My dad is 96 years old and lives alone. We speak several times a day. He is taking the Covid crisis seriously, and staying home. He’s making pasta, doing some planting, and watching a ton of old movies. He shares his memories of conditions during World War II, with rations, blackouts and the like, and reminds me how easy we have it, and how spoiled we are, complaining (as I am) that I cannot get a haircut.

My dad is an inspiration to me. He’s improvised with recipe ingredients, rearranged his schedule, and even learned to FaceTime and Zoom. 

We have all changed the way we work, the way we communicate, shop and well, live.

In our business lives, we have made many accommodations. We may find that we like the new ways of doing things, and make these changes permanent.

When it comes to the credit and collection practices in your business, how you communicate with customers and manage your accounts receivable probably look different these days. 

Some credit and collections practices should be ome long term habits. Consider:

Are you billing promptly? Get invoices to your customers as soon as you can. Even if your work is not finished, send an interim statement. 

Do your invoices clearly indicate the due date of the payment, and how payment can be made?  

Do you offer “no touch” or online payment options?

Have you adjusted payment plans to fit the needs of your customers?

How about rewarding  your very best customers with the most favorable payment terms?

Do you have a plan for regular review and management  of your accounts receivable?

Do you use written contracts to document customer credit arrangements?

Change is good, and good change is great. Take a look at what you are doing, what is working, and make the changes part of your permanent credit and collections program.