A-Z of Credit Control

Purpose of Credit Control What is the meaning of credit and why is it important to sell with credit? Increasing profitable sales Enhancing cash flow and the business liquidity Protecting the business against bad debts Maintaining better customer relations Working as a team with the sales people Implementing the company’s credit policy Terms and Conditions of Trade Basic elements of a contract Payment terms of Credit Which terms to apply? Interest chargeable on overdue accounts Retention of title Customer Identity Understand various corporate entities Difference in trading with partnerships and sole traders Trading names and name changes Understand the importance of credit control process Credit Worthiness Assessment and New Accounts Application forms using to get the right information Assessing the credit worthiness of customers Gathering of information to assess credit risk Assessment of ability to pay and on-going monitoring of credit customers Checking customer accounts to assess business viability Checking credit reports Review of the Legal System involved with Credit Control Understand legal options to collect debts Implications of going legal Monthly Campaign The idea of a monthly campaign Collection methods Collection communication strategies - letters email fax telephone Deciding priorities Letter Cycle What is a good collection letter? How many letters to send? How effective are these letters? Effective Telephone Techniques Behavior and Attitudes - the psychology of cash collection What are assertive telephone collections Telephone calls call types what are the stages in a telephone call asking for payment and negotiating agreement asking for a commitment follow up the call Collecting Tough Debts Why hasn’t the customer not paid? Can they actually pay? What are the reasons for non-payment? Handling excuses Creating solutions to get debt cleared Preparing payment plans What are the alternatives to legal action Query Management Whose job is it to solve queries? Best practice procedures Analysis of internal/external errors and credits Measuring Performance Calculating day's sales outstanding Forecasting cash flow Target setting and monitoring performance