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Our Subscribers Say...
I think Credit Today is fantastic. You cover many practical topics in the credit field that I use regularly. Just one recent example—a conversation on the ListServ about preferential payments—gave me tips that I used in an actual case. The specific information I picked up from this one discussion saved me $10,000, enough to cover my membership for many years!
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Manager of Credit & Collections, ASSA Abloy Americas Division, New Haven, CT
Credit Today's Resource Directory and their online e-mail forum (ListServ) provide information on almost any credit-related topic you can think of. It is a great way to exchange information with other credit professionals. As the saying goes, "You don't know what you don't know."
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Credit Manager, Big Lots Stores, Inc., Wholesale Division
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Fort Worth, Texas
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Thales Navigation, Inc.
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Fulton Paper Company
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Four Common Financial Mistakes Made By Small Businesses
"We all know from experience that smaller customers, as a class, are more prone to decline because of financial problems than are the large corporations," observes Harlan Roderick, credit manager for Eastham Industries (Eastham, Mass.). The reasons for these problems, he says, fall mainly into well-established patterns. These separate patterns are interrelated, resembling four upright dominoes. When the first domino falls, with rare exceptions the second, third, and fourth dominoes follow suit.
1. The business is undercapitalized to begin with, and management overinvests in fixed assets. Some small businesspeople become overoptimistic when business is booming. Many overestimate the "boom," failing to realize that it stems, at least in part, from inflation. The urge to "make hay while the sun shines" leads to unwarranted investment in fixed assets. The combination of undercapitalization and overinvestment in fixed assets usually leads to the next phenomenon.
2. Overinvestment in inventory. Having overinvested capital (which was insufficient from the start) in fixed assets, management feels compelled to make the greater-than-needed assets produce commensurate inventory. This inventory is a potential source of revenue through future sales. But when the expected demand for it does not materialize--and since the supply was greater than demand from the start--it becomes a stagnant asset. And generally, the longer it remains unsold, the less it is worth. Meanwhile, the business is further starved for working capital because the inventory cannot be converted into sorely needed cash. The combination of these patterns leads to the next phenomenon.
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3. Overinvestment in accounts receivable. When a business finds itself with surplus inventory, it is forced to sell to more and more submarginal accounts. Not only does this swell the size of receivables beyond the capacity of the business to "carry" them, but it compounds insufficient inflow by the failure of high-risk marginal customers to make payment at all. The combination of these patterns gives rise to the last phenomenon.
4. Inadequate reserves for depreciation, contingencies, and bad debts. When a business starts out with inadequate working capital, overinvestment in fixed assets, overinvestment in inventory, and overinvestment in accounts receivable, it is almost inevitable that management simply cannot report adequate reserves for depreciation, contingencies, and bad debts. Moreover, in light of the lack of capital, some small businesspeople cannot afford to buy--or to buy adequate--insurance against storm, fire, and flood. Should any of these perils occur, the company is forced out of business, leaving its creditors high and dry.
"Analysis of the above factors determines to a great extent the quality of profits reported by your customer," Roderick concludes. "Inadequate provision for depreciation, contingencies, and bad debts reflects perhaps the most glaring danger in the operation of a business."
Editor's Note: The above article originally appeared in the Credit & Collection Manager's Letter, a newsletter purchased by Credit Today in 2006.
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Credit Groups 2012
Wonder What the ROI is on Credit Groups?
Find out here...
It's been 4 years since our original ground-breaking survey on credit groups and we're revisiting this most important topic. Among other topics, we're investigating:
- What are the top services being offered by credit groups
- How much credit groups cost
- What the value of credit group services is
- What the value of credit group services is in comparison to credit reporting services
- How data is submitted
- What percentage of credit groups reveal terms
- What percentage of credit groups share data outside the credit group
And much more...
Click here to participate!
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