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Our Subscribers Say...
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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"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."
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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 |
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Credit Management Issues Today
Here, you'll find the critical issues that impact credit management: reducing DSO, handling mergers and acquisitions, analyzing cash burn rates, the importance of working capital, how to use credit applications, sales vs credit, and more. Also, check out our exclusive Credit Department Profiles, where you can learn how some of the world's leading credit departments get things done. To name but a few - MGM, Georgia-Pacific, Welch's, Serta Matress, Hachette Filipacci Magazines, Shell Canada, VF Jeanswear, Phillips-Van Heusen, and Franklin Quest.
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Why The Credit Department is a Critical Area of Customer Support and Steps to Take to Improve Customer Satisfacton
"The second person a customer will have contact with after the salesperson is usually someone from the credit department," says one senior credit manager. "How this contact is handled can affect a customer's perception of the entire organization, either positively or negatively. That's why it's so important to recognize the credit department as a critical area of customer contact within your company. Make sure your people are making the most out of every customer contact." Here are some of his ideas for improving customer satisfaction: . . .
keep reading
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Nine Earmarks of the "Right" A/R Outsourcing Partner
August 31, 2010
Are you ready to make outsourcing a part of your ARM process? An increasing number of credit professionals already have. They're finding this strategy effective in taking control of their receivables and handling the challenges of managing DSO, cash flow and write-offs. One solution worth considering is outsourcing the collection of at least a portion of your accounts receivable portfolio. . . .
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The Right Combination
"We have automatic dunning cycles. We call customers, and we write to them. We try to stay on top of slow payers as much as possible. The biggest credit challenge," continues Steven A. Fistel, director of credit for Trans Apparel Group (Michigan City, Ind.), "is to make good credit decisions and wor . . .
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The Importance of Proof of Delivery
By Christine Alfonso
A veteran of 10 years in credit and collection management, Christine Alfonso has been in her present position since 1996. Solar Services sells and services solar heating systems in both the commercial and the residential markets. About three years ago, one of our customers filed for Chapter 11 ba . . .
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Offering Customers Alternative Financing
Struggling customers need financing for operating funds, and your competitors have begun providing it. Do you have to follow suit? Not necessarily, advises this credit veteran who describes how his company met the competition by establishing an alternative financing program. - The four advantages of establishing internal financing for customers
- Four serious negatives you should think about before establishing such a program, and which one was the most significant for this company
- How much cash you'll need to finance an internal financing division
- What the alternative solution was for this firm and how they implemented it
. . .
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Placing a Priority on Customer Visits
Sure, customer visits are important. But how much time can a busy credit manager allot to them? One California company has solved this problem by appointing four "area credit representatives" (ACRs) located throughout the United States who visit customers on a regular basis. These reps work out of t . . .
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Customer Expanding? Four Questions to Ask in a Review
"When a customer decides to expand its business, it's time to review the account," says an Ohio credit manager. "Often, customers give signs of growth by requesting increases in their credit lines, trying to extend the terms of invoices, or by substantially changing their payment or order pattern. . . .
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Sticking to a Policy That Works
This article details the credit policy established by AFG Industries, a Kingsport, TN, manufacturer of flat glass for architectural residential markets. In this article, you'll learn: - In addition to the usual info, what three key clauses are included on their credit app
- The key red flag (and why) they look for when checking the list of trade credit references
- What information is reviewed
- Strategies for establishing and setting up marginal customers
- Four ways they monitor existing customers
- How their documentation system works and what it tracks
- What trends they look for when monitoring customers for problems
- The importance of working with sales
- Customer visits: Three red flags that the Director of Credit looks for when visiting customers that might be in trouble
. . .
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The Strategic Value of Centralized Collections
Cash collection is critical to every business. In this respect, nothing has changed for centuries; without cash, a company cannot pay workers, invest in production or fulfil customer orders. With receivables such a fundamental driver for the business, it is in some ways surprising that a large proportion of companies have yet to centralize and optimize their collections management, in many cases choosing to focus first on accounts payable. After all, few CFOs are awake at night worrying about whether a payment has been made; the same cannot be said for collections, which have a major impact on the company. This article looks at some of the challenges and issues involved in centralizing collections, and provides examples of how companies have addressed them. . . .
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Selling to Non Creditworthy Accounts
At one California high-tech company, where (as we noted in an earlier issue) customer visits are regarded as investments rather than expenses, there is keen interest in seizing the sales and profit potentials available from properly crafted relationships with "non creditworthy accounts." "Controlled sales to selected non creditworthy accounts under the right conditions can be a source of incremental profitability." is how this company's written credit policy put it. . . .
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The Growing Risk of Uninsured Losses
Many of us in Credit have a tendency to gloss over our customers' insurance programs. We rely on customers to evaluate the magnitude of the hazards to which their businesses are exposed and to properly insure against them. It is, in the final analysis, up to customers to relate their exposure to the . . .
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Generalists and Specialists
More and more often, credit managers are expected to be both generalists and specialists. As middle managers in an era of downsizing, mergers, re-engineering and reorganizations, credit professionals have of necessity developed a "can-do" and a "will-do" attitude toward new assignments and responsib . . .
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Getting Paid Through Assignments
If you have customers who are chronically late because they can' t collect on time from third parties, you may want to consider using assignments to get payments directly from those third parties. This stops the funds from going through the debtor and prevents the debtor from being tempted to use the funds to pay someone else. . . .
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Expanding Credit's Influence By Using Your Skills on the Supplier Side
Your expertise in investigating and analyzing the finances of other companies may not be limited to customers anymore. More and more credit managers are now being asked to determine whether key suppliers have the wherewithal to stay dependable in a more and more chaotic economy. If you haven't had that assignment yet, it's probably coming. . . .
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What's your bad-debt reserve calculation method?
July 29, 2010
I know this topic came up recently, but I need a re-discussion please. I am being asked during an audit to justify my bad-debt reserve calculation method. How do others calculate? We use a specific reserve of 100% for accounts over $3,000 over 90-days, OR otherwise determined likely to default by the Credit Dept. and a general reserve of 3% open A/R. E &Y is questioning the detail behind the 3% general reserve (how and why 3%). Anyone else use a set % for general reserve? or have best practices for establishing a set % per industry standard?? I don't think the auditors like the "that's how it has always been done" answer. . . .
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Has any one had experience with the Illinois sales tax audit?
July 22, 2010
Last year we had a sales tax audit that spanned over five months. We sell a lot of product that end customers use in a Manufacturing Environment. Within the State of Illinois, exemption is allowed using an ST 587 form for Exempt Manufacturing Machinery and Equipment. The form needs to be provided on an order by order basis. The State has gone to stricter interpretation of the regulations and no longer allows a Blanket Exemption Certificate covering multiple orders. The State auditor we had on site had over 30+ years experience. The auditor indicated the following information was acceptable on a specific purchase order in lieu of the state mandated ST-587 form: 1. The order is conspicuously labeled as Non Taxable 2. Clear indication is provided as to the exempt reason 3. The address where the equipment will be installed and used is noted. 4. The purchaser's 8 digit Illinois registration number is indicated. 5. The buyer's name (person of authority) is clearly printed on the Purchase Order. 6. It has an original signature. Electronic signatures would also be acceptable. The auditor did not come across as being unreasonable. I have found some of our customer's did not agree with the requirements and have been reluctant to provide the exemption forms and/or considered our request to be unreasonable. Several other customers had recently been audited themselves and understood completely. Has any one had similar experience in Illinois and what procedures did you put in place or what helped you convince customers to comply? . . .
keep reading
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This month's topic: Credit Card Usage
Click here to participate!
We're examining:
- What percentage of credit departments are currently accepting credit cards
- What percentage of sales are paid via credit card
- The various ways by which credit cards can be accepted (phone, web interface, etc.)
- Which merchant accounts are most popular
- What discount rates are being charged
- Lessons-learned when setting up an account
- ... and much more!
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