johnnysigns
New Member
If you're pissed they wanna pay in 30 days (really 45 days most likely) send them my way!
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Another customer fired....
- Thread starter tylercrum
- Start date
James Burke
Being a grandpa is more fun than working
And who says we're not looking for ways to help out our competitors? This is my favorite method of assistance.
JB
johnnysigns
New Member
Just sayin' - paying net 30 is common place in my neck of the woods. I would be locking my self out of a chunk of business if we had all our accounts paying cash n' carry. We also deal with brokers 90% of the time which I don't see as an issue if you've spent time educating them.
Gino
Premium Subscriber
For you people complaining ... if you don't play their game, you're out all together..... too bad.
I base my prices upon what my vendor's terms are to me. Therefore, if I take advantage of an extra 2% discount if paid within 10 days or cash on the barrel-head, I'll be damned if I'm gonna extend 30, 45 or 90 terms to someone who doesn't have an ounce of talent in their veins except for a silver tongue.
If I wanted to give out all kinds of credit and act like a bank... I'd go to these clients myself.... directly...... and cut the stupid 'broker' out completely. I'm gonna set up my own terms and what most of you don't understand is this.....
We have several large customers and an average sale to them is somewhere between $55,000 to $80,000. I know my costs, my discounts, my time-frame, and just about every other conceivable possibility involved. We receive a 50% deposit on every job and are always paid within two or three days of completion. In five years, this has not changed. We have another large customer which when we send them an invoice, it's marked that their 10% discount is already included, so they must pay within 10 days.
Our longest term is 10 days and that's just a courtesy for passing in the mail, weekends, holidays, people out and never do our good accounts ever abuse these terms.
Do we have 30 day accounts. Sure we do, but they also pay a 50% deposit and the balance is always paid with 30 to 35 days. However, we have the cost covered in our pricing ahead of time to these people.
Very few people or companies dictate to us how we'll be paid. It has nothing to do with being in business a long time or being a mean or ruthless business-person. It's all in your delivery and sticking by your guns. I figured this out a long time ago and unless I let my guard down.... it has never backfired on me or us.
I have one right now.... a customer of about 4 or 5 years. Great pay and they generally spend about $3,000 to $4,000 a month. Well, the owner merged with another company and now they're much larger with a new person in charge of releasing checks. I allowed the original terms to continue and they were rather long on paying this time. I used the excuse for them, that I understand the merger transition and growing pains. However, I knew something was wrong. I got paid, but on week 8. Next order went through and it was around 35 days and they finally said I'll be paid with a few days. I waited another two weeks. The last order was also around 45 days.
I asked to meet with the new guy who releases the checks. The schmuck won't meet with me, it's beneath him, so I contacted my old contact and told them I am making up a new pricing schedule, allowing them their original discount if paid within 10 days and what it will cost of going beyond that. Now the schmuck wants to talk. Fugetaboutit !!
You.... and only you determine what you and your company are gonna make and what the guidelines are.... not some 'broker' who has to bounce from provider to provider cause he can't keep his stories straight. Cut them out of the picture altogether and go straight for the customer yourself and both you and the 'brokers' ex-customer will be happier in the long run. His prices will be less and you'll get paid on time.
- Either plan your business better or weed out your weak points.
I base my prices upon what my vendor's terms are to me. Therefore, if I take advantage of an extra 2% discount if paid within 10 days or cash on the barrel-head, I'll be damned if I'm gonna extend 30, 45 or 90 terms to someone who doesn't have an ounce of talent in their veins except for a silver tongue.
If I wanted to give out all kinds of credit and act like a bank... I'd go to these clients myself.... directly...... and cut the stupid 'broker' out completely. I'm gonna set up my own terms and what most of you don't understand is this.....
- These 'brokers' are generally doubling if not more our prices after beating us down. They get their 50% up front and in some cases get paid and sit on your money or use it with another vendor to cover another project. Meanwhile, you're sitting and waiting to get paid, receiving a bunch of bunk about his problems and hardships.
We have several large customers and an average sale to them is somewhere between $55,000 to $80,000. I know my costs, my discounts, my time-frame, and just about every other conceivable possibility involved. We receive a 50% deposit on every job and are always paid within two or three days of completion. In five years, this has not changed. We have another large customer which when we send them an invoice, it's marked that their 10% discount is already included, so they must pay within 10 days.
Our longest term is 10 days and that's just a courtesy for passing in the mail, weekends, holidays, people out and never do our good accounts ever abuse these terms.
Do we have 30 day accounts. Sure we do, but they also pay a 50% deposit and the balance is always paid with 30 to 35 days. However, we have the cost
Very few people or companies dictate to us how we'll be paid. It has nothing to do with being in business a long time or being a mean or ruthless business-person. It's all in your delivery and sticking by your guns. I figured this out a long time ago and unless I let my guard down.... it has never backfired on me or us.
I have one right now.... a customer of about 4 or 5 years. Great pay and they generally spend about $3,000 to $4,000 a month. Well, the owner merged with another company and now they're much larger with a new person in charge of releasing checks. I allowed the original terms to continue and they were rather long on paying this time. I used the excuse for them, that I understand the merger transition and growing pains. However, I knew something was wrong. I got paid, but on week 8. Next order went through and it was around 35 days and they finally said I'll be paid with a few days. I waited another two weeks. The last order was also around 45 days.
I asked to meet with the new guy who releases the checks. The schmuck won't meet with me, it's beneath him, so I contacted my old contact and told them I am making up a new pricing schedule, allowing them their original discount if paid within 10 days and what it will cost of going beyond that. Now the schmuck wants to talk. Fugetaboutit !!
You.... and only you determine what you and your company are gonna make and what the guidelines are.... not some 'broker' who has to bounce from provider to provider cause he can't keep his stories straight. Cut them out of the picture altogether and go straight for the customer yourself and both you and the 'brokers' ex-customer will be happier in the long run. His prices will be less and you'll get paid on time.