Commercial Debt – How to Collect on Commercial Files

Whether a company is large or small, it is essential to have accounts paid within a reasonable amount of a time, bringing funds back into the business.  Having a balanced sheet in accounts receivable can make or break a business. 

The first step is to set up clear expectations and to send regular billing statements.  Bills should be sent every 15 to 30 days, so that the client has no doubt that payment is expected in a reasonable time frame.  If a customer becomes more than sixty days behind in payment, there is a greater risk that the bill will go unpaid.  It is a good idea to reach out to clients well before sixty days and request payment.

In the event that a customer is unresponsive to attempts to settle an account, it may be time to become more assertive.  Placing phone calls may help, but in many cases, business owners do not have enough staff or time to place repeated calls to someone who is behind on payment.  At a certain point it may be necessary to call in the help of a collection firm.

Using a collection attorney may be an excellent solution to securing the debt owed to any size of business.  A collection firm will most likely have more time to devote to the process, and certainly will have knowledge of collection law.  This can free up the employees and owners of a company to focus on the daily business operations, and often provide a much quicker resolution to the collection issue.  Collection firms are up to date on the most current changes in collection law, and often clients will take efforts from an attorney with great import, settling debt and leaving more of the budget available to the business.