Credit Today is the fastest growing publication in the credit field, favored by more and more top credit executives. We cover the world of business, or trade credit, with concise, yet in-depth, reporting. We also publish the most in-depth salary survey in the industry, covering all major credit positions.Credit Today is the fastest growing publication in the credit field, favored by more and more top credit executives. We cover the world of business, or trade credit, with concise, yet in-depth, reporting. We also publish the most in-depth salary survey in the industry, covering all major credit positions.   
Home    Credit Jobs!    Search    Help    Resource Directory    Tell a Friend    Contact    Member Area
 Join Us
We invite you to join the private subscribers-only Credit Today community and discussion area. Click here to learn more.
 Departments
Webinars
Bankruptcy Issues
Benchmark Central
Best Practices
Checklists
Collections Today
Credit Cards
Credit Dept Profiles
Credit Mgmt Today
Credit Mgr's Letter
Credit Scoring
Deductions Today
Downloads
Financial Analysis
Forum Archives
Forum Signup
Fraud
Glossary of Terms
HR Issues Today
International
Legal Issues
Resale Certificates
Resource Directory
Subscriber Tools
Technology Today
Tip of the Week
Unclaimed Property
Your Account
Outside the Box
Press Releases
 Special Reports
Tech Buyer's Guide
Staff Benchmarking
Salary Survey
Book Store
Credit Stats
 About Credit Today
Mission Statement
Member Benefits
Sample Articles
Testimonials
About our ListServ
Help
Submissions
Tell a Friend
Our Staff
Editorial Advisors
Consumer Credit Page
Contact
 Sponsors

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!
- Steve Savino
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."
- Scott Goen, Credit Manager, Big Lots Stores, Inc., Wholesale Division

"We've recently started using the ListServ tool within Credit Today. This is phenomenal and powerful forum for gaining immediate feedback, ideas, and suggestions, relative to any credit topic under the sun, all in a real-time e-mail format."
-Javier Vela, Senior Credit Manager, Global Credit Services, JDA Software Group Inc.

"Being a part of the Credit Today online community is like having the expertise of hundreds of credit managers at your fingertips. These credit execs are willing to help you solve topical business issues as they arise. In the current environment of ever increasing competing priorities which reduce our opportunities to meet peers out of the office face-to-face, this is the most valuable tool you can have on your desktop! It's important that we have a mechanism to reach out to our counterparts quickly to exchange knowledge as well as to stay on top of industry trends."
- Victoria Artis, Director of Customer Financial Services, Pfizer, Inc.

"Over the last 10 years I've seen Credit Today evolve from a monthly credit publication into a quality source of information and guidance for the B2B credit community. The website, with its user friendly form downloads, will take you from examples of new account credit applications to bankruptcy forms and everything in between.

The Credit Today ListServ has become the pre-imminent online forum, providing an opportunity for discussion and comments (and occasional humor) from an impressive list of credit professionals."
David Dungan, Director of Credit
Justin Brands, Inc. (A Berkshire Hathaway company)
Fort Worth, Texas

"There are numerous credit periodicals available to the credit professional today. How good is Credit Today? Is it relevant? I always have to read it late, or online because my credit analysts want to read it the minute it comes in. When my staff wants to read a publication before I have a chance to read it then something is working in that publication. We have cancelled our other subscriptions. When you have the best you do not need the rest."
Ron Woods
Corporate Credit Manager-World Wide
Thales Navigation, Inc.

"The newsletter, coupled with the website and the ListServ, are to us, more valuable than any other credit publication, bar none. I try to use at least one article out of each newsletter for departmental training/discussion sessions."
D. Mark Constantine
Corporate Credit Mgr
Fulton Paper Company

"I love Credit Today and read every issue cover to cover. For me, the greatest perk of a subscription is ListServ. I believe Credit Today's ListServ members may be the most knowledgeable Credit brain trust in existence today. I have saved and categorized hundreds of contributions on a wide variety of topics which I refer to often. It's an easy and cost effective way to network and learn."
Doug M. Thomas
Kimberly-Clark Customer Financial Services

Home | Unclaimed Property Search 
Collection Training! Unclaimed Property

Unclaimed Property & Escheatment Resources

A solid Unclaimed Property (Escheatment) Policy is essential for credit execs today, as states are increasingly seeking alternative methods to bridge their revenue gaps.

We've compiled a series of articles, resources, and templates to help you put together an Unclaimed Property Policy customized for your company.

To find specific templates to help you create an Unclaimed Property Policy, please click here to go to our Download area.

Technology Notebook: What's on Your Boss's Radar?
By David Schmidt
Technology Notebook: What's on Your Boss's Radar? The Association of Financial Professionals (AFP) held its annual conference on November 6-9, 2011, in Boston. With over 6000 attendees and 200 exhibitors, this is the largest finance-related gathering of its type. Despite a clear bias towards treasury-related activities, there still was something here for anybody with exposure to any aspect of the finance function. Receivables management was accordingly well represented with 34 vendors promoting their solutions and a variety of educational sessions related to order-to-cash issues.

While this is not a conference that many credit managers attend, it is a venue that caters to the senior managers and executives involved with corporate financial management. As such, it is useful for credit professionals to know something about the marketplace of issues and ideas that are of interest to their colleagues and bosses. Here then, are some relevant topics that we observed at the 2011 AFP Conference. Topics covered:
  • Integrated and Consolidated Billing and Payments
  • Receivables and Supply Chain Finance
  • Unclaimed Property
  • Remote Deposit Capture
. . .
keep reading
Escheatment in the Spotlight as State Budget Deficits Continue: What a Credit Executive Needs to Consider
By Scott Blakeley, Esq.
Escheatment in the Spotlight as State Budget Deficits Continue: What a Credit Executive Needs to Consider The prolonged downturn of the U.S. economy reminds vendors of the financial challenges that customers face to be profitable. States, too, are finding it more difficult to meet their budgets as a result of declines in corporate and sales tax revenue, increased foreclosures and weak consumer spending. Indeed, 25 states are projecting budget deficits. States are reacting to these considering massive budget cuts, including cuts with public education. States are also looking for untapped revenue sources to close the budget gaps. In this setting, states are looking for sources of revenue, and abandoned property, as the press reports, may be that untapped source for states. It is expected that states may have a line item in their annual budget for escheatment may be a step to ease this budget crisis. . . . keep reading
NAUPA Selects ETM To Provide Unclaimed Property Reporting System
April 13, 2010
The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) has selected ETM to be its exclusive provider of holder-reporting software. ETM will offer the software to NAUPA members and their holders at no charge and will provide ongoing product training and customer support. The software will be available for this fall's reporting deadlines. . . . keep reading
States Step Up Unclaimed-Property Reporting Enforcement
Have you been filing required reports on AR credit balances? If not, the odds are rising that you could be caught and penalized in a state audit. Led by Delaware--where more than half of the Fort . . . keep reading
Some Shocking Revelations from an AP Pro on Unclaimed Property
Last week's column "Making AP Pros Feel Appreciated" really struck a nerve with our friend Mary Schaeffer, the editor and publisher of AP Now and Tomorrow, the premier newsletter for accounts payable professionals. We won't hold that against her, and for what it's worth, Mary also edited a credit and collection newsletter for over a dozen years, so she knows finance inside and out, and we're always interested in her perspective. . . . keep reading
Escheatment: What are you obligated to report to the state?
By Scott E. Blakeley Esq
Escheatment: What are you obligated to report to the state? Is your corporation setting itself up to an unwanted or unclaimed credit audit? State regulator are enforcing escheatment laws more than ever today to offset budget shortfalls brought on by tax cuts, diminished fee collections and additional expenses associated with combating terrorism. If your company is not aware of the states' unclaimed property laws, or if they have largely ignored them hoping they would not get audited by the government - be aware as states are cracking down on enforcing escheatment laws today. . . . keep reading
Do You Have Unclaimed Property In Your Accounts Receivable?
Cash strapped states are aggressively targeting unclaimed property collections as a significant source of revenue, and old receivables balances that haven't been returned to customers are a favorite t . . . keep reading
Press Release: Businesses Face Filing Deadlines for Unclaimed Property
April 12, 2010
Companies Large and Small Could Face Unrecognized Liabilities DALLAS, April 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Deadlines for reporting unclaimed property held by businesses are approaching in Pennsylvania, Florida . . . keep reading
When the Escheatment Hits the Fan
By Gary Van Domelen and John David Schrager
When the Escheatment Hits the Fan It is more important than ever to understand and comply with state escheatment laws. Beyond significant state penalties and the possibility of criminal enforcement of state laws and hefty external legal fees to comply with an unplanned audit, the arrival of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has added federal ramifications. At its most basic level, escheatment is the legal term for the transfer of abandoned property to the state. Back in 14th century England, the crown would take over ownership and possession of property if there were no rightful heirs to recover it. In the United States, the purposes of escheatment laws are to create a process where property can be reunited with its rightful owner while at the same time . . . keep reading
Forum Question: We are writing credit balances off without notifying the customer. Is that a problem?
July 10, 2009
This question might have been asked some time ago, but I am a credit manager in the NY, NJ area and want to know if it is a crime to take credit balances from customer's accounts. Obviously these customer's are not aware of them or they would use them or ask for refunds. Some of these are substantial and are in the thousands, yeah believe it or not some customer's are clueless and their book keeping is terrible. The company I work for has a practice of writing these credit balances off without notifying the customer. What do you think? . . . keep reading
A Nine-Step Checklist to Help You Create an Unclaimed Property Policy
State Audits of Corporate Receivables Are Rising Last week one of the busiest days on record for our Listserv was touched off when a member asked if keeping unused credits was illegal. A lit . . . keep reading
Look up all states' unclaimed property regulations here...
The following table lists each state's contact information for unclaimed property.* . . . keep reading
Forum Q: What Are Your Processes for Carrying Credit Memos on Terms (open) Which Are Aging Out 90+ Days?
April 3, 2009
Maybe we've visited this before, but here is my question: What are your processes for carrying credit memos on terms (open) which are aging out 90+ days? Do you have a 'write off' policy in place for credit memo's, 'use it or lose it' timeframe, or do you wait for the customer to dictate how to apply? How long do you wait? Do you age the cm's out along with your regular invoices, or are credit memos kept in a separate category on your aging? On COD accounts, what is your policy about credits that have not been used for 90+ days? If anyone knows the legalities surrounding adjusting off credits due to non use, I would appreciate input. . . . keep reading
Forum: Consultant for Unclaimed Property / Escheatment?
August 15, 2008
Can anyone recommend a consultant who specializes in unclaimed property (escheatment) compliance issues? We are particularly interested in locating someone with experience in Delaware and Virginia. Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated. . . . keep reading
Forum: Unclaimed Property (Escheatment) - Liability With Active or Dormant Customers?
July 16, 2008
I am looking for some clarification as to whether unclaimed property (escheatment) applies only to "inactive" or "dormant" customers who may happen to have a credit balance. We consider "inactive" as accounts with no activity during a period of 12 months or more. We obviously have hundreds of accounts that remain active that have open credits that exceed 1 year old. My question is, can open credits that have not yet been accounted for by "active" customers be considered as unclaimed property by the state? I have read some articles that have mentioned "dormant" as being a condition for exposure to escheatment. I imagine it is not that simple, but worth a try. . . . keep reading
Forum Q: Escheatment Statutes
July 3, 2008
Looking for a list by state of the statute of limitations for when states can perform escheatment audits. In other words, how far back can they go? Also, if you file a protective report, does su . . . keep reading
More HeadlinesMore Headlines
Chapter 11 Daily
 This Month's Survey
Outlook 2012

This month's survey explores...
  1. What the top problems are facing credit execs currently, and
  2. What the top improvement initiatives are.
Click here to participate!

 Tip of the Week

Claim Your
Free Report! 
"Building the Foundation of Your Future Cashflow"

and receive...

Credit Today's
FREE weekly
eNewsletter

 Credit Jobs Today
 Credit Calendar
Previous Month February 2012 Next Month
S M T W T F S
      1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14 15 16 17 18
19 20 21 22 23 24 25
26 27 28 29