Your Virtual Credit Manager

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

Monitoring and evaluating the credit risk posed by public companies and other large firms differs significantly in comparison to small and mid-sized businesses. Because most of your biggest customers will be larger firms instead of smaller, it is typically the larger firms that will require higher credit limits. Share Read more

Chapter 11 130

Chapter 11 Accounts Receivable (AR) Bankruptcy Credit and Collections 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

JANUARY 16, 2024

If you sell on open credit terms, you need to plan on having to expend time and resources collecting from those customers that don’t pay when due. No matter how much effort you put into evaluating customer credit, some customers will not live up to your expectations. You need to be doing the right things.

Debt Collections 130

Debt Collections Collector Credit and Collections Bad Debt 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

FEBRUARY 27, 2024

For a small business owner or executive, navigating credit decisions can be challenging, especially when they clash with the goals of other stakeholders within the company. It's essential, however, for everybody to recognize that credit decisions also have broader implications across various aspects of company operations.

Accounts Receivable (AR) 130

Accounts Receivable (AR) Days Sales Outstanding Bad Debt Credit and Collections 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

AUGUST 15, 2023

Each past due account presents a unique set of circumstances. Consequently, your collection process needs to adapt to each situation if you are going to realize the best outcomes possible. Photo by Berkeley Communications on Unsplash In all probability, your accounts receivable (AR) portfolio conforms to the 80/20 rule.

Credit and Collections 130

Credit and Collections Accounts Receivable (AR) Credit Management Small Businesses 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

NOVEMBER 5, 2024

A client, who rented heavy equipment to manufacturers and construction firms across a multi-state market area, was saddled with an accounts receivable (AR) growing faster than revenue. In other words, they weren’t collecting everything being sold.

Accounts Receivable (AR) 130

Accounts Receivable (AR) Credit and Collections Credit Management Default 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

NOVEMBER 28, 2023

The primary source of cash inflows for most firms are the receipts from payments of open customer invoices - i.e., your Accounts Receivable (AR). Other common inflows may involve rent you charge, royalties, and financing, all of which are easy to forecast. Chances are, they will be similar to the immediate past.

Cash Forecasting 130

Cash Forecasting Accounts Receivable (AR) Credit and Collections Invoice Disputes 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

MARCH 19, 2024

If all your customers paid promptly — by the time the invoice was due — you would not need to do any collection work. Collections is a reactive process. The amount of collection activity with which you are tasked is directly proportional to your customers’ payment habits.

Bulk Transfer 100

Bulk Transfer Credit and Collections Bankruptcy Accounts Receivable (AR) 100

Your Virtual Credit Manager

AUGUST 29, 2023

Effective collections are crucial to maintaining a healthy cash flow and the financial stability of your company. If your business is struggling with cash flow or AR balances are growing, it could be a sign that your collections policy requires updating. There are a myriad of issues that can affect collections.

DSO 130

DSO Credit and Collections Bad Debt Collection Effectiveness Index 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

MARCH 5, 2024

Finding the time and resources to accomplish all the collection activities required to do a good job is a constant challenge. Most small companies come up short because when there isn’t a dedicated employee responsible for credit and collections, the owner or CFO have more important things to do.

Past Due Invoices 100

Past Due Invoices Credit and Collections Collector Accounts Receivable (AR) 100

Your Virtual Credit Manager

SEPTEMBER 24, 2024

Credit and collections management too often involves simultaneously handling multiple urgent tasks that demand immediate attention. This advice should resonate deeply for anybody involved in credit management, particularly in times of economic uncertainty. Do you need help assessing your customers’ credit risks?

Accounts Receivable (AR) 130

Accounts Receivable (AR) Credit and Collections Credit Management Default 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

APRIL 2, 2024

Commercial credit scores predict the likelihood of a business fulfilling its financial obligations, particularly regarding debt repayment and trade credit. Their greatest value, however, may be not what they can tell you about an individual company, but what they can tell you about your entire accounts receivable (AR) portfolio.

Credit Scoring 130

Credit Scoring Credit and Collections Bad Debt Credit Risk 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

JANUARY 2, 2024

Contacting customers to pay past due amounts (collecting) is an essential element of accounts receivable (AR) management. For most firms, late customer payments are a frequent occurrence and collecting them can be a difficult task. This post focuses on the aspect of collections that involves Credit Holds.

Bad Debt 130

Bad Debt Credit and Collections Accounts Receivable (AR) Credit Management 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

NOVEMBER 1, 2022

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash Effective collections is the single most important factor for achieving reliable cash inflows. Effective collections can also reduce bad debt losses by compensating for a liberal or weak Credit Control function. The solution to the collections challenge therefore starts with Prioritization.

Credit and Collections 130

Credit and Collections Past Due Invoices Bad Debt Accounts Receivable (AR) 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

Such a process also brings more certainty to the accounts receivable (AR) asset. Looking around us, the Amazons, Netflixes, and HubSpots of the world were billing and charging clients automatically, while our business’s billing and collections looked pretty much the same as it had been done before computers.

AR Automation 130

AR Automation Accounts Receivable (AR) Credit and Collections Bad Debt 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

NOVEMBER 19, 2024

Chances are, there is a lot that needs to be done in terms of accounts receivable (AR) management between now and December 31st, especially if you are short of your Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) goals. Anything less, and you are wasting valuable time. it just might help them collect faster and pay you sooner.

DSO 100

DSO AR Metrics Credit and Collections Accounts Receivable (AR) 100

Your Virtual Credit Manager

AUGUST 6, 2024

Extending credit is standard practice if you are selling to other businesses. Most commercial enterprises are simply not willing to continue trading without credit terms, making it difficult for any trade credit grantor to generate enough revenue to survive on cash sales.

Bad Debt 100

Bad Debt Credit and Collections Accounts Receivable (AR) Credit Risk 100

Your Virtual Credit Manager

MARCH 12, 2024

As a result, trade credit, where businesses extend financing to customers, is undergoing rapid advancements, but it also poses high risks, especially in assessing creditworthiness, dealing with economic fluctuations, and fraud. While these are excellent recommendations, they are a bit laden with consultant-speak.

AR Transformation 100

AR Transformation Credit and Collections Accounts Receivable (AR) Order to Cash 100

Your Virtual Credit Manager

AUGUST 27, 2024

Imagine a world where extending trade credit was completely risk-free, and granting open terms of sale to business customers required no second thought. In such an ideal scenario, every customer would have both the ability and the integrity to pay their bills in full and on time, eliminating any need for a credit management.

Accounts Receivable (AR) 100

Accounts Receivable (AR) Credit and Collections Default Cybersecurity 100

Your Virtual Credit Manager

JUNE 11, 2024

My first exposure to the power of accounts receivable (AR) automation came in 1990 when I was credit manager at ERICO Fasteners, a mid-market, specialty metals manufacturer. The first month after we automated a few basic features to supplement our accounting package, we realized an increase in cash flow of 30 percent.

AR Automation 130

AR Automation DSO Collector Accounts Receivable (AR) 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

OCTOBER 2, 2024

Accounts Receivable (AR) reflect a promise of payment at a future date. Though a paper asset, AR competes with Property, Plant and Equipment as well as Inventory for being the largest line item on a company’s balance sheet. Who performs the Credit & Collection activities — you or the finance company?

Past Due Invoices 130

Past Due Invoices Credit and Collections Deductions Accounts Receivable (AR) 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

SEPTEMBER 10, 2024

To optimize the order-to-cash (O2C) process, it's crucial to understand the significant role Credit and Collections plays. This function must collaborate closely with sales, fulfillment, shipping/logistics, and accounting, all of which are integral to converting an order into cash.

Credit and Collections 130

Credit and Collections DSO Deductions Accounts Receivable (AR) 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

JANUARY 23, 2024

Approving a customer for credit terms is merely the first step in an open credit relationship. Economic circumstances may cause you to tighten your credit policies and customer credit limits. Even more likely are changes to a customer’s business. Situations change, both for you and for your customer.

Credit Application 130

Credit Application Bad Debt Bankruptcy Credit Scoring 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

JULY 16, 2024

Once an order has been approved and fulfilled, the primary objective in terms of Accounts Receivable (AR) management is getting paid. Keeping these latter two groups under control requires collection efforts. Collections becomes more challenging when the customer objects. Some customers will always pay on time.

Accounts Receivable (AR) 100

Accounts Receivable (AR) Collector Past Due Invoices Credit and Collections 100

Your Virtual Credit Manager

FEBRUARY 20, 2024

(Photo by Carlos Muza on Unsplash ) A Framework for Choosing Suitable AR Metrics Businesses should carefully assess their specific needs, objectives, and operating context when selecting metrics for accounts receivable (AR) performance measurement. Where do you need to improve? Like any metric, DSO has limitations.

DSO 130

DSO Days Sales Outstanding Credit and Collections Accounts Receivable (AR) 130

Emagia

MAY 16, 2023

The average collection period is an important accounting metric that evaluates a company’s ability to manage its accounts receivable (AR) effectively. What is an Average Collection Period? Why is the Average Collection Period Critical to Track?

Accounts Receivable (AR) 52

Accounts Receivable (AR) Credit and Collections DSO Credit Sales 52

Your Virtual Credit Manager

MAY 28, 2024

Next comes billing, followed by collections cleaning up all the garbage left by everybody that has gone before. If you remember the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons, some seasons there was a parade during the closing credits. The collection role is a lot like that of the little janitor with the big mustache sweeping up behind the parade.

Accounts Receivable (AR) 130

Accounts Receivable (AR) Past Due Invoices Credit and Collections Collector 130

Lockstep

JUNE 15, 2022

For B2B businesses, credit management is essential for accounts receivable (AR) management success. Proper, healthy credit management allows for steady cash flow, better collections management and a manageable days sales outstanding (DSO). . Getting Started . External and Supporting Data .

AR Automation 91

AR Automation Bad Debt DSO Accounts Receivable (AR) 91

Your Virtual Credit Manager

FEBRUARY 6, 2024

As a small business owner or executive, managing accounts receivable (AR) and navigating through various credit decisions is an integral part of the job. After all, credit and collections is essential to the performance of your order-to-cash (O2C) process and cash conversion cycle.

Credit and Collections 130

Credit and Collections Accounts Receivable (AR) Bad Debt Credit Risk 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

JUNE 25, 2024

In order to maintain optimal cash flow, your accounts receivable (AR) portfolio needs to remain in good shape. That can be a constant battle because all the mis-steps made during the order-to-cash (O2C) process will accumulate in your AR, and given time, clog it up.

Bad Debt 130

Bad Debt Credit and Collections DSO Days Sales Outstanding 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

APRIL 9, 2024

There has always been a strong correlation between the cost of funds and accounts receivable (AR) management. Any delays in receiving payments from customers can, therefore, have a more pronounced effect on a company's bottom line profits. Where Are Interest Rates Headed? it just might help them pay you sooner.

Credit and Collections 130

Credit and Collections Accounts Receivable (AR) Credit Card Payments Default 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

JULY 23, 2024

In every accounts receivable (AR) portfolio there are customers that almost always pay on time, other customers that pay within a reasonable proximity of the due date, and those that pay consistently slow. Irregular payments are a clear warning sign that default may be around the corner.

Credit and Collections 130

Credit and Collections Accounts Receivable (AR) Shared Service Center Small Businesses 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

DECEMBER 27, 2022

For example, there are firms burning through their cash reserves that may still be considered worthy of credit on their next order, but not the order that comes in three months from now. A customer can be paying you with no problems, but then their bank line of credit comes up for review and is drastically cut back by the bank.

Credit Scoring 130

Credit Scoring Credit and Collections Accounts Receivable (AR) Credit Application 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

MAY 14, 2024

Since payment of Accounts Receivables (AR) is the primary source of regular cash inflows for most companies, you need to also track your AR to not only maintain its health as well as to better manage it and ensure maximum cash inflow. Why Are Metrics Needed if You Have an AR Ledger?

AR Metrics 130

AR Metrics DSO Credit and Collections Accounts Receivable (AR) 130

Emagia

AUGUST 1, 2023

Understanding the nature of accounts receivable (AR) and its classification is crucial to maintain accurate bookkeeping records. One doubt that always pops up regarding is if accounts receivable is a debit or credit. What is Accounts Receivables? What is the Accounts Receivable Process?

Accounts Receivable (AR) 52

Accounts Receivable (AR) Credit and Collections Cash Applicator Credit Representative 52

Your Virtual Credit Manager

FEBRUARY 13, 2024

Clearly, the level of Business Credit Risk is going to remain elevated as we move through 2024, bringing with it the potential for corresponding increases in bad debt and delinquency. The good news is that there are a number of actions you can take to reduce your loss exposure and shore up your accounts receivable (AR).

Bankruptcy 130

Bankruptcy Credit and Collections Bad Debt Accounts Receivable (AR) 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

JANUARY 9, 2024

Then last week we looked at credit hold best practices. From a credit management perspective, these are largely reactive topics. In fact, once you decide to sell a customer on open credit, most of the accounts receivable (AR) management tasks that follow have a reactive component.

Credit and Collections 130

Credit and Collections AR Aging Accounts Receivable (AR) Deductions 130

Your Virtual Credit Manager

DECEMBER 5, 2023

This misguided search for a singular understanding applies to many things, including collecting Accounts Receivable (AR). Optimal Collection results are achieved by utilizing different collection techniques with different types of customers. Keeping it simple is the best way to optimize your results.

Credit and Collections 130

Credit and Collections Third Party Collections Accounts Receivable (AR) Credit Risk 130