If you're in the business-to-business field, or even if you're a consumer products business that works through third-party distribution channels, you probably know what it's like to check your mail anxiously each day, sifting through all the bills for that payment that was supposed to have been in months ago.
It wasn't supposed to be like this. If you were a good, honest businessperson who dealt with other good, honest businesspeople, "commercial collections" wasn't supposed to be part of your vocabulary.
Back in the good old days, an invoice or purchase order that had an established company listed in the "bill to" field was almost as good as a cashier's check. Nowadays, if you're in the business of serving other businesses you may find that your cash flow is less reliable than a small-time bookie's.
Commercial Collections: A Personal Story
This past April I finally got the $2,000 a client owed me for work done in December, after spending almost as much money's worth of my time reminding them to pay.
No, this wasn't one of those hand-shake deals-we had a 5-page contract specifying net-30 payment terms. Nor was this some guy with a lemonade stand. It was the media division of one of the largest retailers in the United States.
The worst part was, I trusted this client based on my experience working with them a few years before. I actually spent the money on Christmas presents, fully expecting the payment to come in before my credit card statement.
Avoiding Outstanding Invoices
Of course, you can nip this problem in the bud by cultivating strong relationships with clients who pay on time. But those clients are getting few and far between-and, as I found, the good can go pretty bad pretty fast.
Worse, it seems that the larger the business, the less likely they are to pay on time. "Net 10 days" might as well be a foreign language in Fortune 500 land. The long-standing advice given to B2B businesses and self-employed people is that the money is in big corporations. But good luck getting it from them before your rent is due.
Read more on
http://myfreeinfo4u.com/finance/commercial_collections_business_finance_booster_shot.html
Related Articles
Bad Credit Mortgage Refinance - Should I, Shouldn't I?
By: Jas | 19/03/2008 | Finance
It is a common financial scenario across households in the Western world. Multiple debts have started to build up: a car loan here, a department store loan there; a bank loan here and several credit cards there.
Buying a Spanish Property - How Do You Finance It?
By: Jas | 19/03/2008 | Real Estate
Once you have decided on the home you wish to buy you need to know how to finance it. There are several ways in which you can do this. If you are lucky enough to have the cash in the bank then you don't need to worry about the actual financing of it - however take a look at the section on exchanging your money as this could save you a lot of money. If you don't have the finances readily available how do you finance the property?
Credit Report Scores - Why it is Important for Your Finances
By: Jas | 19/03/2008 | Finance
The airwaves these days seem to be full of advertisements for consumers to obtain their credit reports and also apply for credit cards. Apart from encouraging consumers to obtain their credit reports, consumers are not told and do not fully understand why it is that important.
Family Finance Beyond Rrsps
By: Jas | 19/03/2008 | Finance
Congratulations, you have contributed the maximum amount to your RRSP. So now what?
Florida Refinance - Refinancing in Florida
By: Jas | 20/03/2008 | Finance
The decision to buy a home in Florida can be one of the best you will ever make. If you own a home in Florida you may be considering refinancing. Refinancing now can potentially save you thousands of dollars over the length of your mortgage. Florida lenders are offering low interest rates and could save you thousands of dollars over the length of your loan.
Bad Credit Mortgage Refinancing - Refinance High Interest Mortgage With Poor Credit
By: Jas | 19/03/2008 | Finance
With bad credit, you can't afford not to refinance a high interest mortgage. Working with the right lender, you can trim your loan costs and help your monthly budget.
California Refinance - Refinancing in California
By: Jas | 19/03/2008 | Finance
The real estate market in California is booming. Home values continue to appreciate almost on a daily basis. Refinancing your home is an excellent way to take advantage of the low interest rates currently being offered by California lenders.
Debt Consolidation Refinance Loans - a Great Way to Lower Your Bills
By: Jas | 19/03/2008 | Finance
For millions of homeowners, refinancing is the perfect way to consolidate debts. You can consolidate your debts, eliminate outrageous interest rates and fees, and make one low monthly payment.
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
Why am I getting a fine for my tax return for 2005 ...
By: Jyslinn | 10-07-2008
why am I getting a fine for my tax return for 2005 now, in 2008?
Venture captial agreement
By: steve | 10-07-2008
looking for a contract format for drafting agreement with an investor to fiance growth
Suppose you have debt can the person you owe money ...
By: Cathey | 10-07-2008
Suppose you have debt can the person you owe money too attack a joint checking account if that is all the money that goes in the account is from socail security?
FHA income limitations
By: David Reed | 10-07-2008
What is the maximum I can make in order to qualify for an FHA loan?
100% mortgage financing Queen Creek AZ
By: pjohnson | 10-07-2008
I have a fabulous mortgage program available for homebuyers in the Queen Creek Arizona area --- any ideas of how to market this program?True 100% financing with no mortgage insurance
Debt settlement
By: Dorothy | 10-07-2008
should i negotiate with credit card co. or use a debt settlement co.
Q&A Powered by:
Latest Finance Articles
Things To Do When Making Your Timeshares For Sale
By: Stephen Campbell | 19/07/2008
Selling of your vacation property is better known as timeshare resale. In selling your timeshares, there are lots of consideration that you must take to effectively do it.
Life Insurance Without Invading Your Privacy
By: Marilyn Katz | 19/07/2008
Protect your privacy, and save time with simple issue, no medical exam term life insurance policies.
Does My College Student Need Renter's Insurance?
By: Jim Waltrip | 19/07/2008
Find out the best way to protect your college-aged child's possessions while he is away at school. Are your college student's belongings covered by your homeowners insurance, or should you consider purchasing renter's insurance?
A Primer on Applying For Student Grants
By: Ron Subs | 18/07/2008
Student grants are one of the best financial resources available but some grants are left untouched at the end of the year due to few people applying for them.
Tips About Cash Advance For Everybody
By: Stephen Campbell | 18/07/2008
A lot of people opt for cash advance because they cannot afford to wait for payday. Thankfully, cash advance works for nearly everyone to get the cash they need until payday.
Using Automated Investment Strategies To Invest Wisely
By: Jim Pretin | 18/07/2008
If you are a novice investor and you can not decide when it is the right time to buy or cell a certain stock, talk to your broker about automated investment strategies like DCA and DVA
Good News For Income Investors
By: Steve Selengut | 18/07/2008
Admittedly, even if your asset allocation has been fine tuned for years, lower portfolio market values in this area make stock market valuation shrinkage feel even worse. But the value of stable cash flow becomes painfully clear for investors who misguidedly depend on capital gains for their spending money.
How Do You Magnetically Attract People To You
By: Jackie Khor | 18/07/2008
Would you like to become wealthy working from home, pay off your debts, spend more time with your family, and retire in style? Would you like to have a multi-million dollar investment portfolio, live a life of abundance and eventually leave a rich legacy for your children?
More from Jas
Foster Home Uses Pay Option Mortgage Loan for California Refinance
By: Jas | 20/03/2008 | Finance
“We recently received an application from Angela P. who needed to refinance her California home. While finding out her specific goals for the refinance I learned that she was a foster mom and cared for multiple "crack" babies that had been taken away from their mothers at birth because of testing positive for an illegal substance during labor.
Florida Refinance - Refinancing in Florida
By: Jas | 20/03/2008 | Finance
The decision to buy a home in Florida can be one of the best you will ever make. If you own a home in Florida you may be considering refinancing. Refinancing now can potentially save you thousands of dollars over the length of your mortgage. Florida lenders are offering low interest rates and could save you thousands of dollars over the length of your loan.
Five Tips to Slash Your Home Finance Costs
By: Jas | 20/03/2008 | Finance
It's no wonder that the majority of homeowners dream of one day being able to pay off their home loan and live a life free from the shackles of interest rates, home finance and worries about meeting the monthly mortgage payments because the largest expense the majority of us take on in a lifetime is our mortgage and each month our home finance payments take a substantial chunk out of our take home pay.
Finding the Right Time to Refinance a Loan
By: Jas | 20/03/2008 | Finance
If you've been thinking about refinancing a loan, you might wonder whether or not right now is the best time to do so.
Finding the Best Mortgage Refinance Rate
By: Jas | 20/03/2008 | Finance
You may have become used to the monthly house payment that you make. But for many of us refinancing our homes is a great way to save money, lower the house payment, and unlock some of the equity already built change such as refinancing in the house.
Finding a Mortgage Refinance Advisor
By: Jas | 20/03/2008 | Finance
If you are looking to refinance your home for a lower rate, or you are interested in a refinance with cash out to do some home repairs, buy a new car, etc., you may want to consider finding a mortgage refinance advisor.
Finances for the Freelancer
By: Jas | 20/03/2008 | Finance
Budgeting and financial planning are great ideas, but how in the world do you budget or plan when you don't know from one month to the next how much money you're going to earn? You have months at a time when you earn very little money, and then during the prosperous months you're busy playing financial catch-up - and then comes another tough time.
Finance Your Small Business: so Much Money – so Little Time
By: Jas | 20/03/2008 | Finance
$47.4 million venture capital funded projects today. $86.4 million yesterday. $51.4 million the day before.
Finance 
