Dear Dr. Credit,
Like everyone else, I’m getting more overloaded. There’s lots of important stuff for me to keep up with, but I feel I’m not filtering things properly. Any suggestions?

–Ready to Short Circuit in Montgomery

Dear Ready,

You know, this is the single biggest issue everyone in credit faces these days. For an answer, we reached out to Pamela Krank, president of outsourcer The Credit Department who advises:

Now more than ever, credit departments are being bombarded with information to help manage the accounts receivable asset. This information can include news alerts, public filings, trade payment and credit report updates, press releases and industry news. The challenge is to prevent “information overload,” where your mailbox is filled with unread materials and your inbox is flooded with email notifications.

While we need to receive ongoing data on our customers, prospects, and even competitors, this process can dilute the time that should be spent on portfolio analysis, cash-flow improvements and customer service issues affecting receivables.

While we need to receive ongoing data on our customers, prospects, and even competitors, this process can dilute the time that should be spent on portfolio analysis, cash-flow improvements and customer service issues affecting receivables.

So how, then, can you best manage all of this information and still focus on maximizing the value of your accounts receivable? Here are three strategies:

1) Automate receipt of information

Most credit information can now be gathered online. The key is to keep the information in an electronic format to store the documents for easy retrieval. Also, you should steer customers, brokers and their sales force away from sending paper documents to you. If they don’t have the ability to send electronic documents, have them fax to a server so the information can become digitized. Fax servers are inexpensive and easy to use. You should also investigate the possibility of receiving electronic customer check information from your bank to prevent double scanning of documents.

2) Filter out unimportant data

By setting up “filters” designed only to allow information important to you, you can eliminate some of the overload. For example, many trade groups and on-line credit reporting agencies will allow you to only receive and pay for information on your customers – not on every company in their database. Also, you should eliminate the need to read about every VP hire or new store opening for the customers you’re monitoring, especially when this has little effect on the way you service the account.

3) Clarify the process for disseminating information

We find that credit departments, by their very unique function that deals directly with customers, sales, and finance, become the “catch-all” for miscellaneous information received by the company. Make sure employees both within and outside of the credit department know who’s responsible for monitoring and receiving certain types of information. You shouldn’t be constantly re-routing tax exemptions or quality certificates when you have no direct responsibility for managing those functions.

You can’t always prevent “information overload,” However, you must learn to better manage the process for information flow so as to keep the focus on maximizing value of the accounts receivable.

Pam Krank can be reached at 800-451-0164, or via email at pkrank@tcd.com. Web address: www.tcd.com.