The Seven Deadly Sins of Credit Management
By Robbie Burch
LUST: Whenever a customer walks in and requests a line of credit there is an immediate rush to okay the order. The ability to make money and make a profit cannot overcome the due diligence process necessary to evaluate a potential customer before a line of credit is extended.
GLUTTONY: Established customers may ask for a higher line of credit. Before simply granting the customer’s request take the time do a re-check of references and to re-check the customer’s entity status, court records, and tax liens before lines of credit are increased.
GREED: How many lines of credit are too many lines of credit? Over-extending your company’s ability to provide credit by having too many open accounts can damage your bottom line. The size of your company and it’s ability to withstand open accounts are a key component to maintaining PROFIT, rather than encouraging LOSS.
SLOTH: Don’t be lazy. Just because a company has been a steady paying customer in the past, does not mean they have earned the right to start paying late. As soon as an existing customer starts to slow pay, the account deserves extra attention, with an eye on collections, if delinquency continues.
WRATH: When a customer doesn’t pay, and all in-house attempts at collections have been exhausted, when is it time to bring in a third party collection agency? You don’t want to wait too long, but you don’t want to alienate the customer by sending them to collections too soon. PICB can help you to determine the right decision before it’s too late.
ENVY: Just because another company extended a line of credit and made some money doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for your company. Weigh references correctly and don’t think that just because another company was paid yours will be paid too.
PRIDE: Even if your company has had success in the past with providing credit without due-diligence, never let that be a marker for success in the future. Leave the luck out of it by investigating companies before lines of credit are extended and having a credit policy in place that sends delinquent accounts to collections before it’s too late. PICB has been an industry leader when it comes to training in credit granting procedures, assistance and tools for risk analysis, and professional debt collection on delinquent accounts.