Client Account Application / Intake Form

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

We are looking at Creating a new Client Account / Intake Form to better help us collect information on our clients. Do anyone of you have samples of what you use?

I'm currently basically mirroring what we use in ShopVox + Credit Check Information and a Card on File Form. Just wondering if I'm missing anything.

ALSO, do any of you experience any push back from clients when asking them to fill out forms? We just need to protect ourselves more according to our lawyer and getting them to physically fill out a application is one way of doing that.

 

[bob]

When I engage a business as a client I'm the one paying the bills therefore I'm the one that makes the rules. One of those being that if you need something filled out that has, in my sole opinion, nothing to do with the product I'm purchasing then fill it out yourselves. Another being that your legal, or any on the flavor, protection is your problem, not mine, you deal with it. Your policies, however inane they may be, are also your problem, not mine.

I'm paying money for your product it's up to you to deliver that product without me having any further involvement in your business other than the money->product exchange.

That's how it works in this shop, very simple, someone wants a sign then they give me money and I give them a sign. Nothing more nothing less.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

When I engage a business as a client I'm the one paying the bills therefore I'm the one that makes the rules. One of those being that if you need something filled out that has, in my sole opinion, nothing to do with the product I'm purchasing then fill it out yourselves. Another being that your legal, or any on the flavor, protection is your problem, not mine, you deal with it. Your policies, however inane they may be, are also your problem, not mine.

I'm paying money for your product it's up to you to deliver that product without me having any further involvement in your business other than the money->product exchange.

That's how it works in this shop, very simple, someone wants a sign then they give me money and I give them a sign. Nothing more nothing less.

So when your client says I'm not paying the balance because im not happy and you never provided them with terms and conditions stating what their responsibility and liabilities are, how do you handle it?

I'm sorry but we aren't a retail company, these are custom products with custom risks and your response is asinine in the simple fact that even you at one point hand to fill out information for almost all of the material suppliers, the local and federal tax agencies and even the bank you use. Hell you need to fill out information just to buy from any online etailer.

 

[bannertime]

Hell you need to fill out information just to buy from any online etailer.

Exactly. People are use to giving out information these days. If a customer won't give me their last name or email, then I'm not going to do business with them. Besides the state requires us to obtain certain information, especially if we are accepting cards. I typically fill out all the information myself because 80% of the time their hand writing sucks.

 

[Z SIGNS]

How could you have an unhappy customer who does not want to pay?

So when your client says I'm not paying the balance because im not happy and you never provided them with terms and conditions stating what their responsibility and liabilities are, how do you handle it?

I'm sorry but we aren't a retail company, these are custom products with custom risks and your response is asinine in the simple fact that even you at one point hand to fill out information for almost all of the material suppliers, the local and federal tax agencies and even the bank you use. Hell you need to fill out information just to buy from any online etailer.

You quote a price,state your terms,show them a sketch,make the sign and collect your balance due when complete.

I agree with Bob.Keep it simple.

I rarely have these problems because I am a custom sign designer/fabricator
I call the shots on the end result...and you should too.

Long story short.
Never engage in a deal where the results could be subjective and all your problems will be over.

 

[bob]

Exactly. People are use to giving out information these days. If a customer won't give me their last name or email, then I'm not going to do business with them. Besides the state requires us to obtain certain information, especially if we are accepting cards. I typically fill out all the information myself because 80% of the time their hand writing sucks.

You may be used to giving out gratuitous information, others not so much.

It's making a sign, all you need to know is what the thing is supposed to say and what name to put on the invoice. Nothing else is necessary for the transaction therefore nothing else should be forthcoming. You give them a sign and they give you money**, try to comprehend the utter simplicity of it, as difficult for you as that might be.

**This shop does not accept credit cards, it;s COD; cash or check only, but if we did the card is necessary and sufficient for the transaction. No additional information would be required.

What state requires 'certain information'? What information and why? That sounds curiously like someone insisting you have to behave a certain way because 'their insurance requires it', which usually is nonsense. This is almost always a case of whomever is spouting this nonsense wants you to behave a certain way and they're sufficiently insecure as to no be able to just ask you. If you buy something down to the local green grocer or hardware store or sporting house or wherever and you tender payment, does this same state require that these merchants collect 'additional information'? If so, I'd find another place to live and/or do business.

 

[bob]

So when your client says I'm not paying the balance because im not happy and you never provided them with terms and conditions stating what their responsibility and liabilities are, how do you handle it?

We say something on the order of 'been nice knowing you" [while whispering "cheap chiseler' under our breath] and destroy the sign right in front of their eyes. But this never happens here. Ever. If this sort of things happens to you, you're dealing with the wrong clientele.

I'm sorry but we aren't a retail company, these are custom products with custom risks and your response is asinine in the simple fact that even you at one point hand to fill out information for almost all of the material suppliers, the local and federal tax agencies and even the bank you use. Hell you need to fill out information just to buy from any online etailer.

That's all you are sport, a retailer. If you think anything else then you're delusional. Signs are a fungible commodity. Most people who seem to feel as you do are caught up in how 'special' they think they are. You're about as special as a head cold. Unique? Yes in the Aristotelian sense that everything in the external reality is unique. But special? Not hardly.

 

[SightLine]

I just don't think any of our clients would dig any sort of form that looks anything like an "application". The only clients that get any sort of credit (Net 30) are major companies like hospitals or government who are going to pretty much laugh if we were to tell them we need to run their credit or they need to pay a deposit or pay in advance. Small businesses on the other hand - get a deposit to cover your costs. Plain and simple. If they try to back out then so be it. You did not really make much of anything but you did not lose anything either. If they are sitting there in front of you or emailing back and forth asking for the most basic info to set them up in our system has never been an issue. Do you deal with a lot of sketchy customers or do a lot of sketchy work or something? In nearly 15 years this has never really been an issue for us. Covering our butts on higher $$$$ jobs is done with things like making sure a proof is signed off on, vehicle inspection form filled out and signed, etc. Setting the right expectations and explaing things also goes a very long ways like making sure to explain that while rare even the newest factory paint could possibly have some unseen defect where the paint has substandard adhesion and a bit could come off with the vinyl. Or explaining to them that while that other shop might be $500 cheaper on their wrap that while using that generic garbage material might save them $500 on the front end, in 3 to 5 years when they want to remove the wrap its going to cost them $1000 more for the removal since it will be a total nightmare that leaves 100% of the adhesive and breaks in small bits.

I see that more than anything in this from places that have gone elsewhere. They had no idea there were "better" materials or even how to properly care for their wrap or whatever it is they got. When they are well informed from the outset and feel as though you are looking out for their best interests and sincerely want to give them the best work and product you can for their money they are far more understanding when an issue might come up.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

I guess your normal clientele is different than ours. Most of our clients are on terms and this is dictated by them and if we want their business it's the way it is.

I didn't intend this to be a debate about the merits of treating everyone as a one off or not. In the industries we service (fair and events) it's all post pay, the reasoning for us to start collecting "applications" is we have clients that have to go to collections... With out certain information it slows the process. For the most part our forms will be used internally when we make our initial contact with the clients or for updating our current client records.

I know your stances on this and we are the same with small and one off clients. But those who request terms we need some information in order to provide it.

 

[ExecuPrintGS]

When a client walks in our shop, be it new or existing, our work orders have 5 critical things on them, Contact Name, Company Name, Phone Number, Email, and Deposit Amount.
We try to get all 5 things every time, so if we need to contact them we have the info. We also don't try to extend terms to many people anymore and is something we are scaling back on because people are taking advantage of it.

 

[Marlene]

You quote a price,state your terms,show them a sketch,make the sign and collect your balance due when complete.

I agree with Bob.Keep it simple.

I rarely have these problems because I am a custom sign designer/fabricator
I call the shots on the end result...and you should too.

Long story short.
Never engage in a deal where the results could be subjective and all your problems will be over.

+1

your terms are to be clearly stated in your quote, not a form they have to fill out

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

+1

your terms are to be clearly stated in your quote, not a form they have to fill out

All of our quotes, proofs, and invoices have terms and conditions. The problem is not with individual projects it's with term accounts and trying to collect past due amounts. Our collection agency requires certain information and sometimes we don't have it up front so having an account application like any other service or product provider would alleviate some of those headaches.

 

[Marlene]

All of our quotes, proofs, and invoices have terms and conditions. The problem is not with individual projects it's with term accounts and trying to collect past due amounts. Our collection agency requires certain information and sometimes we don't have it up front so having an account application like any other service or product provider would alleviate some of those headaches.

how many bad debts do you have that you need a collection agency? hate to say this but it sounds like you need to re-do how you do your sales rather than an intake form. this isn't intended to be a slam against you. dead beats happen but shouldn't at a volume that it becomes an issue. if this is how you operate, then you really do need a form approved by a collection agency so they can collect but that sounds like a bad way to do business to me

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

how many bad debts do you have that you need a collection agency? hate to say this but it sounds like you need to re-do how you do your sales rather than an intake form. this isn't intended to be a slam against you. dead beats happen but shouldn't at a volume that it becomes an issue. if this is how you operate, then you really do need a form approved by a collection agency so they can collect but that sounds like a bad way to do business to me

It's not really us, it's the nature of the beast with the clientele we work with. The fair industry is full of delayed payers and its what we deal with constantly. Nearly all of them work on bank loans and we can actually go after the banks with a certain collection agency, but they require alot of information that we don't always have. This is why we are looking to have a set form that will help us collect this info.

 

[Gino]

I still don't get it ?? You purposely go after deadbeat clients ?? I just don't get it. Wouldn't it be easier to have more lucrative kinda customers ?? Nature of the beast, is more like when you are trying to manage prudently and trying to make sure you get value for money, not the other way around.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

I still don't get it ?? You purposely go after deadbeat clients ?? I just don't get it. Wouldn't it be easier to have more lucrative kinda customers ?? Nature of the beast, is more like when you are trying to manage prudently and trying to make sure you get value for money, not the other way around.

I don't know but $30,000+ projects with margins of 60+% is worth the headache to me.

 

[Gino]

So, if you're worried about all these clients coming back after the job is finished and not liking it or not wanting to pay you....... how is that worth the headaches ?? Have you ever been stiffed ?? If not, then what you're already doing is fine. If you feel it necessary to get dental impressions and first born boys, have at it. I don't see how having someone's history is gonna make them pay any faster or better, if you don't have any problems at the moment.

• Are you getting any kinda deposit up front on these problem clients ??
  [*]Do you have any kinda contract signed and dated up front ??
  [*]Are you outlining what will take place, if the default ??
  [*]Do you show penalties or percentages collected if need be ??
  

What more information do you see helping your situation ?? For the life of me, I don't get it..... even if it's good money. The time you spend collecting it would be better spent on good paying clients. Do they pay the collection fees you need to go through ??

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

So, if you're worried about all these clients coming back after the job is finished and not liking it or not wanting to pay you....... how is that worth the headaches ?? Have you ever been stiffed ?? If not, then what you're already doing is fine. If you feel it necessary to get dental impressions and first born boys, have at it. I don't see how having someone's history is gonna make them pay any faster or better, if you don't have any problems at the moment.

• Are you getting any kinda deposit up front on these problem clients ??
  [*]Do you have any kinda contract signed and dated up front ??
  [*]Are you outlining what will take place, if the default ??
  [*]Do you show penalties or percentages collected if need be ??
  

What more information do you see helping your situation ?? For the life of me, I don't get it..... even if it's good money. The time you spend collecting it would be better spent on good paying clients. Do they pay the collection fees you need to go through ??

We aren't worried about them coming back, they always do even after we use a collections agency through their loan bank. Its just that business and their capital flow.

Yes we get deposits 50% or more in most cases
Yes we have signed job quotes and sales orders
Yes, its not an issue about the job or what we do
Yes maximum in AZ is 18% APR and that's what we show
I don't spend more than a few hours total trying to collect then we send it on to the collection agency, and yes they pay the 25% loss fee.

I guess our clients are very different than the norm, yes its take more energy but the payoff is good enough for us in the end. I'm just trying to see what everyone else collects up front and it looks like nothing. I guess I'll stick to what we have put together and go from there.

 

[TXFB.INS]

if you have the information required by the collection agency then you are good and what is the point of this thread?

it looks like you have to create 2 types of options and let the clients decide what they want to do.

Option A - deposit and full payment before receipt of goods.
Option B - Net Terms and have the client provide all information needed by the collection agency


we collect from all customer new or existing

1. company name
2. individual name
3. phone #
   1. land line
   2. cell phone
4. E-mail
5. physical address
6. PO #

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

if you have the information required by the collection agency then you are good and what is the point of this thread?

it looks like you have to create 2 types of options and let the clients decide what they want to do.

Option A - deposit and full payment before receipt of goods.
Option B - Net Terms and have the client provide all information needed by the collection agency

We do offer both options. I do have all the information requested by the collection agency, except they say they prefer us to use a standardized to our industry credit application... thus the point of this thread, trying to find what is standard. This appears to be nothing so I guess any application will work and I will use our merchant services recommended form for that part.