Happy Holidays as you stare at your A/R pages. Wow holey shit bat man I did not realise I was owned that much money? Then as you cross the page and see the 60 and 90 day columns then your stomach starts to feel a little uncomfortable.
Then you start thinking how in the hell did I let this get in this shape? This is about the time you also begin to get a little pissed off because you have an employee that handles the A/R and now you wonder if she/he is in la-la land or something?
The one thing I have found out in 25 years in the business is that if your A/R person can’t go from nice to a bitch in 10 seconds or less then you have the wrong person sitting in the wrong seat on the bus.
I can honestly say I do not know one super nice A/R person. The good ones I know are all ass holes or bitches but man they know how to collect your money. I have always said that a great A/R person pays for themselves all year long if they are collecting your money.
If you have a good one you won’t see much money in the 60-90 day column and if you do you will have a written reason why this company owes you and when it will get paid.
No matter how good or bad the economy is you should always collect your money or quit doing business with that client. Sooner or later you will get stung by this client and lose all your money.
When you work with builders and believe me I am not picking just on builders but in my world this is where most of our problems arise. We normally have no problems with the biggies because they most always pay on time but then you have all the local builders that can drive your A/R person to go nuts collecting your money.
Why is this when they ask for your products or services but then have every excuse in the book not to pay you on time? The one I like the best is that your invoice must be in and approved by the 15Th to receive your check by the 30Th. You wait and wait for your check and when you call they tell you your invoice was not in and you have to wait another 30 days.
This is when your A/R person goes into explode mode and you wish you were not in the office that day because the whole day is bad after that explosion. Me I love it!
Just remember to always collect your money and on time. No one needs to work for someone that does not pay you. There are a lot more builders or contractors that do pay on time to work for that you do not need the hassle for you or your staff.
If the builder or contractor does not pay then just fire them and move on. You will have a better company because of it .
Happy Selling
Glen
