Today’s guest blogger is Wilson Cole. He is the CEO of BackdoorHires.com and Adams, Evens & Ross, the nation’s largest credit and collections agency designed exclusively for the staffing and recruiting industry. In 2008 he was inducted into INC Magazine’s, “INC 500” for being the CEO of Adams, Evens & Ross, the 307th fastest-growing privately held company in America. Adams, Evens, & Ross has helped more than 3,000 staffing and recruiting firms recover more than $1 billion in past-due debt and is an NPAworldwide Endorsed Program.
With the pandemic sweeping the nation, here is some advice on what you should be doing regarding the collections side.
Reach Out to Your Clients
If you have been working with a company to settle their debt over a long period of time, the best thing you can do is to reach out to them. Let them know that there is still an invoice and see if they can make a good faith payment. Most companies will be able to make these as payroll protection loans are being offered by the government.
Jump on Problem Accounts
In all my experience regarding downturns, the one common aspect between them is that companies having trouble even before the downturn, are going to end up in deeper trouble and evaporating before the pandemic is over. This means that they could end up closing their doors. This is why you should be collecting the dues of problem accounts as soon as possible. Another reason why you should be quick is due to the payroll protection offered by the government.
The payroll protection loans offered by the government will help not only the companies that are going to struggle during the pandemic, but also those who already were struggling before it. Companies that were never able to take government loans will suddenly be able to take those loans. This means that they will suddenly have several months’ worth of payroll on their laps. That money isn’t going to last very long, so you have to make sure that you’re at the top of the list of people they have to pay with that money. (The original money for payroll protection is already committed, but more may become available in the future.)
Check Whether an Account is a Problem or Not
If you’re not sure whether an account is a problem or not, AER Collections is offering free credit checks on any company that is 45 days past due. This will let you check how they’re paying their bills since September 2019. If your debtor was having trouble paying bills in December, then you’re going to have a much more difficult time collecting from them.
The Economy Will Take Time to Recover
I mentioned that a large amount of money was pulled out of the economy because of the pandemic. The economy will be slow to start, and it could take around six months for the economy to resemble anything normal. It will take its toll on many businesses and those struggling will not be around by the end of the downturn.
Please call me at 800 452 5287, extension 6578 if you’d like to discuss your collection needs.