As we discussed in the first article in this series, there are steps and procedures that can be utilized by the small business owner to reduce the number of past due accounts on their books. In addition to these preventative steps, there are intermediary actions that can be taken on these accounts prior to initiating full blown collection proceedings. The reason for the content of this article is a result of concerns voiced by small business owners. As stated in the first installment in this series, one of the main concerns small business owners have is the fact that, due to geographic constraints, there are a finite amount of customers. In light of this, the concern is to collect the overdue monies, yet not sour and loose the customer's future business. This can be a very difficult task because of the two standard options presented to the small business owner. They can either submit the account to a collection agency for a barrage of nasty phone calls, or institute legal proceedings against the customer. Neither of these options are very attractive if your goal is to keep the customer's repeat business. Therefore, I have often been asked are there any steps in between prevention and litigation. The answer to this question is yes. The most successful measures center around a well organized follow up system designed to not allow an account to become stale. All too often, the owner will not even realize an account is past due until it becomes 90 days or longer past due. This is far too long to allow an account to sit without any follow-up. Additionally, it will be hard to instill a sense of urgency in the customer when he has already taken advantage of your mistake. In this instance, timing is everything. The greatest success rates are yielded by a quick and concise system of follow up with each customer who is past due. Again, the goal is to collect the money and keep the client, which is why this intermediary step even exists, so keep that in mind. The follow up system needs to have set intervals of time and set procedures. First this will prevent invoices from falling through the cracks, and second, it will also cut down on the time and cost of having you or your employees deal with these past due accounts. These follow-ups are meant to augment your current systems of invoices and past due statements. The first action should be taken no later than when the invoice is fifteen days overdue. This first follow up is very important since this is the very beginning of the problem. You or someone in your staff should immediately call, email or send a letter to the customer as a friendly reminder. Notify them that the invoice is past due, that maybe they forgot, and to please send payment. If you call the customer, be sure to follow up with a friendly email or short letter. Regardless, from here on out, you must document your attempts to get paid. The second thing this initial contact accomplishes is that it puts the customer on notice that you are serious and are not the type to simply turn a blind eye to their delinquency. The second time to reach out to delinquent customer should be around 30 days overdue. This is usually the time when most owners send out a past due statement notifying the customer of their overdue balance. Not only should an overdue statement be sent, but the statement should now include the late charges (as we discussed in Part I of this series). Make sure the overdue amount is in bold-faced type as well as the late charge amount. The third, and usually last attempt, occurs around 45 days past due. I advise my clients that this should be the last attempt made by them. This attempt can be by phone, but should be in letter form. It should notify the customer of the overdue amount, as well as reciting the dates and times of phone calls, voice mails left, and correspondence. Include an up to date invoice with all current charges. Lastly, inform the customer that should the amount not be paid within a short period of time, such as 5 to 7 days, that the account will be turned over to your legal counsel. Also be sure to "cc:" your attorney at the bottom of the letter. If at this point you have not received any response from the customer, the owner only has two choices, pursue the monies legally, or simply write it off. I also find that my clients prefer to take these intermediary steps, even though it does take some additional time and effort on their part. In addition to the success rate of collecting money short of litigation, it also gives the owner the mental comfort of knowing that they did everything in their power to collect the money prior to a lawsuit. It gives them the peace of mind to know that they could not have done anything else short of litigation, and that loosing a customer such as this is not necessarily a bad thing.
About the Author
Ronald C. Isgate, Esquire is the Managing Partner of Isgate & Chiccarine, P.C., a full service law firm that concentrates its practice in Small Business and Real Estate law. Mr. Isgate can be reached via telephone at (215) 396-1020, risgate@isgatelaw.com. For more information please see our website www.isgatelaw.com.
