Commercial Collections Blog

Bankruptcies Will Cause Tighter Credit Terms

In January of each year, the editors of Inc. Magazine publish an article focused on business trends corporate executives and entrepreneurs should be aware of in the upcoming year. Among the six trends predicted for 2007, one in particular caught my attention. In large bold print, trend #4 reads: BANKRUPTCIES WILL CAUSE TIGHTER CREDIT TERMS.

Even though most economists forecast continued growth for our economy in 2007, many businesses will still continue to struggle. In 2007, I encourage you to stay vigilant in monitoring your terms of credit and accounts receivables with your customer base. This attention to detail on your part will help you have your business better prepared should any of your customers encounter these financial difficulties in the coming year.

Most importantly, know what time is the right time to turn your slow-paying accounts over to a reputable, SAS 70 certified, commercial collection agency like Burt & Associates. I have an article that addresses the topic of “When to Hire a Collection Agency” that I would be happy to share with you. Simply send me an email requesting the article, and I will send it to you promptly.

With warmest regards,

Jerry Curtis
President & CEO

Educational Tidbits For Today’s Credit Executive
Establishing the Right Credit Limit

Every company has a different credit policy. Much of that policy and the credit limits you can establish depend upon the profit margins of your company. Are the margins high enough that you can afford to take risks? How do your company’s financial and credit ratios match up with industry ratios?

Also, where a 3A2, D&B rating may be good for a $100,000 credit limit with one company, it may be good for only $25,000 with another company in a different industry. So using your company’s credit policy, profit margins and all the information you have obtained through your own credit application, credit reports you have pulled and clipping services you have used, will help you set the most efficient credit limit possible for your new and even existing accounts.

Remember, the credit limit you set can always be increased or decreased. The difficulty is always having to decrease the limit and explain your reasoning for doing so, not just to the debtor but to your superiors and your company’s sales and marketing executives. So getting the credit limit right the first time is imperative.

The Credit Manager’s Q&A Corner

QUESTION: Explain the importance of a liquidation analysis in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

ANSWER: When a company files Chapter 11, the creditors’ committee should determine the likely distribution to unsecured creditors from the standpoint of the liquidation of the debtor’s business. The committee should update that analysis if the situation changes. Such an analysis should be made even if liquidation is inadvisable and not considered, since the results of a hypothetical liquidation are an essential factor of both the rights and the bargaining power of the unsecured creditors. It should be noted that a reorganization plan can be confirmed only if it promises unsecured creditors at least as much as they would get from a Chapter 7 liquidation.

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• Commercial Collection, Bankruptcies: Chapter 7
• Bankruptcy’s are Up and Down