Experian’s quarterly Business Benchmarking Report released numbers for Q3 showing the percentage of dollars severely delinquent (91+ days past due) has increased by 15.8 percent compared to September 2010. This goes to show why businesses are struggling with their debt collection efforts. 

 How do you know if you are getting the most out of your collections strategy? 

Wouldn’t it be nice if you knew exactly when one of your uncollectable accounts freed up some capital?

In my previous blog, I discussed the traditional use of commercial triggers for portfolio management purposes. However, many businesses are using triggers with their collections teams to get paid sooner.

 Commercial triggers offer notifications on balance change decreases, which from a collections standpoint means your delinquent customer is paying other vendors. Why aren’t they paying you? A new inquiry or a new tradeline trigger also indicates that the business is actively establishing new credit relationships which is an indication that they remain credit active.

Additionally, some traditional triggers used for portfolio management can also be used for collections.  Score change triggers as well as days beyond terms triggers can track positive payment performance indicating your customer is in a better position to pay you.

So while the business landscape may not be changing anytime soon – this doesn’t mean your collections strategy shouldn’t change either.  Work smarter not harder and get paid sooner!

Macro-economic information can often be one of the most important sources of data when setting a company’s strategies. Yet, this data is not always timely or that accessible. Whether you are reviewing the optimal staffing level for your firm in the coming year, or determining how much inventory to purchase, it is essential to understand what is happening at the core of the economic environment. Below are a few sources of valuable information that can help provide a glimpse into the current state of the businesses in the U.S.

1)      The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics provides interesting information on inflation, unemployment, pay & benefits and productivity among other key data.

2)      The U.S. Small Business Administration is a valuable resource to small business owners.  The site provides access to tools, resources and training aimed to help small business owners.  The site also provides research and reports that can have valuable pieces of economic information.

3)      The Federal Reserve Board has numerous areas of financial information.  The Fed publishes many statistical reports on the banking industry, but they also cover inflation, consumer finance information, home mortgage trends and the impact on home prices.  These reports often provide visibility into the macro-economic forces that are driving the economy. 

4)      Experian’s quarterly Business Benchmark Report provides a quarterly view into the financial position, risk, and payment behaviors of the 25 million+ businesses in the U.S.

Utilizing these tools can help you evaluate your strategic direction in the coming months. If there are any other interesting sites you’d like to share, please feel free to comment with additional resources you find helpful.