Is that like a bankruptcy?
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Collecting money....
- Thread starter Pat Whatley
- Start date
Is that like a bankruptcy?
OneUpTenn
New Member
I do a lot of work for the city I live in and they are great customers, very loyal and very easy to please. Bad thing is, they are VERY slow to pay. 3 months is the average to get my check. I am not losing them as customers because of the way their accounting is done.
I know when they order that it will be a while before I get my check so I just work around it. It sucks but it would suck worse if they were someone else's customer!
I know when they order that it will be a while before I get my check so I just work around it. It sucks but it would suck worse if they were someone else's customer!
Administration is very much like bankruptcy it can be forced or it can be voluntary... there is a thing called a Pre Pack Administration which has been used a LOT in this recession by larger companies.
Retail chain A is skint and has stacks of unpaid bills.. a pre pack administration is arranged, the company goes "bust" on Tuesday.... on Wednesday morning the directors start up a new Retain chain called A+... they've bought all the assets from Chain A for pence on the pound, they might even buy the rights to keep using the name "Retail Chain A" so from a consumers perspective nothing has changed... Retail Chain A is still there on the high street.
This technical administration process dumps ALL the debt from one company whilst allowing all the valuable assets to be "bought" and transferred to a new shell company. If some shops have been unprofitable a pre pack allows the retailer to dump leases they don't want... even though a legal tenancy agreement is in place.
This is all perfectly legal and it leaves suppliers holding the debt bag in a big way. What I've learned from this recession is that you only find out about problems when it's too late... if a customer owes you money and is planning to pre pack there is NOTHING you can do to stop them and you'll only find out when the administrator writes to you telling you to expect tuppence on the pound for what you are owed.. in a lot of circumstances there ain't any money at all... so you get 0%.
Retail chain A is skint and has stacks of unpaid bills.. a pre pack administration is arranged, the company goes "bust" on Tuesday.... on Wednesday morning the directors start up a new Retain chain called A+... they've bought all the assets from Chain A for pence on the pound, they might even buy the rights to keep using the name "Retail Chain A" so from a consumers perspective nothing has changed... Retail Chain A is still there on the high street.
This technical administration process dumps ALL the debt from one company whilst allowing all the valuable assets to be "bought" and transferred to a new shell company. If some shops have been unprofitable a pre pack allows the retailer to dump leases they don't want... even though a legal tenancy agreement is in place.
This is all perfectly legal and it leaves suppliers holding the debt bag in a big way. What I've learned from this recession is that you only find out about problems when it's too late... if a customer owes you money and is planning to pre pack there is NOTHING you can do to stop them and you'll only find out when the administrator writes to you telling you to expect tuppence on the pound for what you are owed.. in a lot of circumstances there ain't any money at all... so you get 0%.
Just Another Sign Guy
New Member
oh image I am SOOOO embarrassed...please...we've all heard your theories and i have yet to hear anyone subscribing to them.
WrapperX
New Member
I think I'm gonna subscribe to the big business theory of paying for my bills. I'll take the electricty, my water, my cable, my cell phone, and all my other misc. bills/utilities and inform them that my payment schedual is 90-120 days plus 2 weeks for shipping.
Why should we as "the little guys" allow this if it doesn't work for us?!?! I can't walk into McD's or Burger King and order my burger/meal and then pay for it next week! This is bull. Now if they inform you as a vendor that their payments will be 90 days after receipt and you accept those terms thats one thing. But they shouldn't by law be able to just tell you after the fact.
Pat have you talked with a lawyer about what you can do? I know lawyer fees rack up quick but this sounds like a big company just bullying and pushing their corporate weight around.
The fact that most of you seem like you're just rolling over and accepting it is really upsetting to me. How are we EVER gonna change our financial situation as a whole if we don't start standing up to the big guns of corporate America! They say that small business makes up for a large portion of capital income in our country - so these big companies are huge, but they are few and we are many! Its time we step up and take control!!!!
Why should we as "the little guys" allow this if it doesn't work for us?!?! I can't walk into McD's or Burger King and order my burger/meal and then pay for it next week! This is bull. Now if they inform you as a vendor that their payments will be 90 days after receipt and you accept those terms thats one thing. But they shouldn't by law be able to just tell you after the fact.
Pat have you talked with a lawyer about what you can do? I know lawyer fees rack up quick but this sounds like a big company just bullying and pushing their corporate weight around.
The fact that most of you seem like you're just rolling over and accepting it is really upsetting to me. How are we EVER gonna change our financial situation as a whole if we don't start standing up to the big guns of corporate America! They say that small business makes up for a large portion of capital income in our country - so these big companies are huge, but they are few and we are many! Its time we step up and take control!!!!
Gino
Premium Subscriber
I'm surprised at you Danio. Didn't you know that you could learn more by surfing the internet than actually attending school and classes on this stuff ??
Didn't you know that....Pay Early or Pay Late. The Choice Is Yours is just another hair-brained scheme to get out of paying the bills you can't already afford ??
All these internet scholars are just reiterating what someone has already told them that has a scheme down pat or watched some utubie thing how to scam your debts. And then to add insult to injury, they come on here and bitch about not getting paid for their wares.
Gino, I think you got something confused - I never mentioned "Pay Early or Pay Late" I mentioned "collect early, pay late". Anyhow I am not recommending the Colect Early Pay Late policy, as a matter of fact I am the one that pointed out that it can distroy business relationships. I am just saying that it is a very well accepted business policy of many large corporations. Dan obviously was unaware of that fact and basically accused me of making it up. I fully understand someone not agreeing with some of my economic theories or political beliefs, thats all well and good. But I really dislike it when I state something that is a fact and someone accuses me of making up stuff. I first heard that expression about 20 years ago when I was studying for my business degree - one of my professors said it. I defended myself by pointing out some references to the phrase "collect early pay late" just to prove that I was not "making up facts" as Dan has several times before accused me of (although he has never one time specified the exact fact that I have made up).
Guys, grow up.
Dan, you are right. Most sign makers dont agree with my ideas and theories and plans.
It appears that only morons like Warren Buffet, and the CEO of Whole Foods, and fox news contributors like John Stossle and Ben Stein tend to agree with me. Of course what do idiots like them know?
Marlene
New Member
how did this thread turn into a "you suck", "no, you suck" thread? working for these big companies is pretty common for us and it is interesting to read how others deal with it. we do work for many different companies and they all pay pretty much the same way. also involved is the agreements they want signed. anyone else see some that they just wouldn't sign? there are a couple that won't let you work for another company for two years if they loose a job so say they have the GM contract and loose it and you work for another company that picks it up, you have to refuse to work for them.
TheSnowman
New Member
I got screwed from a company that took forever to pay on the first few jobs, and then they ordered a huge job, and didn't pay period. That was the end of trusting anyone. Even if they do happen to sign your "terms" this is America, they don't owe you squat if they don't want to pay. That's what makes this country so great!
Dice
New Member
I have 1 Fortune 500 client. They do direct bank transfer for their payments pay on time every month. When we negotiated the contract they demanded 60 day terms and a service level agreement. We said sure but 30 day terms or credit card, standard company policy and we don't adjust it.
We will give you outstanding quality and service but we expect to be paid for our work, if those terms aren't acceptable we can't be your vendor. Most times they back down and get off their ass and get approval for 30 days vs 60. Middle Managers just don't want to go to their boss and ask for something.
We will give you outstanding quality and service but we expect to be paid for our work, if those terms aren't acceptable we can't be your vendor. Most times they back down and get off their ass and get approval for 30 days vs 60. Middle Managers just don't want to go to their boss and ask for something.
threeputt
New Member
Agree with you Marlene.
We have some large accounts as well. But some have taken to paying on the "P-card". (as they call it) When they come in they use a card from their company. This has been the thing for the last two years. They use to take up to 60 days to pay off a Purchase Order, but now it's P-Card this and P-card that. We like it.
Works for us.
cdiesel
New Member
We've all had issues collecting at one time or another. It's very, very hard to risk losing a client over payment terms. Especially when the clients who typically need terms are the larger, more lucrative clients.
We are in the process of suing one guy right now for a bounced check he wrote awhile back. Got a few other bad debts. Got a few clients that pay very slowly (we know this up front so we don't worry about it). Also have a bunch of big clients that pay like clockwork.
We installed a job for a pretty large national printer three months ago. Haven't been paid (they usually take about 60 days to pay) yet, so I dropped an email the other day to check in. The guy actually had the nerver to tell me he thought the price was a little high. ???? I sent him a note back that it was the amount we agreed upon. He asked if it was a fair price for the amount of work done. I said that $x is very fair. He replied that he usually pays $x for complex installs, not for flat decals. Flat work he pays half.
I haven't replied to that one yet...
We are in the process of suing one guy right now for a bounced check he wrote awhile back. Got a few other bad debts. Got a few clients that pay very slowly (we know this up front so we don't worry about it). Also have a bunch of big clients that pay like clockwork.
We installed a job for a pretty large national printer three months ago. Haven't been paid (they usually take about 60 days to pay) yet, so I dropped an email the other day to check in. The guy actually had the nerver to tell me he thought the price was a little high. ???? I sent him a note back that it was the amount we agreed upon. He asked if it was a fair price for the amount of work done. I said that $x is very fair. He replied that he usually pays $x for complex installs, not for flat decals. Flat work he pays half.
I haven't replied to that one yet...
Pat Whatley
New Member
You have to wonder about people who don't complain about the price when you quote it, don't complain about it when you do the work, and don't complain until you call about their bill being late.
saktrnch
New Member
I just started taking echecks through quickbooks. So far I'm liking it, 2 business days and the money's in my account. I haven't had to test it yet, but quickbooks support tells me that if they approve the payment they will go after any non-sufficient funds and I don't have to.