CHAPTER 6: COLLECTIONS
United States bankruptcy: If a customer mentions bankruptcy at any time, sit tight and wait for instructions from the court. This topic will be covered in detail below (6.8 Bankruptcy).
Collection Call Scenarios Collectors should outline several scripts that anticipate the reasons for nonpayment. It’s best to start off by asking, “When was the payment made?” This starts the conversation in a manner that does not give the customer a chance to use an excuse at the start of the conversation. Following are several possible scenarios a collector can encounter, and how to respond. Make sure to address each of these in your plan for training and rehearsing. Rehearsing is essential—the collector should not sound as though they are reading from a script. If the customer’s AP department indicates the check was mailed, get the date mailed and follow up within a reasonable time of when the check is expected to arrive. If the customer’s AP department indicates the invoice has not been paid, then ask if they intend to pay. If the answer is yes, get a commitment from them as to when they will schedule it to be paid. If the answer to the question of whether they intend to pay is no, ask for the reason and determine the appropriate course of action. If company policy permits, have the customer put the payment on a credit card or company purchasing card. If the reason given is a dispute, then document the dispute clearly in the call log. Best practice is that call logs and dispute routing are stored and performed electronically, not done on hard copy (paper). If this is a U.S. customer, ask them to make a payment minus the disputed charges. Sometimes customers will respond, “I will pay it when I get paid by my own customer.” Get a commitment of when payment will be made, but do not condone this as an acceptable excuse from a customer. With very few industry-specific exceptions, this is not an acceptable reason for non-payment. The agreement is between the company and the customer. If appropriate, suggest they pay by credit card, as that could give them approximately 45 days more float. If the reason for not paying was due to an error in the invoice, which does occur, take steps to remedy the situation as quickly as possible, such as correcting and re-submitting the invoice (this is especially important in VAT countries). If the AP department says the invoice is pending payment, then ask when it’s expected to get approved and who still needs to approve it. The collection representative should speak directly with the person responsible for approving the invoice and obtain a commitment for approval and payment. If the invoice is approved, then the collection representative should get a firm payment date and record in the log when the check will be mailed. If AP requests another copy of the invoice, confirm AP’s address against the bill-to information in the customer master file. If needed, update the CMF to prevent this delay in the future.
108
THE ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION PROGRAM E-TEXTBOOK
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs