How to handle clients who miss their payments

Dealing with delinquent accounts can be quite the headache.  You have bills to pay and to salaries to hand out while your client misses their payment for the third straight month.  Sadly, this is a common occurrence.  According to the Credit Research Foundation through the National Summary of Domestic Trades Receivables, 87% of all accounts are current and .04% are 90 days past due.  The longer it takes to collect, the less likely collection will happen.  So if you have problems collecting from delinquent clients, here are some ways to handle them.

The first thing you should do is to prevent the account from being delinquent in the first place.  You can do this by following-up on invoices before they are due.  This is a good move for clients with histories of delinquency.

Offering different modes of payment could aid clients in making payments, and could also preserve business relationships with them, if this is the desired outcome.  If you restrict forms of payment to wire transfers, clients could have a hard time procuring the amount if their funds are not well-maintained.

If a client is past 90 days due with their payments, it is highly advisable to hire a debt collection agency to settle the account.  These professionals have years of experience in dealing with delinquent accounts.   It will also demonstrate to your client that you mean business and could provide a wakeup call with regard to their relationships with their suppliers. 

Brennan & Clark is a business collections firm that has been around for over 30 years. The firm’s combined experience and expertise enable the company to guarantee higher average recovery rates than the industry average. Visit this website to read more about debt collection.