As a business owner, decision maker or even a day-to-day contact, how do you make use of your collection agency? When you think of working with your agency, is placing past-due accounts for collections your sole focus, or are there other steps in the process you take advantage of on a regular basis?
More Than Just Collections
Many full service agencies today offer a multitude of free or low-cost services all designed to make your job easier and help you make better, more informed decisions regarding which accounts to place for collections and when to place them. For instance:
- Some agencies can help determine whether or not you should extend credit to customers, presumably avoiding high-risk accounts.
- Agencies today often offer access to searchable databases which help differentiate your true customers from debtors.
- Agencies offer whole aging analysis services to assist in creating or revising policies and procedures, helping streamline your internal efforts for maximum efficiency.
- Many agencies offer free final demand letters, mitigating the time management and cost of that important step of the collections process.
- Agencies may even offer discounts on commercial credit reporting vendors, such as Experian, to assist you in making informed decisions when granting new credit.
Today’s full service collection agency brings far more to bear on behalf of their clients than agencies of even ten years ago. From customized collection solutions, to pre-collection tools, to final demand letters, many agencies can now truly say they are full service providers who offer solutions designed to save you time and reduce expenses, in addition to recovering your past-due accounts.
Maximize Your Agency’s Value
Take a few minutes and ask your agency representative how they can help your company get the most out of your relationship with them. Maximizing the tools your agency brings to the table might make the difference this year between your company treading water or realizing its full potential!
Share Your Experiences
We want to know which value-added services or offerings you utilize from your collection agency and how they help your organization. In addition, what kind of other benefits would you like to see agencies provide moving forward? Share your thoughts with us here!
