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Accounts Receivable Depreciation

The more delinquent your accounts become, the less collectable they are. At ninety days delinquent, your accounts start depreciating faster. By six months delinquent, they have depreciated so much, that only thirty (30%) percent of your money may be collected. Data from the US Department Of Commerce. This rapid loss in value is call Accounts Receivable Depreciation.

Accounts Receivable Depreciation is a silent destroyer of the profit margins of most businesses. The key to any type of successful collections, be it in-house or third party, is tightening and shortening the process, then forwarding the account out to the collection agency before 60 days. If you choose to wait longer you are depreciating most of your chance of ever getting your money. A common mistake most businesses make is to wait over 6 months to use a collection agency. They do this because they don’t want to pay a high percentage or damage their hard earned reputation. Start early, recover more is what accounts receivable management is all about.

Contact your National Sales Representative today to greatly minimize your accounts receivable depreciation.

With warmest regards,

Jerry Curtis
President & CEO

Educational Tidbits For Today’s Credit Executive
Bankruptcy Dismissals And the Failure to Provide Timely Payment Advice

Where bankrupt firms were filing payment advices and judges were not as concerned that the advices were filed within the necessary time period, increasingly, the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts are forcing debtors, and their attorneys, to adhere to section 521(I)(2) of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code as it relates to payment advices. In one case, a debtor’s attorney, claiming he had delivered payment advices to the U.S. trustee as well as a Chapter 7 trustee, decided he was experiencing computer problems and was not able to make filings to the 341 creditors’ meeting within the proper period. Nevertheless, the court held that the statute was clear. Cases were automatically dismissed if payment advices or a motion to extend time had not been filed in a timely manner.

The Credit Manager’s Q&A Corner

QUESTION: Explain why reclamation demands can be considered a natural defense for a creditor.

ANSWER: Many smaller creditors may feel helpless when they find themselves low on the list of creditors when a large company files for bankruptcy protection. But smaller companies do have a recourse to protect themselves in the form of a reclamation demand. Such a reclamation provides a creditor the right to demand that goods which had been shipped to a customer be returned if the customer files for Chapter 11 within a specific time period of receiving the goods. If the goods can’t be returned, the seller’s unsecured claim may be converted into an administrative expense priority claim. This move gives the claim a higher priority than ordinary unsecured creditors’ claims. Further, companies don’t even have to wait for the bankruptcy filing in order to file a reclamation demand, which can be filed if evidence is presented that the customer is officially insolvent.