Collect Call:
From March 2005
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All it Takes
“We start by making a phone call to the client’s accounts payable person. We ask if they received the invoice or if they would like us to fax them a copy of the invoice. And 80 percent of the time, that’s all it takes,” she says.
“Often they’ll say, ‘Oh, it has to go through several people before it gets to me, and it must have gotten lost along the way.’ It’s usually taken care of within a week or two.”
Hernandez says the company tries to be accommodating. “If they’re upfront and tell me, ‘We’re having some cash-flow issues,’ then I ask them to work with me by sending, say, $50,” says Hernandez. She remains patient, unless clients renege on their promises.
“If you tell me you’re going to send me money and for some reason you can’t, call and tell me. Don’t just ignore me,” she implores. “I’m taking your word that you’re going to pay me. If you don’t, why should I believe you the next time?”
Quest, a Sacramento computer technology firm (www.questsys.com), allows invoices to remain unpaid for 45 days before taking action. Tim Burke, Quest president and CEO, says the firm broaches the subject with clients by assuming the problem may be due to a mismatched purchase order number or a discrepancy about services or products delivered.
Disturbing Trend
If contractual obligations were met, Quest’s accounts receivable representative asks the client’s accounts payable personnel when the invoice is scheduled for payment.
Continued...
“We start by making a phone call to the client’s accounts payable person. We ask if they received the invoice or if they would like us to fax them a copy of the invoice. And 80 percent of the time, that’s all it takes,” she says.
“Often they’ll say, ‘Oh, it has to go through several people before it gets to me, and it must have gotten lost along the way.’ It’s usually taken care of within a week or two.”
Hernandez says the company tries to be accommodating. “If they’re upfront and tell me, ‘We’re having some cash-flow issues,’ then I ask them to work with me by sending, say, $50,” says Hernandez. She remains patient, unless clients renege on their promises.
“If you tell me you’re going to send me money and for some reason you can’t, call and tell me. Don’t just ignore me,” she implores. “I’m taking your word that you’re going to pay me. If you don’t, why should I believe you the next time?”
Quest, a Sacramento computer technology firm (www.questsys.com), allows invoices to remain unpaid for 45 days before taking action. Tim Burke, Quest president and CEO, says the firm broaches the subject with clients by assuming the problem may be due to a mismatched purchase order number or a discrepancy about services or products delivered.
Disturbing Trend
If contractual obligations were met, Quest’s accounts receivable representative asks the client’s accounts payable personnel when the invoice is scheduled for payment.
Continued...
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