Choosing a good collection agency requires careful consideration, as you want someone who effectively recovers your debt while adhering to ethical practices. Here are some key steps to follow:
Before you begin:
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They call me a bean counter, a number cruncher, even a financial wizard (though the occasional "spreadsheet sorcerer" makes me cringe). But the truth is, being a CFO is far more than just wrangling numbers. It's a world of high-stakes decisions, strategic gambles, and navigating the unpredictable tides of the market. Think James Bond, but with an Excel sheet instead of a Walther PPK.
Imagine this: you're the orchestra conductor, but your instruments are departments, budgets, and investments. You wield the baton, setting the tempo for growth, profitability, and navigating the occasional financial storm. The thrill lies in harmonizing seemingly disparate elements, coaxing a beautiful symphony from the often chaotic dance of business. One day, I'm deciphering cryptic tax codes, the next, I'm strategizing a multi-million dollar acquisition, my mind a chessboard where risks and rewards clash. It's an intellectual puzzle with real-world consequences, where a misplaced comma could spell disaster, and a well-timed investment could unlock untold potential. But the real intrigue lies beyond the numbers. It's about understanding the human story behind them. Every number represents people, their hopes, dreams, and livelihoods. My decisions impact not just bottom lines, but families, communities, and the very fabric of society. That weight of responsibility keeps me sharp, but also deeply invested in the company's soul. The CFO's life isn't all boardrooms and power suits. There are moments of quiet contemplation, poring over data like a detective searching for clues. There are adrenaline-pumping board meetings, where million-dollar bets are placed on calculated hunches. And there are moments of quiet satisfaction, watching a well-laid plan blossom into financial success. It's a life less about numbers and more about the stories they tell. It's about understanding the language of business, anticipating its rhythms, and using that knowledge to create a symphony of success. So, the next time you see a CFO, don't just see a bean counter. See a storyteller, a strategist, a conductor of the financial orchestra, their decisions shaping the very melody of a company's existence. Intrigued? Want to know more about the highs, lows, and hidden truths of the CFO life? Stay tuned for upcoming articles where I'll delve deeper into:
We understand how CFO's think and what a difficult job you and your team have. At Panther, Chase, & Associates we specialize in software, internet, technology, and commercial lending receivables. If you want to know what your agency specializes in, simply compare their website to ours. If they don't mention your industry on their website, how good will they be at collecting your money? WILL THE COLLECTIONS INDUSTRY BE AFFECTED BY THE PANDEMIC? This is a delicate time in our country. We want to let our current and future clients know that we have had a contingency plan in place for just such an occasion. While there is no doubt that all collection agencies will be affected by this forced downturn in the economy, we are better prepared than others to to succeed. Since a portion of our staff was already working remotely, we were able to set the rest of our staff up with work phones and VPN secured computers at home within 48 hours of the lockdown taking effect. We have dealt with clients who have been through floods, natural disasters, fires, and other emergencies and we have always been able to make sure every possible dollar was recovered.
You may be asking yourself if you should hold off on placing accounts until this whole thing blows over. Given the conflicting timelines being reported in the media ranging from a few months until sometime next year, we would advise against this. It is estimated that half of all businesses and even some larger companies revenues have dropped by 50% or more, forcing them to make drastic changes to their staff and the way they normally do business. While it makes sense to try and give your debtors more time and to do the human thing, the creditors who place their accounts for collection first are the ones that will be paid. Those who hesitate or wait may end up having to write off the entire balance owed. We are urging all of our clients to place sooner rather than later. In a normal economy it is estimated that after a debt is allowed to age 6 months past its due date that only .67 cents on the dollar will be recovered. At 12 months this figure drops to .46 cents on the dollar, and at 2 years this figures drops to .12 cents on the dollar. That is in a normal economy with businesses not having to deal with a global pandemic restricting production, scaling down their overhead by laying employees off, and having to trust employees they do keep, to work at 100% capacity even though they are at home unsupervised. Panther, Chase, & Associates' will continue to treat all of your debtors in an ethical and professional manner taking into account how this time in our country has struck down even the healthiest of industries. However, it is up to our clients to continue with their normal procedures when it comes to outsourcing your past due clients. Keep in mind that your past due client's other creditors are not going to wait or hesitate. They are going to do what they need to do to protect that money that has already been generated, not knowing when life & business will get back to normal. If we can collect those funds and as a result allow our clients more freedom to do what is necessary during this rough corporate climate, then we will have done our jobs. We also offer a 1st party outsourcing service where we will act as an extension of your in house staff if you find yourself short of employees in this area. Our most sincere prayers go out to all of our clients and your families. We hope you are staying safe and healthy and taking the proper precautions. If you are in need of 3M N95 masks, please let us know as we were able to secure an allotment for our employees before they sold out. We are grateful for the relationship we have been able to foster with you and we promise to continue to work just as hard for you as we did prior to this event. We have no doubt we will get through this together and continue to prosper in the end. In Wallace Wattles' book, the Science of Getting Rich, he talks about the "Advancing Man". The advancing man is someone who does business in the right way. This means that he "must give to every man a use value in excess of the cash value that he receives, so that each transaction makes for more life. He must hold the advancing thought so that the impression of increase will be communicated to all that he comes in contact with". Unfortunately, a lot of collections agencies do not do business in the right way. Many businesses claim to be experts in certain industries, but they collect on everything under the sun. I have worked for both good and bad collections agencies. I have worked for some of the largest and some start-ups. The thing I realized in my experience working for these companies, is the companies that did business in the right way, tended to last longer and those that took short cuts, or tried to cheat their clients, usually had shorter life spans. In fact if everyone did everything in the right way, there would be no need for collection agencies, (or police officers, or divorce lawyers, or Susan in HR who wants you to squeeze a stress ball because you have anger management issues), but unfortunately that is not the case. People tend to shirk their responsibilities or ignore their obligations when it comes to paying their debts. This applies to individuals as well as corporations. Because of this, we as collectors, never run out of customers. It is human nature to avoid pain and to go towards pleasure. Many companies want to sit back and make excuses as to why they don't want to pay the bill. The corporations that are owed the money also make excuses, that they don't have time to get to every account. Instead of trying to call every account letting them go further and further behind, just call us and we promise to provide value in excess of what you are paying for our service (and maybe a fruit basket or wine of the month on Xmas). We believe in doing business in the right way, so we can continue to advance both our company and yours.
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AuthorJohn Chase is a commercial collections expert and attorney who started in B2B collections in 1996. He has coordinated the collection of millions of dollars in B2B debt. Archives
February 2024
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