Mike Hughes
Former Board Administrator
If you use a collection agency, wouldnt you need a contract first............example, if you just had a handshake deal with a homeowner, good luck proving it.......right?
Late fees for overdue payments
- Thread starter krisp23
- Start date
Beth & Rod
SR Wood Geek / Moderator
This really frosts my flakes. I hate it when good hard working people get stepped on! One of the first jobs I ever did (and it was not my favorite but was helpful) was to do credit and collections work for a small flower shop my mom was part owner of when I was in my late teens.
You tried the person in the accounting department, Accounts Payable I would guess, but have you tried the Controller or the CFO? I don't mince words. At this point. I would head straight for the top. It's been my expereince that because the folks higher up have more accountability and exposure when things ... come to light shall we say, that sometimes shining the light from the top, helps free things up below.
Go over your last contact's head. If you want help, call me. I'll help you.
Beth
You tried the person in the accounting department, Accounts Payable I would guess, but have you tried the Controller or the CFO? I don't mince words. At this point. I would head straight for the top. It's been my expereince that because the folks higher up have more accountability and exposure when things ... come to light shall we say, that sometimes shining the light from the top, helps free things up below.
Go over your last contact's head. If you want help, call me. I'll help you.
Beth
oneness
Member
austin:
Yes, you can take your uncollectable income off the top of your gross sales. What you're actually doing is offsetting that income with an expense entry for the same amount, so it is as if it never happened. You may want to check with your accountant as to whether you can write off the late fees, but my guess would be yes.
However, as Beth has mentioned, you can very often get good results by being agressive and by getting in contact with the right person. Writing it off should be a very last resort.
Yes, you can take your uncollectable income off the top of your gross sales. What you're actually doing is offsetting that income with an expense entry for the same amount, so it is as if it never happened. You may want to check with your accountant as to whether you can write off the late fees, but my guess would be yes.
However, as Beth has mentioned, you can very often get good results by being agressive and by getting in contact with the right person. Writing it off should be a very last resort.
I never have
i had a subcontractor from who handled all of verizon wireless maintenance,try to avoid paying me for some work he had me do,he was happy with the work but we never recieved payment,he wouldnt return calls or letters (po box)
couldnt even locate his whereabouts through reverse lookup or name search.
i sent an email to the president of verizon wireless informing him of the situation and i had a check within 12 hours.
couldnt even locate his whereabouts through reverse lookup or name search.
i sent an email to the president of verizon wireless informing him of the situation and i had a check within 12 hours.
jschessler
New member
extra krispy
Yes extra krispy.;..... sorry buddy but i hate to bring bad news to you and at the same time get everyone back on track. Yes it was a bad move to begin with telling the customer that the bill was due within 30 days and i will tell you why. There is a distintion between telling a customer he has credit and one that owes you now. Legally now you are f----d because you gave the customer credit by saying due in 30 days instead of saying due upon receipt. You say why is this important, again i will tell you . lets suppose they decide to file for some type of bankrupcy protection. Are you guys with me, now who do you think will get paid first , the one that has a mechanics lien on the property or the one the gave the credit. Now you understand, the wording will keep you from securing a debt with the property and will only be secured by word of mouth. If you ever want to slap a customer with a mechanics lien, to secure your payment, it must include in the terms columm "due upon receipt". Oh and by the way a mayor theater chain in the usa filed last year for bk protection., so you might be out the money anyway. Since I used to deal with this type of information before and know about i can only say this is from my own personal experience and should not be considered advise towards actions you would seek against another individual. Use advise at your own risk. My disclaimer.
Yes extra krispy.;..... sorry buddy but i hate to bring bad news to you and at the same time get everyone back on track. Yes it was a bad move to begin with telling the customer that the bill was due within 30 days and i will tell you why. There is a distintion between telling a customer he has credit and one that owes you now. Legally now you are f----d because you gave the customer credit by saying due in 30 days instead of saying due upon receipt. You say why is this important, again i will tell you . lets suppose they decide to file for some type of bankrupcy protection. Are you guys with me, now who do you think will get paid first , the one that has a mechanics lien on the property or the one the gave the credit. Now you understand, the wording will keep you from securing a debt with the property and will only be secured by word of mouth. If you ever want to slap a customer with a mechanics lien, to secure your payment, it must include in the terms columm "due upon receipt". Oh and by the way a mayor theater chain in the usa filed last year for bk protection., so you might be out the money anyway. Since I used to deal with this type of information before and know about i can only say this is from my own personal experience and should not be considered advise towards actions you would seek against another individual. Use advise at your own risk. My disclaimer.
J, I see your point... about the credit line. if they file your out of luck unless you where prepaid.
Next i carry hundreds of thousands in reciepts due. large corps are not paying cash, some pay electronic and some use Visa. but thats as good as it gets.
Next i carry hundreds of thousands in reciepts due. large corps are not paying cash, some pay electronic and some use Visa. but thats as good as it gets.
Henry Bockman
Maryland Pressure Washing
Does anyone have a good collection agency they could recomend that deals with small companies. All the ones I have contacted say I don't have a big enough problem for them to deal with. Or, they only handle company to company stuff not residential clients.
Henry Bockman
Maryland Pressure Washing
Do it in house, all the money you save goes in your pocket
__________________
Grant Mogford
That's what I do now but after it gets to being over 60 days late it's almost impossible to collect unless you go to court. I just don't have the time to deal with courts. My invoices also state the client is liable for legal and collection fees so I get the money back anyway.
__________________
Grant Mogford
That's what I do now but after it gets to being over 60 days late it's almost impossible to collect unless you go to court. I just don't have the time to deal with courts. My invoices also state the client is liable for legal and collection fees so I get the money back anyway.
The write off of non-payment is called "Bad Debt".
However, you can not write off late fees.
Lets say you end up getting paid the following year, then you have to declare it as income that year.
Filing of a mechanics lean (contractors lean - different states have different titles) is my top choice. Somewhere along the way you will get paid, as the property can not be sold until this is made good. (This will also impact their credit rating.) Send a notice to the customer that this is what you are filing (with an explanation sheet of the lean and credit impacts). Send letter registered and give them 7 days for payment in full (after which you file). If you want, you can still take them to small claims, but there is never a gurantee that you will get paid even if you are awarded all you claim.
As laws may very from state to state, it is suggested that you check what legally remedies are allowed in your state.
However, you can not write off late fees.
Lets say you end up getting paid the following year, then you have to declare it as income that year.
Filing of a mechanics lean (contractors lean - different states have different titles) is my top choice. Somewhere along the way you will get paid, as the property can not be sold until this is made good. (This will also impact their credit rating.) Send a notice to the customer that this is what you are filing (with an explanation sheet of the lean and credit impacts). Send letter registered and give them 7 days for payment in full (after which you file). If you want, you can still take them to small claims, but there is never a gurantee that you will get paid even if you are awarded all you claim.
As laws may very from state to state, it is suggested that you check what legally remedies are allowed in your state.
Justin
Member
For what it's worth on this subject, I've found that most managers of fleets have procurement cards. As long as you provide a good paper trail, they can use the card.
It's hard starting out with no reputation if you don't do the 30 days or net 60 but we've discontinued it completely. We were stung for nearly $10,000 last year and that was it. This year, I have no receivables and will keep it that way. For smaller companies there just isn't enough to keep receivables out there. If you look hard enough you can find companies out there that will pay by credit card. They all have them with high limits because we aren't the only vendors that don't do the net 30.
I will tell you that business is much smoother without a long list of receivables. That and I'm not spending my time on collecting.
Just my 2 cents.
It's hard starting out with no reputation if you don't do the 30 days or net 60 but we've discontinued it completely. We were stung for nearly $10,000 last year and that was it. This year, I have no receivables and will keep it that way. For smaller companies there just isn't enough to keep receivables out there. If you look hard enough you can find companies out there that will pay by credit card. They all have them with high limits because we aren't the only vendors that don't do the net 30.
I will tell you that business is much smoother without a long list of receivables. That and I'm not spending my time on collecting.
Just my 2 cents.
Justin,
You are 100% correct abot the procurement card.
I have one that I use on my full time job.
We actually prefer to use it . It lowwers our costs in the long run by doing away with all the excess paper trail.
Mine allows me to charge up to X per day. If the amount exceeds X the vendor just charges for consecutive days to satisfy the purchase amount.
Most vendors allso seem to like dealing with the procuremnt cards.
You are 100% correct abot the procurement card.
I have one that I use on my full time job.
We actually prefer to use it . It lowwers our costs in the long run by doing away with all the excess paper trail.
Mine allows me to charge up to X per day. If the amount exceeds X the vendor just charges for consecutive days to satisfy the purchase amount.
Most vendors allso seem to like dealing with the procuremnt cards.
A procurement card is a credit card that is used by companies to purchase good or services.
They usually have a maximum per day and per month that can be charged on them.
They cut down on paper work and the amount of hands that paper work would normaly flow through.
The cards generaly save time and money by reducing the handling.
They usually have a maximum per day and per month that can be charged on them.
They cut down on paper work and the amount of hands that paper work would normaly flow through.
The cards generaly save time and money by reducing the handling.
Henry Bockman
Maryland Pressure Washing
I've recently signed up with a national collection company to track down some cleints that moved without paying for their services. Now this doesn't happen often but it ticks me off to see people basically steal from me like this. If anyone is interested in checking this out email me or let me know on this thread. The fees run $9-$15 per account I refer to them instead of the usual 50-60%.