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Welcome to
Credit Today Online
Credit Today is the premier publication for trade credit professionals. This web site and all the resources within are for subscribers to Credit Today. If you are new to our site, please feel free to browse some of our sample articles now! If you are a current subscriber to the print edition of Credit Today, and have your subcriber ID number, visit Activation Page to activate your Free subscription to CreditToday Online.
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Automation and Transparency Are Key Traits of Top Performers
By Dave Schmidt
"Establishment and communication of clear credit and collections policies that are fully supported by senior management are essential," is a key finding of a recent benchmarking study investigating receivables management practices. The study also found that consistent communications across functions . . . keep reading
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The Goal Is To Be the Supplier of First Choice
Wreckage from the recession will likely be worst in the construction industry. When the upturn finally does come, the list of contractors will have dwindled significantly. Survivors will be the better capitalized and the better managed. Among suppliers, superior credit management will have a lot to . . . keep reading
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Corporations Play It Safe With Reserves for Bad Debts
For the past two years bad-debt reserves have exceeded actual write-offs to bad debts by over 11 times, according to this month's Credit Today mini-benchmarking survey. Forward looking, data suggest corporations are being even more cautious in fiscal year 2008. In many companies, determining the reserve for bad debts is as much an art as a science. Even if you base the calculation on a historical standard such as the percentage of yearly sales that end up being written off as bad debts, what is to say this year's receivables will bear any resemblance to those of the past? . . . keep reading
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Beyond Credit Solutions, This Credit Department Comes Comes Up With Marketing Solutions
John Bradtke is in an industry concerned with building things up. What he's interested in, though, is tearing down barriers. To do that, the corporate credit manager at Dayton Superior Corp. focuses on solving problems. The Symons Division, which is headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Ill., is in the construction business. More specifically, it manufactures, sells and rents prefabricated concrete forming equipment as well as concrete accessories and hardware. The company's products are used, not only for such jobs as basement foundations for residential homes, but in high-rise construction, warehouse projects and road building. . . . keep reading
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The Goal Is Profitability
When Anthony Engel, CBA, took over credit management responsibilities at V & V Supremo Foods, Inc. last November, he was a little uncertain on what to expect. His title was accounting manager, and he was reporting to the vice president of sales. What kind of support would he get if, in his best judg . . . keep reading
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Passage of Title
By Ann Morales Olazábal, MBA, JD
Credit and the Law-The Situation: In late 2007, Franklin Industrial Furnace entered into a contract with National Consolidated Co. for the design and construction of twelve furnaces to be provided to a Chinese company called Tianjin Metallurgical for a cold rolling steel mill. The sales . . . keep reading
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Think Tank?
We've worried for some time about corporate customers who are bought out and taken private by hedge funds and private equity firms. They tend to get loaded up with debt by their new owners, to the detriment of employees and trade creditors. Then, in 2006, along came NexCen Brands with an unusual . . . keep reading
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Mission (Almost) Impossible
Imagine a scale of purchases ranging from the absolutely necessary to the absolutely discretionary. The further out you go toward the discretionary end, the more sales and collection problems you'll find in these recessionary times. And right out there at the far end is the jewelry industry. "Who . . . keep reading
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Collections—Asking the Wrong Question
One reliable metric of managements' increased concern with collections is a surge in average attendance from 40 to more than 70 collection staffers at the seminars conducted by Strategic Negotiations International (SNI). The day-long seminars cover all of the fundamentals and techniques of effe . . . keep reading
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The Bank Loan Squeeze
Small businesses can't fill out a one-page "express" application at Sun Bankcorp and get a $100,000 line of credit within 24 hours anymore. Nor can they take similar advantage of the Business Credit Express program at Bank of America. "We'd wanted to give small businesses access to capital faster . . . keep reading
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Is Your Credit Staff All on the Same Team?
By David Schmidt, Contributing Editor
Teamwork is a powerful asset. Without it, a talented group of individuals can end up losing to a less talented team. By the same token, why is it successful sports teams continue to win even when their star players are felled by injuries? It's because successful teams are much more than the sum of t . . . keep reading
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Co-op Adds Security To the Credit Function
It turns out that credit can run a little more smoothly if your customers are also your owners. Margret Goodson is in a unique position as credit department and A/R manager for Affiliated Foods Inc. of Amarillo, Texas. The company is a wholesale grocery cooperative and distributor that works with about 700 stores and restaurants primarily in the southwestern United States. It also has bakery and dairy operations. The cooperative, however, represents the largest customer group. Goodson's credit staff handles about 2,000 accounts and $1.2 billion in sales. The team is broken up by business line. Four persons are responsible for the food service area, which serves schools, restaurants and independent grocers. They set up new accounts, review credit and collect on those accounts. . . . keep reading
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Statutes of Limitations: Carved in Stone?
By Ann Morales Olazábal, MBA, JD
Credit and the Law: The SituationJK Enterprises, an importer of men's apparel, sold $1.26 million worth of men's suits to Men's Trends, which operates a regional chain of specialty men's clothing stores in the Southeast. But by January 2001, when the suits had been fabricated and shipped, . . . keep reading
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Leadership Profile: Connie Steed, CCE, Corporate Credit Manager, Rasmussen Equipment Company
Credit Philosophy: "At Rasmussen Equipment, we have been very successful in building an outstanding relationship between sales and credit. Keeping the lines of communication open has allowed us to increase sales and margins and keep our DSO and bad debt at manageable numbers. Up-and-down changes in the construction industry requires that we be constantly focused. Our accounts receivable exposure can become very high, very quickly. I believe that the more we know about our customers and the more we help them become better business people, the better chance we have of being paid. We also make great use of NACM Business Credit Services in Salt Lake City. Whether it be collections, credit reports, group meetings, educational seminars or other services, we can always count on the NACM organization to support us professionally, enabling us to be the best credit department we can be." . . . keep reading
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Being Accessible
You're not going to sit at your desk all day and waiting for customer calls, but, according to Controller Donald Ferguson of Indianapolis Fruit Company, Inc., there are worse ideas. Ferguson, who manages the company's credit function, tries to make it as convenient as possible for customers to get i . . . keep reading
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Make Your Case, in Person
The best information in your watch-list file comes mainly from your own records of customers' payments and buying patterns. You should compile this information and study it thoroughly before contacting a seriously delinquent customer. Then, if you're fortunate enough to actually be able to make some . . . keep reading
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