Small business owners everywhere are looking to reduce costs and improve efficiency in their companies, and recover money owed to them. Some business owners just write off their bad debt hoping receive favorable tax treatment, but this is a big mistake since most small businesses are on a cash accounting basis, and there is no tax benefit for bad debt write off. The goal is recover as much money as you can at the lowest cost to you. But how do you do that?
Companies should definitely try to collect all they can themselves but waiting too long to pursue bad debt can also cause problems. After two or three collection letters, the file should be turned over to your collection agency.
The cost of a collection agency can vary. Collection agencies get paid in one of two ways: flat fee or contingency. Flat fee charges can work for some businesses, but usually only cover a certain time period, or cover limited services. For example, you pay 29.00 per file in advance and the collection agency sends one letter and makes a few phone calls. Per file fees debt collection fees are based on the hope that some files will pay quickly.
There are two issues with the flat fee approach to debt collection costs. First, is often only available to companies that send large numbers of files to collections monthly, such as a large medical group. Secondly, services that are part and parcel of the collection process are probably going to cost extra. Over half of accounts sent to collection need some type of research to find new phone numbers or addresses, and research will not be provided on a low fee file. So, while these rates are attractive at first glance, they may not be the best option for you, especially if you have already done some in-house collection.
The flat fee approach is fine for “low hanging fruit”, but you can usually collect those on your own. What happens to the tougher files? They are either parked on a credit report, where they will languish, or you will be asked for an additional fee for further collection activity.
The most common way collection agencies are paid is by contingency, which means that the collection agency gets paid no money upfront, and is compensated with a percentage of sums collected. The debt collect fees normally vary based on its “age” (how long outstanding). Contingency rates vary from 25% (or less) on debts that are under 90 days old to 50% (or more) on debts that are over a year old. Contingency rates should include the full range of collection services you need: research, credit reporting, legal fees.
One of the most effective ways to minimize your cost of collection agency is to use a solid customer contract that passes on some of the cost of collection. Many states allow some or all of the costs of collection to be passed on to the customer if (and only if) the customer agrees to it beforehand.