[Most Recent Entries] [Calendar View] [Friends]
Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
rangerfs' InsaneJournal:
- Keep it professional: Don't abuse, threaten, or disparage your customers.
- Build up a personal relationship with your customers before they owe you money! That way, when you deliver the invoice, you have a pre-existing relationship which makes it less likely that they'll keep you waiting.
- Related to above: Provide indispensable value that cannot be matched by anyone. Your customers might stiff you and move on to your competition until they realize just how much better you are!
- Deal with your accounts receivables early. The earlier the better. If you leave them too long, your customer could forget, move on to another provider, or even shut down. Invoice right after you've delivered the product or service instead of at the end of the month.
- Offer discounts for up-front, in-full payments.
- Do a risk-assessment on all of your customers. If they have been in business for a while and have a clean record in the community, feel free to take the risk. If they've been in business for 3 days, put them on a payment plan.
- Get your sales team involved in risk management and collections. While they might balk at the idea of collecting instead of selling, you'll find that your accounts receivables could drop substantially because the Sales Department is suddenly qualifying customers more effectively!
- Be prepared to move older accounts receivables to a commercial debt collection company. This can help you collect money to keep operating.
- Keep it professional: Don't abuse, threaten, or disparage your customers.
- Build up a personal relationship with your customers before they owe you money! That way, when you deliver the invoice, you have a pre-existing relationship which makes it less likely that they'll keep you waiting.
- Related to above: Provide indispensable value that cannot be matched by anyone. Your customers might stiff you and move on to your competition until they realize just how much better you are!
- Deal with your accounts receivables early. The earlier the better. If you leave them too long, your customer could forget, move on to another provider, or even shut down. Invoice right after you've delivered the product or service instead of at the end of the month.
- Offer discounts for up-front, in-full payments.
- Do a risk-assessment on all of your customers. If they have been in business for a while and have a clean record in the community, feel free to take the risk. If they've been in business for 3 days, put them on a payment plan.
- Get your sales team involved in risk management and collections. While they might balk at the idea of collecting instead of selling, you'll find that your accounts receivables could drop substantially because the Sales Department is suddenly qualifying customers more effectively!
- Be prepared to move older accounts receivables to a commercial debt collection company. This can help you collect money to keep operating.
| Tuesday, September 27th, 2011 | |
| 8:29 am | Should your business accept credit cards? Recently, a friend travelled to Europe. She brought her credit card with the expectation of putting all of her purchases on it so she could keep track of everything in one place and not have to carry around cash. It makes financial sense to do that (as long as she pays off her credit card when she gets home, of course). But she was surprised to discover that many stores do not accept credit cards. That is simply NOT the case in North America where almost every business has a credit card machine. If businesses in Europe don't need to accept credit cards, should we accept credit cards here? There are a few reasons why European businesses don't accept credit cards that don’t necessarily apply to North America: First, Europe is made up of many small nations and it is only relatively recently that a few strong credit card brands have come to the forefront and offer real-time payment approval information. Second, some of the stores have been around for decades – or even hundreds of years! – and have survived this long on a cash-only policy. Third, European ideas of credit are different from North American ideas of credit (although Europeans are slowly adopting a North American attitude toward credit). On the other hand, North American businesses accept credit because it allows for fast, easy payment without handling a lot of cash. Some small businesses will counter with the following objections: Accepting a credit card comes at a cost: There is a fee charged every time a customer uses a credit card. And, businesses run the risk of receiving "charge backs" when a customer contacts their credit card company and claims to have not received the goods for which they have been charged. There is a third risk in situations where businesses who charge ongoing payments to a credit card may find that the credit card is maxed out. Although there are costs, the alternative is cash only. Cash only seems like a great idea because it carries no fees. However, a cash only ("European") policy comes with its own price: It's easier to steal cash; it's easier to lose cash; it's easier to counterfeit cash; and fewer customers carry cash with them when they shop. So, should your business accept credit cards? The answer is: It's probably worth the cost. Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.info http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com
|
| Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 | |
| 10:34 am | Little-known accounts receivables tips for starting a healthy business Every entrepreneur wants to start and grow a healthy business – one that produces improving profitability for the long-term. But how does an entrepreneur start out on the right foot? In this article, you'll read about little-known accounts receivables tips to start a healthy business. Healthy business tip #1: Start with good habits – Minimize your receivables by asking for the money up-front, and even by providing a discount if customers pay early. Charge increasingly higher percentages of interest the farther out a customer pays. This will help to ensure that more customers pay up-front. Some may pay with a corporate credit card, and some will even bring a check with them when they come in to make the purchase! Healthy business tip #2: Qualify your customers – Offering to bill your customers is basically extending them credit. But most small businesses won't do a full credit check on their customers. But you don't have to do a full credit check to feel comfortable with extending credit to your customers. If customers have to bill, put basic qualification processes in place. For example, take five minutes and investigate the company. How long have they been in business? Are they local? Do they have a physical address? Is the company's "official phone number" merely a cell phone? Is there someone answering the phone? These aren't going to be foolproof, but they can help you identify potential challenges. Healthy business tip #3: Send out invoices right away – If you do choose to bill customers, don’t wait and do a "batch run" of invoices at the end of the month. Send out the invoice on the same day as the purchase. This can add as much as 3 weeks to your collection efforts and time is of the essence when collecting. Healthy business tip #4: Plan to succeed – Put a plan in place to start following up consistently and constantly with the businesses on your accounts receivables list. Prepare telephone scripts, mail-outs, reminders, and emails carefully so that you don't have to "reinvent the wheel" with every customer. Almost every business will incur some accounts receivables (especially if your business sells to commercial clients). However, those accounts receivables don't have to hurt your business if you follow these four healthy business tips! Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.info http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com http://www.rangerfs.wetpaint.com
|
| Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 | |
| 1:10 pm | A critical component to business success Businesses need a number of things to survive, but the most important thing that businesses need is consistent and growing profitability. This allows them to reinvest in themselves and it gives the owner a reward to run the business. Without it, a business is literally a "non-profit" entity. But do you know the second most important thing a business needs? The answer is not income, nor is it inventory, nor is it a strong team. It's not even happy customers. Of course those things are important but the most important thing is cash flow. Cash flow is the speed and consistency of incoming money. Think of it like water coming out of your faucet: The water is income... Do you want an occasional drip or a steady stream? Of course you want a steady stream. You want money moving through your business like a faucet of water with plenty of force! That's healthy cash flow. Cash flow keeps bills paid and employees happy and inventory available. Without it, a business may not always be able to pay expenses on time, thereby disrupting other aspects of business. Even if your profit is only minimal, a healthy cash flow can make all the difference between success and failure of a business. So, how do you ensure that you have good cash flow? The secret is in managing your accounts receivables. When customers buy something from you, but don't immediately pay, they are added to your accounts receivables list and you try to collect from them later. Minimizing the number of people who are added to your list, plus minimizing the amount of time they are on your list ensures that your business has adequate cash flow. There are many techniques and tools to do this. You will also reach a point in the life of each individual receivable where one of three things needs to happen: It needs to be deleted because it was collected; it needs to be expired as uncollectable; or it needs to be sent to a commercial debt recovery specialist to escalate it. Although the preference is, of course, to collect everything, that's not always possible. A debt recovery specialist might be the solution if you do not want to expire the account receivable. With good structures in place, you'll collect many of your accounts receivables. And with a commercial debt recovery specialist on your side, you'll help to cover the riskier accounts receivables, too. Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.info http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com http://www.rangerfs.wetpaint.com
|
| Wednesday, April 27th, 2011 | |
| 4:37 pm | How to Collect More Commercial Debt Accounts Receivables Here is a true story about commercial debt accounts receivables collection: A small, local business had sold a piece of equipment to another business and invoiced them. That buyer, for whatever reason, decided that they didn't have to pay. That single decision cost the seller a substantial amount of money because of cash flow disruptions as a result. But the seller, believing that his buyer would finally pay one day, left the amount on his accounts receivables list instead of turning it over to a commercial debt recovery company. Weeks turned into months… and months turned into years; that "amount owing" sat on the seller's accounts receivables list for two full years. Every month, the seller called up the owner of the small business that bought the equipment and asked to be paid. And every month, the owner said, "yes, I'll come in and pay it"… but never did. Then the seller was sick one day and he left his business in the hands of his employee – a reliable, hourly worker who showed up faithfully and did what he was supposed to do. And on that day, two years after taking delivery of a piece of equipment but never paying for it, the buyer came into the store and offered to pay. The seller's employee didn't know what to do, since he was never involved with the accounts receivables. So he sent the buyer away and asked him to come back later. The buyer never did. This is a true story. The seller learned a valuable lesson from this experience: The very next day he sat down and taught his employee what the accounts receivables list was and how to collect money for it. Is your business' accounts receivables managed by only a small group of people? You could be endangering your collection efforts by keeping your employees in the dark! Instead, you can collect more of your commercial debt by empowering your staff to collect appropriately. First, explain what your accounts receivables are and why collecting them is important to the business. Second, make your accounts receivables list available to your employees. Third, train your employees to professionally handle anyone whose name appears on that list. Empowering your employees to collect your accounts receivables is a wise idea. You never know, that ONE BIG RECEIVABLE (every business has one!) just might show up on the day you're not there. Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.info http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com
|
| Wednesday, April 20th, 2011 | |
| 2:48 pm | Top Tips for Account Receivable Commercial Debt Recovery If you run a business that sells to other businesses (B2B), then you likely invoice your business customers. And when you invoice instead of expect payment up-front, you end up incurring account receivable commercial debt. Not all accounts receivables are bad – they're a necessary part of doing business. However, they need to be carefully managed. Here are some tips to help you manage your account receivable commercial debt recovery: 1. Send out invoices right away, as soon as the purchase is made. That way, you won't wait until the end of the month to send them out. 2. Keep your account receivable collection period short: Require payment in full within 30 days. By extending out your grace period to 2, 3, or even 6 months, you are risking a serious shortage in cash flow. 3. Offer a substantial discount if the customer pays in full before the purchase, and a slightly smaller discount if the customer pays the invoice in full within 30 days. 4. Before becoming too aggressive in how you collect, consider whether or not the customer will be a valuable customer to you again in the future. If they will be, consider third-party intervention or diplomatic arbitration rather than the more aggressive collection agency route. 5. Offer several payment plan options, including pre-pay and pre-and-post-pay options. That way, your customers can choose the one that works best for them. 6. Create a strict commercial debt recovery process and train all of your staff in how it works. You don't want to lose a commercial debt collection opportunity simply because someone asked a low-level employee how much they owe and the employee didn't know. 7. Maintain good relationships between your business and your customer's business to increase the likelihood of getting paid. 8. If a customer is taking too long to pay, use a combination of methods (phone, email, mail) to a combination of people in your customer's company (accounts payable, the finance manager, and even the CFO) to communicate what you owe. 9. Don't be afraid to use a commercial collection agency to work at getting your money. After all, it's your money and you did all the work and deserve to get paid for it! It's okay to have accounts receivables in your business, but B2B collections doesn't have to be painful. Use these tips collect more from your business customers. |
| Monday, April 18th, 2011 | |
| 2:11 pm | Recap of the economy 2008 to present The economy moves in waves of boom and bust, with the stock market and the general populace fighting and contributing to this economic cycle. Just a few years ago, the world was at a peak of economic activity: Businesses were making money, cash was easy to come by, and consumers and businesses were incurring debt because attractive interest rates allowed them to do so. Then the level of debt became too much to bear and even though people were making good money, confidence in the stability of this system started to erode. And then the economy crashed. Around the world, markets crumbled and governments worked feverishly to keep their economies going. Personal and commercial debt could not be paid back. It was the most depressed economy since The Great Depression. In fact, it was dubbed The Great Recession. It was sticky for a while. People simply didn't know what to do. Doomsayers predicted the end of the world. Many people lost their jobs and their homes as businesses ran out of money to pay employees and, in turn, people were unable to meet their obligations. Through it all, the most important thing that people could cling to was that it was a cycle. The economy goes up and down, and even though the "when" is unpredictable, the fact that it does go down and then go back up could be counted on. And now 2011 is here and the economy is back up again. It's not nearly where it was and many people will have to work for years to regain their eroded retirement funds or are simply overwhelmed by the responsibilities of and commitments to debt recovery. Unfortunately, there is still one major hurdle to overcome before it can be said that the economy has truly recovered and is on its way to a highly robust period once again. That hurdle is inflation. Here's why it's a problem: When a person or a business goes into a debt, they can declare bankruptcy or they can pay back what they owe through B2C collections and B2B collections. But when governments face financial challenges – as they did during The Great Recession – many governments solved the problem by printing more money. This is a problem because it increases the amount of money in the marketplace, and as a result, money becomes devalued. Today, to truly create a healthy economy, governments will need to fight inflation. And then good times will truly be here again. Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.info http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com http://www.rangerfs.wetpaint.com
|
| Wednesday, April 13th, 2011 | |
| 4:34 pm | Why accounts receivables cost your business more than you realize "When I first started in business," reports a colleague, "I extended as much credit as possible because I wanted to build up my customer base quickly. It worked. I got a lot of customers. Unfortunately, I nearly went bankrupt." My colleague is not alone. This is a common practice among businesses that serve other businesses – to extend commercial debt to customers and invoice later. However, it's an extremely expensive business decision. Here's why: Extending credit doesn't delay all expenses. It only delays the influx of money into your business. Your costs and expenses continue to add up and need to be paid (or else you'll be added to someone else's B2B collections list!) Not only that, but your accounting department might continue to "count" your income for you on the day it was charged rather than on the day you actually received it. That means you could be paying tax on money you don't have (and may never get). Some accounts receivables are necessary and expected. But they need to be managed so that you'll have enough cash flow to run your business. So, what can you do about it? Start by providing customers with several options: The cheapest option to pay in full in advance. The next-cheapest option to pay in installments during deliver. The third cheapest option to pay in full at the end. And finally, the highest price to pay an invoice. Another way to keep your accounts receivables in check is to train your sales staff to perform effective risk management. By simply keeping their eyes and ears open, they can spot problems before they arise. Most importantly, remember that you are in control of your business. And although having a busy office with lots of customers seems like a good thing, it is only good if it results in paid invoices and cash flow. Too many receivables are expensive and harmful to your business! Keep them on track and you'll keep your business on track. Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.info http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com http://www.rangerfs.wetpaint.com
|
| Thursday, April 7th, 2011 | |
| 2:55 pm | Tips for better commercial collection Collecting money from a business customer can sometimes be a challenge. Even though they are a business and probably know the difficulties that come with a growing list of accounts receivables, they seem to be passing along the same difficulties to you! Here are some tips to help you as you perform your B2B collections Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.info http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com http://www.rangerfs.wetpaint.com
|
| Wednesday, April 6th, 2011 | |
| 4:28 pm | Steps to easily collect more commercial debt than ever before Running a business isn't easy, and when customers refuse to pay, it can become even harder. No one wants to collect money and when you have an accounts receivable, it's much easier just to ignore it. One of the best things you can do for your business is to create a step-by-step accounts receivable program that you can implement almost automatically every time a customer owes you money. Here is an example of how one might work and what you need to do (although your particular step-by-step program might be slightly different, depending on the business you're in): Step 1 – Day 0 – Invoice the customer. Step 2 – Day 30 – Send a reminder. Step 3 – Day 45 – Call the customer. Step 4 – Day 60 – Send a reminder. Step 5 – Day 70 – Call the customer. Step 6 – Day 90 – Send a reminder. Step 7 – Day 100 – Send a letter indicating that you are about to either send them to a commercial debt collections company or consider litigation. Step 8 – Day 120 – Enter pre-litigation phase. Contact a commercial collection agency. Step 9 – Day 140 – If the commercial collection agency isn't interested in taking on the commercial debt, explore your court options. Now that you have a rough outline of the stages, the next step is to create templates for each letter and scripts for each telephone call so you don't have to "reinvent the wheel" each time. Keep them simple, straightforward, and professional. Do not threaten but just state the facts. With your letters and scripts all ready to go, put everything into files and keep them handy. When the date passes for the particular event, grab the letter, fill in the blanks, and send it off. Accounts receivables are not a favorite activity for many business owners but if you make it really easy and "automatic", as we've described above, you'll improve your commercial debt collection and you'll collect more money! Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.info http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com
|
| Thursday, March 31st, 2011 | |
| 10:49 am | Tips for better commercial collection Collecting money from a business customer can sometimes be a challenge. Even though they are a business and probably know the difficulties that come with a growing list of accounts receivables, they seem to be passing along the same difficulties to you! Here are some tips to help you as you perform your B2B collections Commercial collections doesn't have to be difficult, and effective commercial collections will keep you in business. Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.info http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com http://www.rangerfs.wetpaint.com
|
| Wednesday, March 30th, 2011 | |
| 10:27 am | Interview with an Account Receivables Professional Sometimes the best way to succeed is to hear from someone else has already succeeded in the same industry. In this article, we'll talk to an account receivables professional -- someone who has been in the debt recovery industry for years and has collected thousands upon thousands of dollars. We asked: What kind of debt recovery do you do? The accounts receivables pro answered: Although my work includes some consumer debt recovery, most of it is commercial debt recovery. Over the years, I've collected thousands of dollars from the sale of goods or services to businesses. We asked: So what tips can you give to readers who are also in B2B collections? The accounts receivables pro answered: The first thing to do is to be consistent. Each account you need to collect from must to be touched regularly. You need to remain on their minds and remind them that you are not going away. If you miss touching base with someone -- and I have, especially when I was new to commercial debt recovery -- the possibility of collecting diminishes. We asked: Is there anything else that diminishes the likelihood of payment? Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.info http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com http://www.rangerfs.wetpaint.com
The accounts receivables pro answered: Yes; time. With every passing day, the likelihood of debt recovery decreases. So the best advice I can give is to collect as early as possible, even if it means collecting less. We asked: Should a commercial debt recovery professional always be willing to collect less? The accounts receivables pro answered: No, but you should be willing to negotiate. Listen to the customer. If they tell you they can't pay, then work with them and negotiate -- perhaps lower payments spread over a longer term will be a feasible payment option. We asked: Any advice for newbies? The accounts receivables pro answered: Yes! When I first started, one of the things I would do on a call was to apologize for the hassle. Then I realized that was a mistake. Don't be apologetic, it's your money! Call with the expectation that they should pay you. It changes the call. We asked: Any last advice before we wrap up so you can get back to your debt collections calls? The accounts receivables pro answered: Just one more thing: Be firm yet friendly. Those aren't opposites. You can be both at the same time. However, it they aren't willing to work with you, don't be afraid to move them to a commercial debt recovery specialist. |
| Monday, March 28th, 2011 | |
| 3:46 pm | Recap of the economy 2008 to present The economy moves in waves of boom and bust, with the stock market and the general populace fighting and contributing to this economic cycle. Ranger Financial Services |
| Wednesday, November 3rd, 2010 | |
| 3:00 pm | Steps to easily collect more commercial debt than ever before Running a business isn't easy, and when customers refuse to pay, it can become even harder. No one wants to collect money and when you have an accounts receivable, it's much easier just to ignore it. One of the best things you can do for your business is to create a step-by-step accounts receivable program that you can implement almost automatically every time a customer owes you money. Here is an example of how one might work and what you need to do (although your particular step-by-step program might be slightly different, depending on the business you're in): Step 1 – Day 0 – Invoice the customer. Step 2 – Day 30 – Send a reminder. Step 3 – Day 45 – Call the customer. Step 4 – Day 60 – Send a reminder. Step 5 – Day 70 – Call the customer. Step 6 – Day 90 – Send a reminder. Step 7 – Day 100 – Send a letter indicating that you are about to either send them to a commercial debt collections company or consider litigation. Step 8 – Day 120 – Enter pre-litigation phase. Contact a commercial collection agency. Step 9 – Day 140 – If the commercial collection agency isn't interested in taking on the commercial debt, explore your court options. Now that you have a rough outline of the stages, the next step is to create templates for each letter and scripts for each telephone call so you don't have to "reinvent the wheel" each time. Keep them simple, straightforward, and professional. Do not threaten but just state the facts. With your letters and scripts all ready to go, put everything into files and keep them handy. When the date passes for the particular event, grab the letter, fill in the blanks, and send it off. Accounts receivables are not a favorite activity for many business owners but if you make it really easy and "automatic", as we've described above, you'll improve your commercial debt collection and you'll collect more money! Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.info http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com http://www.rangerfs.wetpaint.com http://rangerfinancialservices.moguling.c http://rangerfs.livejournal.com http://www.rangerfs.typepad.com http://rangerfs.insanejournal.com http://rangerfinancialservices.eblogus.c
|
| Wednesday, October 27th, 2010 | |
| 10:24 am | Baseball Memories As a young boy I followed the Texas Rangers, I got use to mediocre play. Over the years I got use to the Rangers doing well before the All-Star break and then crashing to the basement as fast as they can. I remember seasons when the reverse would happen, them playing very bad at the start and then playing good in the second half, but not good enough to climb out of the hole. I remember the times I spent listening to the radio with my grandmother or watching them on TV. Or fishing with my future brother in law at this special fishing spot where the radio was always set to the Rangers game. Remember hearing Mark Holtz yelling “Hello Win Column.” I didn’t hear that near enough. Those were special times I never forget. The memories had faded, but since the Rangers have made it to the World Series it has brought those thoughts back to the forefront of my mind. I also remember my first baseball game that I actually attended. My father passed and a friend of the family stepped up and took me to my first baseball game in the summer of 1974. It was against the Cleveland Indians at the old Arlington stadium. I don’t remember much, but I do remember a lot of talk of Ferguson Jenkins. He won 25 games that season. I think he pitched that night, not sure. I wonder how many fathers are taking their sons to their first World Series games this year. It is a once in a life time opportunity, an opportunity to spend a special time with their son. A time their son will never forget. The memories will fade, but never leave, and then one day something will happen and those special times will come flowing back. IT will be like they happened yesterday. Those of us here at Ranger Financial Services say GO RANGERS. Get your antlers and claws up and join us in cheering on the Rangers. Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.info http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com http://www.rangerfs.wetpaint.com http://rangerfinancialservices.moguling.c http://rangerfs.livejournal.com http://www.rangerfs.typepad.com http://rangerfs.insanejournal.com http://rangerfinancialservices.eblogus.c
|
| Tuesday, October 19th, 2010 | |
| 1:43 pm | Political Risk: What is It? Investors who invest in different jurisdictions face something called "political risk." Many investors know what it is already, but what most people don’t realize is that companies that do business in another jurisdiction face the same risk. Political risk is the risk that is present as a result of the political climate of the place you are investing in or doing business in. The most obvious place where political risk is present is in nations where military coups have decimated the government and left a dictator in charge. However, every country has political risk. In fact, even every state or province, every county, and every city or town has its own political risk. The decisions that the leaders at each jurisdictional level make can improve or depress the business climate of that area. A city might raise taxes on business licenses, depressing business start-ups. A state might lower corporate income tax, encouraging business owners to relocate there. Depending on where your customers are located, this political may have an impact on your ability to perform debt recovery or asset recovery due to commercial debt. B2B collections can be hampered simply because of where your client's business is. So, what should you do? Before you branch out into new markets, explore the political situation at the municipal and state level, as well as the national level if your customer operates in a different country. Find out whether the political situation there is stable and, if so, how long it has been stable. That can help to ensure that your customer will stay in business and be more likely to pay the bills. And don't forget to find out what debt collection recourse you have if your customers don't want to pay their bills. Political risk is a complicated consideration and does take some careful planning. However, if you invest the time to understand and prepare for it, you'll reduce your uncollectible accounts receivables. Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.info http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com http://www.rangerfs.wetpaint.com http://rangerfinancialservices.moguling.c http://rangerfs.livejournal.com http://www.rangerfs.typepad.com http://rangerfs.insanejournal.com http://rangerfinancialservices.eblogus.c
|
| Monday, October 18th, 2010 | |
| 2:47 pm | The Texas Rangers as our team of choice to win the ALCS. Here at Ranger Financial Services we have adopted the Texas Rangers as our team of choice to win the ALCS. Some say it is because we like the way Cliff Lee throws strikes. Just like we will not pull any punches when it comes to collecting debt. Others think it is because of the Josh Hamilton story, a guy who got in trouble and has fought his way back to the top. What a story! Then there is the leadership. They know what it takes to take them all the way to the top of the mountain. Our managers and CEO have those same great leadership qualities. I think it is because they have a great name. The Rangers stumbled in game one but in game two they came back and said “We are here to win!” They are not going to let anything or anybody get there way of what they deserve. Ranger Financial Services treat our clients the same way; we are not going to let anybody stop our client from getting what they deserve either. Go Rangers! Ranger Financial Services 1850 N. Greenville Ave. # 150 Richardson, Tx. 75081 866-977-5611 http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.info http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com http://www.rangerfs.wetpaint.com http://rangerfinancialservices.moguling.c http://rangerfs.livejournal.com http://www.rangerfs.typepad.com http://rangerfs.insanejournal.com http://rangerfinancialservices.eblogus.c
|
| Wednesday, October 13th, 2010 | |
| 11:40 am | Texas Rangers enter uncharted territory Ranger Financial Services would like to congratulate Nolan Ryan, Chuck Greenberg and the Texas Ranger organization for achieving new levels of success on and off the field. The Rangers have entered new territory by advancing to the American League Championship Series for the first time in the franchise history. I can’t help but notice some similarities between the two organizations. • Both are located in Texas. • Both have made changes to improve. • Both are climbing to the top of their industry. Like the Texas Rangers, Ranger Financial Services ( RFS) has entered uncharted territory, our companies success has grown each quarter and each year. The Rangers made improvement by acquiring ace pitcher Cliff Lee, slugger Vladimir Guerrero, outfielder Josh Hamilton to put the team over the top. RFS has made changes and improvement to assist our clients with their account receivables and recover their money from delinquent clients. Now the Texas Rangers host the most storied franchise in sports, the New Yankees, in a battle for Championship of the American League. Go Rangers! Ranger Financial Services 1850 N. Greenville Ave. # 150 Richardson, Tx. 75081 866-977-5611 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.i http://www.rangerfs.com http://www.rangerfs.biz http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com http://rangerfs.blog.com http://www.rangerfs.wetpaint.com http://rangerfs.wordpress.com http://www.soulcast.com http://rangerfinancialservices.mog http://rangerfs.livejournal.com http://www.rangerfs.typepad.com http://rangerfs.insanejournal.com http://rangerfinancialservices.ebl http://blogtext.org/RangerFS |
| Thursday, October 7th, 2010 | |
| 2:57 pm | Do You Need Rental Car Insurance? If you are planning on renting, you will likely be asked if you want the rental car insurance. Rental car insurance is an ancillary product offered by car rental companies and usually includes a "zero deductible damage waiver" (or similar "zero-dollar" deductible language). Here's what it means: When you get into an accident in a rental car, and you have their insurance (or "zero deductible coverage", since some rental companies are adamant that it's not insurance), you don’t have to pay for the damage. You can walk away without owing a dime, at least on the damage to the rental car. It's usually high priced and it's usually a big money-maker for car rental companies. But do you need to get it? After all, your credit card company may offer rental car insurance as part of its bonus offerings. Here are a few things to consider: First, you should be aware that vehicle damage is frequently more expensive to repair than people realize. Second, your credit card company might drag their heels in paying for the repairs of the rental car, which puts you on the car rental company's debt recovery list until they get paid for their repairs. And there might be a deductible which would be owed by you, keeping you on the car rental company's account receivable list. As well, you might still owe for damages on someone else's car if it was a multi-car collision, depending on the state the collision occurred in. Here's a good middle-of-the-road approach: On short term rentals of a couple days, it is probably worthwhile to get the car rental company's insurance. On car rentals longer than a week, skip the coverage and get your credit card to insure you. (However, make sure that you check with them first to ensure that they actually do cover you!). No matter what you do, make sure you find out what costs you will incur should there be a collision. After all, you don’t need the "double-whammy" of a car wreck followed by an account receivable bill! Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.i http://www.rangerfs.com http://www.rangerfs.biz http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com http://rangerfs.blog.com http://www.rangerfs.wetpaint.com http://rangerfs.wordpress.com http://www.soulcast.com http://rangerfinancialservices.mog http://rangerfs.livejournal.com http://www.rangerfs.typepad.com http://rangerfs.insanejournal.com http://rangerfinancialservices.ebl http://blogtext.org/RangerFS |
| Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 | |
| 9:46 am | Debt Collection Balancing Act Businesses often find themselves in a difficult balancing act: They want lots of business so they extend increasingly generous terms until they realize that they aren't getting paid and they tighten up their lending terms until the clients dry up. Then they relax on their terms and get more clients and when they realize that they are being too generous, they tighten up again. It's a constant balancing act and the trick that most business owners miss out on is finding the perfect point – that "sweet spot" – between too much credit and not enough. How can you find it? Here's what we suggest: • Look over the times when you've extended credit. What are your terms when your clients stop paying as quickly? Back off of those terms just slightly to see what happens. • If you are reluctant to tighten up your lending terms too much then strengthen your debt collection terms in parallel with your lending terms… so you're still being generous to get new clients but you're also getting slightly more aggressive on your debt collection. • Identify the extremes between the two positions (too much credit; not enough credit) and ease up on those a little. Try to find something in the middle. • Take a look at the history of this balancing act to see if there are some other factors at work – such as a seasonality or an economic factor you hadn't considered. Think of your lending practices as two extremes with the ideal point somewhere in between. Continue to use the balancing act approach but work inwards… don't go all the way out to the extremes on your lending practices. See if you can identify the perfectly balanced lending position by slowly working inwards. Admittedly, this will take time – and you might need to bring in the services of a debt collection company in order to collect your money – but the effort will eventually be worth it as you find the right balance between generous lending and tight credit. Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.i http://www.rangerfs.com http://www.rangerfs.biz http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com http://rangerfs.blog.com http://www.rangerfs.wetpaint.com http://rangerfs.wordpress.com http://www.soulcast.com http://rangerfinancialservices.mog http://rangerfs.livejournal.com http://www.rangerfs.typepad.com http://rangerfs.insanejournal.com http://rangerfinancialservices.ebl http://blogtext.org/RangerFS |
| Monday, October 4th, 2010 | |
| 3:30 pm | Inflation: What it is and its impact on commercial debt Everyone has heard of inflation but few people can understand it or easily explain it to others. In this article, we'll talk about what inflation is and we'll discuss its impact on commercial debt. Money is a scarce commodity: Most people have less than they want or need and they work hard to get more. And there's something that you probably know about scarce commodities without being told: In the law of supply and demand, the scarcer something is, the more it is worth. Therefore, since money is scarce, it rises in value. Inflation is the rising cost of money. Here's how inflation works: Let's say you bought something one year and then bought the same thing again a year later. That item would cost slightly more the second year than the first year because inflation tends to drive up prices. Or, think of it like this: If you have some money and you decide to stick it under your mattress for a year, you won't be able to buy as much at the end of the year as you would have been able to at the beginning of the year. In general, inflation rises at an average rate of 3% per year. So that item you bought and then bought again a year later would cost 3% more, while the money stuck under your mattress would be worth 3% less a year later. So what does this mean for your accounts receivables? The longer you leave money on your list of accounts receivables, the less it is worth to you. Let's say two customers buy something from you and each pay $100 for their item. One customer pays right away and you get their $100. The second customer receives the item but doesn't pay for a full year and sits on your accounts receivables list the entire time. By the time they pay, their $100 will not be as beneficial to you because it is worth about 3% less! You can get around this by charging a slight annual interest rate or by keeping a shorter accounts receivable list. Ranger Financial Services 214-206-8060 Find Ranger at the following http://www.rangerfinancialservices.com http://www.rangerfinancialservices.i http://www.rangerfs.com http://www.rangerfs.biz http://www.rangerfs.blogspot.com http://rangerfs.blog.com http://www.rangerfs.wetpaint.com http://rangerfs.wordpress.com http://www.soulcast.com http://rangerfinancialservices.mog http://rangerfs.livejournal.com http://www.rangerfs.typepad.com http://rangerfs.insanejournal.com http://rangerfinancialservices.ebl http://blogtext.org/RangerFS |