Things a Small Business Should Look for in a Debt Collection Agency

Things a Small Business Should Look for in a Debt Collection Agency

As a small business owner, you did everything right. You secured financing from investors and lenders, conducted your market research, found a competitive price for your products and services, and eventually launched your business.

You’ve planned meticulously because you don’t want to be one of the many small businesses that close within their first year; you want your enterprise to flourish, grow, and become a success story. You also realize that most young businesses are more vulnerable to unforeseen issues because they lack the resources of larger companies.

One of the biggest reasons small businesses stutter is unpaid invoices. While bigger companies can decline to do business with less reliable customers, sometimes small businesses take the risk to generate revenue and grow.

However, small businesses may lack the financial cushion to wait for payments or to write off a debt. Their overheads, such as rent, utilities, repairs, marketing costs, insurance, legal fees, salaries, supplies need to be paid on time. Even if they have a good forecasted cash flow, they need to meet their operational costs until then.

Here, many small business owners like yourself may partner with a debt collection agency to improve their accounts receivable turnover ratio. But there are thousands of such agencies in the United States. And picking a compatible partner for a small business can be challenging.

When looking for a debt collection agency, find a company that specializes in helping small businesses. At Summit A*R, while we specialize in debt collection for businesses of all sizes – we especially love helping small businesses. We have over two decades of experience in the industry and boast a recovery rate that’s twice the average across a broad range of industries.

Not only do we offer services like commercial debt collection for small businesses that are owed by other businesses, but we also provide consumer debt collection services.

Here are some types of small companies we serve:

• Veterinary Companies: A veterinary business has many overheads. Some veterinarians have their own student debts. When customers don’t plan for their pets’ bills, they end up owing money to the clinic. Unfortunately, clinics can’t afford to write off debts. Many of them turn to us for our compassionate yet effective approach to debt collection.
• Landlords: When a tenant doesn’t pay their rent or wants to prematurely break their lease, landlords use our commercial tenant collection services.
• Self-Storage Businesses: Many self-storage businesses end up chasing delinquent customers who skip town without paying rent. While some leave their goods behind, others disappear with their belongings. Either way, we can find them and their assets with our state-of-the-art skip tracing department, even if they’re in another part of the country.
• Employers: Some employees take advantage of kind-hearted employers by failing to return overpaid salaries, billing unauthorized expenses, or breaking the terms of their tuition reimbursement. Others won’t cooperate with their employers after a commission has been recalled. Such small business owners can get help from Summit A*R.
• Independent Cellular Dealers: Like many small businesses, independent cellular dealers are trying to survive. While fighting competition from big carriers, they are challenged by delinquent customers who stop making payments after leasing equipment or abuse chargebacks. Our Services help these businesses recover their revenue.

Here are the two biggest advantages of using a debt collection agency that specializes in serving small businesses: 

#1 They Will Be Affordable

Debt collection agencies that specialize in serving large companies have higher rates and require payments upfront. They also ask for a minimum number of outstanding accounts to begin a working relationship. Large companies with healthy cash flow and many delinquent customers can work with such debt collection agencies. The disadvantage of this is that some debt collection agencies prioritize the easiest accounts. It’s a fact that debt grows harder to recover with time. Accounts that are deprioritized grow more difficult to recover.

As a small business, you may only have a few unpaid invoices. What’s more, you may not have the capital to offer payments upfront nor can you afford to pay above-market rates. At Summit A*R, we don’t make unreasonable demands.

• You don’t have to pledge a certain number of accounts to work with us. We partner with businesses of all sizes but don’t have mandatory minimums.  
• You don’t have to give us a down payment. Our rates are transparent and reasonable. We only get paid when we recover your revenue. After your payment is recovered, it’s deposited into a state-regulated account, and given to you the following month.

#2 They Will Be Diplomatic

An agency that specializes in serving large companies may not take a diplomatic approach to debt collection. While working within the confines of the law, they may still take an aggressive approach to get their large client paid.

As a small business, you can’t afford to damage your relationships or your reputation. With competition so stiff, you want to encourage business by cultivating relationships, even with late-paying customers. After all, that late-paying customer may later turn into your best client. Regardless, word travels fast. If you develop a reputation for harassing, threatening, or bullying your debtors, not only could you face legal consequences, but you may lose business.

At Summit A*R we have a friendly attitude towards debt collection and treat all debtors with dignity and respect. And it works. Not only will you see positive reviews from customers on our website, but you’ll read testimonials from debtors.

We believe that most debtors are good people who want to pay their dues. Using skilled negotiation tactics, we help them find a way to release their burdens.

Small and medium-sized companies love working with us because we recover their revenue while preserving their reputation. Later, many of their former debtors complete large orders with them after they’ve recovered financially.

You can easily learn more about how we serve small businesses by visiting our website. Our platform offers multiple calculators that can gauge the effectiveness of your collection process. You can also simply outsource your current A/R cycle to us so that we can manage all your in-house collections professionally and ethically.

Once you’ve partnered with us, a case manager will be assigned to you to answer all questions and concerns. You’ll receive regular updates and can always use the Client Access page to check the status of your account. Get in touch with us today through email, phone, or simply request a callback.