Commercial Debt Collection

Commercial debt collection is required when a company fails to pay for goods or services supplied on credit. Although the process of commercial debt collection is a stressful experience for you and your company, you must still treat the debtor fairly and courteously.

So Does this only apply to small companies? Not at all. The key is to find a commercial debt collection agency with whom you can develop a long term relationship, after all this will almosr certainly not be the last time you need thei services.

You will need to find an agency who are professional and dependable. Responsive, courteous. Speak with the person who is intended to become your account manager - the person who will be in direct contact with your debtors. Do you trade internationally? This is a crucial factor when choosing a commercial debt collection agency.

By employing a commercial collection agency you must be careful and guard against not opening your self up to a lawsuit. Professional agancies will protect you from this unwanted outcome. The agancy will almost certainly wish to speak directly with your debtor or debtors , after all the time for written warnings will probably have been passed some time ago. The desire for action on your part will be strong. A good communicative agency will be able to verbally make your debtor understand the seriousness of the situation.

Many people hesitate before bringing in the services of a debt collection agency. They ask questions like " How Long should I wait before bringing in a debt collection agency?" "How many chances should I give a customer to pay before turning over the account to an collection service?" The answers vary but in general the following is a good rule of thumb. Time to wait - around 90 days unless you have had a bad experience before with this debtor in which case maybe 60 days would apply. How many chances to pay - 2 or 3 is mostly enough. If you haven't had payment by then , chances are you are in for problems.

If commercial debt collection is not part of your B2B business plan, your company is losing money.

About the Author

Ray James is a business entrprenuer. He has written several articles on the subject of debt collection tips. He can be contacted at info@debt-collection-tips.com