Marcadis Singer PA, Florida Debt Collection Attorneys, continues their series on managing commercial receivables with a section on sending Past Due Notices. Our aim is to help our clients better manage their receivables.  When legal action to collect a debt becomes a necessity, our efforts, as debt collection attorneys, and your return as a business person, will be maximized when your business uses best practices in Receivable Collections.  It is our pleasure to provide this ongoing primer on best practices in receivable management.

1. Send Past Due Payment Reminders.

Seriously, not all past due debts are deliberate attempts to avoid payment. Sometimes things legitimately fall through the cracks. A structured practice of payment reminders will help to make sure your bill does not get lost in the shuffle.

2. Be Professional in your debt collection notices.

Your past due reminders should be frank, relatively impersonal, and make it clear that you mean business when it comes to collecting a debt.

3. Cater the tone of your collection communication to your clients.

A collection letter is not always best as one size fits all. Sometimes you have faithful loyal customers that for whatever reason have fallen behind, other times, you might have a client that falls behind on their very first payment to you. These obviously are different circumstances, and should probably be handled differently. Have several versions of a standard collection letter at your disposal, and make sure that your receivables team knows which to use under different circumstances.

4. Send multiple collection letters.

If you get no answer from your first collection letter, send a second. The second letter should have an escalation in the severity of the communication.

5. Evaluate the business Relationship before sending the collection letter.

Professional Receivables management is always about the relationship with the client first.  Before beginning the collections process, internally or externally, evaluate the nature of the relationship with the client first, determine the value and history of that client before beginning the collection process, not to stall the collections process, but to ensure that the tone and content is appropriate for the business relationship.   Best practices Accounts Receivable Management dictates a customized approach not a one size fits all.