costly and can affect your entire supply chain. For example, failing to pay suppliers, transportation brokers, […]
3 Stages of Credit Risk Management in Your Order-to-Cash Cycle
A healthy cash flow is vital to any business, so naturally, businesses spend a lot of time tracking their order-to-cash cycle, that all-important process by which you deliver your goods and services and then get paid for them. Still, the cycle is complex, and payments are influenced by everything from the promises your sales person […]