Small Business Debt Collection Technique

For the majority of my life I have owned a small business. Recently, we teamed up with a financial company that allowed us to put customers on a payment plan to buy merchandise.

Most of the accounts we serve had a total debt of around $5,000-$7,000 . To my surprise the company folded within two months after our agreement, leaving with us about forty thousand dollars that we needed to collect by ourselves. I had little to no knowledge about debt collection so I had to take matters into my own hands.

The first thing I did was to review the law and figure out what I could do in order to receive payments for my merchandise. I learned that I could not call after certain hours. I also learned that I could not approach the customer, or go to their home or business. I focused my efforts on e-mail (because I had their corporate emails that they checked frequently).

I was able to set up my own payment plans for some customers. Although some just ignored my efforts. When it was all said and done I collected about 40% of my money. I learned a harsh lesson and continue to pay for it with time and money.