|
| |
This week's survey
| |
|
(These survey questions are sent in by our readers. Please spend a minute to give your answer to this week's survey as one or possibly more of your industry peers thinks this question is important and wishes to see your point of view as well as others in the industry.)
| |
|
How important is it to offer "green" print options these days?
| |
|
Our last week's survey results...
|
What's the best way you have found to collect overdue debts?:
- Minimise the opportunity for them to become overdue in the first place. An order is not an order until the money is in the bank. The old days of the supplier acting as the clients bank (ultra extended payment terms)are long gone. Clients need to know from the get go that you are a professional supplier - that you say what you do and do what you say. When it comes time for them to pay you don't expect to have to but are not embarrassed to ask - nicely of course but consistently. Most importantly dont kid yourself about bad debts. Only way to avoid them is to not do business so when they happen dont pretend they have not or it is likely you will soon become one of the slow payers due to poor cashflow.
- There is an online page that can be downloaded for about $35, that if after repeated requests for payment have been ignored, can be served on the debtor giving them 7 days to pay or legal action will most definitely proceed. This has worked for me each time I have used it. Also the details of that particular debtor can be whited out, so the page can be used multiple times and it doesn't cost $35 each time.
- Be annoyoing and ring, email, etc everyday until they pay. Or if a regular customer put a stop on their work until money is up to date.
- Firstly, debt collection starts before you even quote. Find out your 'legals'. Make paying 'super-easy' (avoids excuses), offer many payment options on your invoice/statement. Quote should clearly state you expect payment (when, how & debt recovery). There is noting wrong with asking for deposits or progress payments (builders do it). After the usual requests for the payment, we make a POLITE visit to their office and ask for the payment in person. If they try to give us the 'run around' we calmly say "...that's fine, we will wait in reception (or out front) until something is arranged..." We are prepared to wait all day - has never happened. We DO NOT intimidate, our aim is for a solution! Legals cost money/time/stress. Arguing is a bad look for both businesses and will slow the process (create legal problems). At times we have offered regular payment schedules (has to be written out and signed). In most cases they thank us for our patience and have become loyal regulars (even recommending us). For the scammers (in person you can spot them) we calmly let them know our debt recovery process will proceed as stated on our paperwork that they signed. There is no point working for nothing!
- Some time ago we were being "squeezed" on a big job for price, so decided to get a set of inks from China to assist the profit line. Never again! We made sure the firm had the right colours, transferred the money, then the next day we got an email to say 3 of the cartridges were out of stock and what did we want to replace them with.
It would never have worked on an ongoing basis, as they would not put the order aside while the money was transferred overnight, and we would have ended up with lots of some colours and nothing of another.
We also decided it was more important to keep local suppliers in business, and have concentrated on building good relationships with our suppliers. - Don't give credit - Anything less than $500 Payment in Full as deposit.
More than $500 - Pay 50% deposit with balance on completion.
Apart from the above , keep on top of it early , especially in this climate. Once it gets passed 60-70 days ,You are hard pressed collecting it. - When all nice methods fail then "Liquidated Statement of Claim" you lodge it @ your most convenient courthouse (as the defendant cannot have it moved to another court), the fees you pay go onto their debt, they have 28 days to pay or tell the judge why they havent, you get 10% interest from the time the invoice was due, you get it on the 28 days too, and you get all your money not a debt collector. This is what debt collectors use as well. best of all their credit rating is affected. just make sure they arent on a govt pension etc or bankrupt and EVERY DETAIL OF THE DEBTOR CORRECT to avoid a technical loophole. ask your local clerk of the court. its nasty but then if they dont care about you - why should you care about them - as they are never going to be customers of yours again.
- Never allow debts to become overdue is the most obvious. With exception of government departments all jobs are payment before dispatch unless trading history well established, by paying for jobs up front. We may miss a few jobs but gain much more sleep. If a customer goes onto a credit account price goes up to cover the risk and admin, if they miss the terms agreed to, future orders back to payment before dispatch and constant contact with customer until payment made.
We have a standard email response to the inevitable request for credit which explains our terms, the increased cost to the client of credit, the availability of credit card payment if they need time to pay and what action is taken for late payment. If they still want credit a credit application which must be approved before credit given. Few make the application stage and we loose very few customers as a result.
Can be hard to hold the line at times but well worth it.
(As a publishing practice to protect ourselves from any potential liability, company and individual names that are referred to negatively in any of these comments are removed.
In addition we reserve the right to remove comments that are blatant advertising for one product or company)
Please spend a minute to give your answer to this week's survey as one or possibly more of your industry peers thinks this question is important and wishes to see your point of view as well as others in the industry.
If you have a subject that you would like us to survey, please send your subject to brian@wideformatonline.com. Thanks.)
|
| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
New Discussions; Questions and Comments:
|
|
This month's Special Offers from industry suppliers
| |
If you wish to enquire about any Special Offer, just click the Supplier's name to bring up their email address.
If you have a special offer to the wide format printing trade and would like free promotion here, just click here to bring up the application form, fill in the details and then hit submit.
The information will go into the first available newsletter.
_______________________________
|
|
2nd Hand Machinery/Auctions.
-----------------------------
If you would like to run an ad in this section, just click here __________________________________________________
| |
(Posted 12th June 2015)
(Posted 6th June 2015)
(Posted 6th June 2015)
(NSW, Sydney) Used oce colourwave 600 plotter
(Posted 4th June 2015)
(NSW, South Granville) AOKE Digital Cutting table & Fatoba Trimmer
(Posted 29th May 2015)
(NSW, Toukley) anti static kit From the US
(Posted 28th May 2015)
(NSW, Newcastle Cardiff) SIGNEASY 1600Pro Laminator/applicator,
(Posted 27th May 2015)
(NSW, Leichardt) Jetrix 2030 printer
(Posted 25th May 2015)
(NSW, Sydney) DTG M2 DIGITAL T-SHIRT PRINTER
(Posted 22nd May 2015)
(NSW, Alexandria) For sale: $800 each ONO
(Posted 12th May 2015)
(NSW, Ingleburn) For sale 1 Dilli Flatbed ( agfa Annapurna) 2500ws machine
(Posted 11th May 2015)
(NSW, Chipping Norton) Teckpro UV3200 roll to roll printer
(Posted 7th May 2015)
(NSW, Sydney) Wanted LEC-300a, LEC-330 or LEC-540
(Posted 6th May 2015)
(NSW Pyrmont) VersaCAMM SP-300i Printer Cutter
(Posted 27th April 2015)
(NSW, Gosford) Gerber Edge 2 and software,
(Posted 15th April 2015)
(NSW, Bexley) Roland SJ-740 in great working order,
(Posted 9th April 2015)
|
|
Victoria
____________________________________________________________________
|
_______________________________________________________
|
How important is it to offer "green" print options these days?
| |
| --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| -------------------------------------- |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
(Posted 6th July 2015)
(Posted 6th July 2015)
(Posted 22nd June 2015)
(Posted 10th June 2015)
|
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
|
|
Want to run an ad in this section? Just click here
_____________________________________________
|
| ---------------------------------------------- |
Businesses for sale/wanted
|
|
Want to run an ad in this section? Just click here
_______________________________________
|
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
|
Smile: It's only Monday!
A Ukrainian migrant to Australia wanted to become a cabbie so he had to go for an eye test for his drivers licence. He was shown a card with the text CWNSCZYZQOCTAZS. He looked at it with wide open eyes, looking very surprised. The examiner said impatiently; well? And the Ukrainian answered; I know that bloke...
|
|
If you or your products are not listed in the appropriate director, click the link at the top for the application form for a free listing.
|
|
You can find all our newsletters on Twitter and Facebook.
|
|
