Tips Helping Small Businesses Get Paid In Worsening Economy

Thorough invoicing procedures and diligent follow-up are key to getting paid on time, but many small-business owners and entrepreneurs fail to implement basic procedures

�Small business owners frequently deal with chronic late payment and bad debt issues, and this costs their business time and money,� says Ryon Gambill, president and CEO of Marauder Corp. and a collections professional.

�When a company runs into problems, it�s those creditors who can prove that the work was ordered, performed to specification, and invoiced according to agreed procedures who will be paid first.�

Chasing down a debtor who is overdue in settling a past-due invoice can be a frustrating and time-consuming part of running a small or medium-size business. What many business owners do not realize is that timely invoicing and follow-up means fewer collection problems.

To reduce the need for collections measures, Gambill advises business owners to implement the following tips into their invoicing and accounts-receivable procedures:

�         Add a bold due date to your invoice.

�         Make a courtesy call to verify your customer received your invoice. (This is especially important if this is their first credit transaction with you.)

�         Make certain that all customer service issues are addressed immediately, so that they cannot later be used as an excuse for withholding payment.

�         Do not accept temporary checks with handwritten account numbers on them, or a check number below 200.

�         If the credit transaction is being done in person, verify the customer�s identification. If the credit transaction is being done over the phone, attempt to verify the customer�s information via the telephone directory, a Google search, a Zaba search, or some other online database.

�         Have the customer acknowledge acceptance of the terms by signing (and dating) the invoice. This can ensure protection against later fraudulent charge-backs or stop payments.

�         Start collection efforts immediately when the account or invoice becomes past due. Even reputable companies and consumers run into financial difficulties so it�s important that you stick to your policies and inform your debtors when they are late on payments.

�         Remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Don�t give up easily and remember not to take it personally when a customer is unwilling or unable to pay.

To help businesses deal with past-due invoices, Gambill�s company sells Bill Collector In A Box, a comprehensive billing and debt-collection software application designed by collection agency professionals. It centralizes the management of past-due accounts, from initial contact to resolution of the outstanding invoice.

For businesses that already have debt-collection problems, the software pays for itself within months. The program runs on Windows PCs and complements popular accounting and personal-finance software such as Quicken�, QuickBooks�, Microsoft� Money, and Microsoft� Accounting Professional.

Bill Collector In A Box includes features not available in typical accounting and finance software that automate every phase of debt collection:

�         Automatic printing of professional-quality legal letters that warn a debtor of impending legal action unless they settle the invoice promptly. (The software also includes numerous debt-collection letters that comply with state and federal laws.)

�         One-click reporting to SCAN (Shared Check Authorization Network) � the same central bureau used by major retailers and banks to identify people who write bad checks.

�         Credit bureau reporting. Reporting a bad debt to a credit bureau is an effective way to convince debtors that they need to quickly settle their invoices. (With one click, BCB reports a bad debt to the major credit bureaus for up to seven years.)

�         Skip Tracing. If a debtor has left town with no forwarding address and has disconnected phones, one click instructs the program to engage a professional investigator who will track down the debtor. (The software includes 25 basic skip traces and one advanced skip trace.)

�         Processing of credit card and ACH transactions (through PPI, Inc.) to enable fast settlement of invoices.

�         Recording of court information to provide fast access to details of litigation or small-claims actions.

�         Comprehensive report generation as well as importing and exporting of CSV files to/from popular accounting software programs.

�         Unlimited technical support, including an initial familiarization walk-through of the software.

�We designed Bill Collector In A Box� so that small-business owners can take the right steps to resolve past-due accounts, and turn debts into revenue,� noted Gambill, a founder of the company that developed BCB to help entrepreneurs and business owners collect money they are owed.

Bill Collector In A Box lists for $49.99 and is available at Amazon.com, Fry�s Electronics, J&R Electronics, Micro Center, Office Depot, OfficeDepot.com, PCnation.com, and Shopblt.com.

For more information visit www.billcollectorinabox.com.