Credit and collection work is like detective work: Part of the job involves piecing together clues to determine whether or not a company is creditworthy. But hopefully their amateur PI work doesn’t stop there.
You want to be sure your finance staffers are staying attuned for signs an existing customer may be in financial trouble.
And we’re talking beyond the late payment signs.
Plenty of intel sources
Staffers need to be on the lookout for the more subtle operational indicators there could be trouble afoot. It’s probably worth a refresher with your team that these are red flags they should pass along:
- management team changed
- headquarters moved
- major product lines discontinued, or
- employee perks reduced or eliminated.
And remind credit staffers: There are plenty of sources for this intel, from their usual contact at customers’ businesses to your company’s own delivery people.
Adapted in part from “Spotting the Warning Signs of Bankruptcy” at Cash-to-Credit Advisor, March 2017.