Looking Ahead
Why should I submit potential members to NACM?"
Help gain information on your customers. As a member, their information could help build the database on your customers as well not just a one- way street. more Info
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Keeping it Together in Tough Economic Times
by Megan Ashcroft, Swanson Building Materials
In 1990 the population for the Wasatch front was 1,104,356. We are now over 2,000,000. I can still remember times being good for our industry and then, when it was announced that the 2002 Olympics would be held in Salt Lake City, a boom really hit. Things took off and times were good for all. Eventually, all good things peak. We now find ourselves in a rough economy and we must all hunker down, tighten our belts, and do the best we can to get through.
How does this affect our roles as credit managers? I offer just a few of my own thoughts. View full article
Small Claims Court: Boon or Boondoggel?
by Scott Lee, JD, CCE, NACM BCS
When you take an account to small claims, what is your goal? To obtain a judgment? If that is your goal, well good for you. But, your goal should be to OBTAIN PAYMENT. Judgment is just a step along the way. I won't address all of the positives and negatives of small claims or the how-to's. But I periodically hear members talk about their "success" in small claims and I hardly ever hear about anything being collected. This article was prompted by the latest statement I heard.
It is easy to take an account to small claims and it is a great place for some claims; primarily consumer to consumer. But I see too many commercial claims that are never collected. Although it is easy to file the claim and normally not tremendously difficult to obtain a judgment, that is where the simplicity ends. View full article
Embrace Change
by Carolyn Thompson, Meadow Gold Dairies
Our General Manager retired a few months ago and the new General Manager came from a different plant location. Of course he brought his own ideas of how he would like to see the company work, on top of the fact that our corporate office is continually changing how they want things reported or how they wanted transactions entered into the computer system. To get everyone on the same page, we had a kick off meeting 'embracing change.' View full article
Personal Guarantees
by Scott Lee, JD, CCE, NACM BCS
An often overlooked item in guarantees is whether the guarantor has the ability and willingness to pay. Many companies just have the entity principal sign the guarantee without ever looking into that person's credit history or assets. If the person has no ability to pay, never has and never will, what good is the guarantee? The best thing a guarantor could do to protect himself/herself is to make sure all of the assets he/she wants to keep are in somebody else's name along with any income streams. What does that do for you as the creditor when you need to collect? Not much! Next, what does the guarantor's credit history look like? Pull a credit report. Have you ever gone into the secretary of state's data base and conducted a "principals search?" You can see the other entities the guarantor (usually just individuals here) has been involved with. How many of them have gone down in flames? Credit report anyone? View full article
Tired of working and re-working dead accounts? Place your delinquent accounts with NACM Online! More information
Computer Security Training at the Salt Lake Community College-Miller Campus, Lone Peak Room, 9750 South 300 West, Sandy, UT. A Unique Opportunity for Small Business Owners. Find out how to protect your sensitive business information. Wednesday, August 18, 2010, 8 a.m. to 12 noon. Pre-register at (801) 524-3213. More information
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