Thanks to the crew of 11 that joined us for our 14th meeting. Good luck to everyone running into year end. I hope you have a great holiday! Merry Christmas, everyone!
Note Summary
- Collection efforts
- Industrial clients pay pretty well, bar and restaurant CO2 always seems to be the challenge – many have different protocols for each (tightening the bar and restaurant leniency
- Many are tiering customer by industry type or simply ranking them based on past experience for calls as early as 30-60 days, certified letters, credit hold/stop selling, using collection vendors, etc.
- Many cut the salesperson’s commissions in a bad debt
- Some write off bad debt immediately when it’s sent to collections others give a window of time as the first wave of contacts typically has the best success
- Many are attempting to educate sales on how to handle and talk through these situations (what to say, not to say)
- Some have regular sales metrics, where AR is tracked
- Cylinder Leases – varying degree, but most common 1 and 5 years, with some trying to get rid of 10 year or lifetime leases while others are trying to ramp up long-term leases, while still charging transaction fees
- Finance charges – most negotiate and use it as a sense of urgency, dropping a certain % if payment is made in certain amount of time
- Credit worthiness – most using either D&B or Credit Safe, many have pdf enabled credit apps, although still a lot customers that prefer paper
- Lien Waivers
- Everyone is dealing with paper lien waivers…it’s a toothache you’ve got to deal with
- Inquiries on if anyone has automated, the answer was no, as many require notary
- Some use lien waiver as a leverage for payment if there’s anything past due
Topics for next discussion – February 12
- Evaluating customer performance and pricing
- Sales volume, margin, pay time, breadth of accounts (i.e 20 job accounts)
- Company cars/trucks vs. vehicle reimbursement
Please email me with any other topic ideas.
Future CFO Club Meetings
Trying a slightly different time, 2 EST/11 Pacific:
Tony Hopkins
Tony has also realized that talking a good game is not enough. The true mark of a professional is execution. Horton achieves this through a process which consistently delivers on promises made and holding themselves accountable. “Once a plan is established, we are committed to plan execution. Our team functions as an extension of our clients operations; we are just as invested in their success as our own – their goals are our goals,” says Tony.
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