“Procrastination is opportunity’s natural assassin.” – Victor Kiam
There is a lot of talk about working smarter (see our blog, How to Work Smarter), and one of the deterrents to working smart is procrastination. Most of us, at one time or another, have put off tackling a hard, undesirable, or less important project. Working smart involves prioritizing your tasks, but what happens when you continue to put off those less urgent tasks? Eventually, they will pile up if you don’t make time to tackle them.
When it comes to A/R management, procrastination can be the difference between collecting a delinquent account in full and writing off the loss at tax time. The best way to beat procrastination is to practice mindfulness and recognize the importance of maintaining your healthy A/R.
It’s easy to let your A/R management fall by the wayside when you have other concerns that may be more pressing. Customer satisfaction, day to day operations, and a successful sales year can top your list of priorities, so how do you make time to focus your energy on accounts receivable and collecting delinquent accounts?
One trick to prioritizing your A/R management is to set aside time every day to work on keeping your accounts up to date. For you, this may be an hour first thing in the morning, an hour before or after lunch, or the last hour of the day. The key is selecting an hour (or two), preferably at the same time every day, to tackle those delinquent accounts. Make sure to adhere to your schedule and stop what you’re doing prior to your scheduled A/R hour so you can effectively work A/R management into your day to day schedule. Stick to the if/then principle, for example: “If it’s 1 pm, then I’ll stop what I’m doing and start work on my accounts receivable.”
Another option is to build a relationship with a third party vendor who can take the burden of A/R management off your shoulders. An A/R management company can handle everything from sending statements to your customers, to sending reminders to customers who have late payments, to full on collection services designed to maintain your customer relationships.
Depending on your needs, you may be able to handle A/R management in house. However, if you find yourself perpetually procrastinating in this area, it may be time to reach out to a third party partner.
TekCollect provides the most advanced accounts receivable, collections, and client retention services available. To learn more about us, visit our website and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
There is a lot of talk about working smarter (see our blog, How to Work Smarter), and one of the deterrents to working smart is procrastination. Most of us, at one time or another, have put off tackling a hard, undesirable, or less important project. Working smart involves prioritizing your tasks, but what happens when you continue to put off those less urgent tasks? Eventually, they will pile up if you don’t make time to tackle them.
When it comes to A/R management, procrastination can be the difference between collecting a delinquent account in full and writing off the loss at tax time. The best way to beat procrastination is to practice mindfulness and recognize the importance of maintaining your healthy A/R.
It’s easy to let your A/R management fall by the wayside when you have other concerns that may be more pressing. Customer satisfaction, day to day operations, and a successful sales year can top your list of priorities, so how do you make time to focus your energy on accounts receivable and collecting delinquent accounts?
One trick to prioritizing your A/R management is to set aside time every day to work on keeping your accounts up to date. For you, this may be an hour first thing in the morning, an hour before or after lunch, or the last hour of the day. The key is selecting an hour (or two), preferably at the same time every day, to tackle those delinquent accounts. Make sure to adhere to your schedule and stop what you’re doing prior to your scheduled A/R hour so you can effectively work A/R management into your day to day schedule. Stick to the if/then principle, for example: “If it’s 1 pm, then I’ll stop what I’m doing and start work on my accounts receivable.”
Another option is to build a relationship with a third party vendor who can take the burden of A/R management off your shoulders. An A/R management company can handle everything from sending statements to your customers, to sending reminders to customers who have late payments, to full on collection services designed to maintain your customer relationships.
Depending on your needs, you may be able to handle A/R management in house. However, if you find yourself perpetually procrastinating in this area, it may be time to reach out to a third party partner.
TekCollect provides the most advanced accounts receivable, collections, and client retention services available. To learn more about us, visit our website and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.