Many years ago when I was a Rep for a watch company, at times during bad economic conditions, I found that a personal (face to face) conversation with my late paying customers helped in collecting past due invoices and have reduced future late payments. Two very important points I would bring up: First, if the product sold, he/she should do the right thing and pay for it (some emotion triggers), and by doing so we’

Many years ago when I was a Rep for a watch company, at times during bad economic conditions, I found that a personal (face to face) conversation with my late paying customers helped in collecting past due invoices and have reduced future late payments. Two very important points I would bring up: First, if the product sold, he/she should do the right thing and pay for it (some emotion triggers), and by doing so we’ll be able to ship them more “good sellers” so to create additional cash flow. With no threats of stop shipments, I left that task to our accounting Dept. Second point, I would make it very personal, let them know that it’s not a faceless company that doesn’t get paid, it’s me, the one that always had their interest at heart. During those 14 years I had the lowest number of “problem” customers in the company. Today, as a business owner, I find that humor, yes humor, helps in nudging them to pay. As an example, I’ll send an e-mail with the subject line: “Kids need new shoes, please help”, as a reminder of an unpaid invoice. It works, most of the time. Mark Shamash, Vogue Visual voguevisual.com

Many years ago when I was a Rep for a watch company, at times during bad economic conditions, I found that a personal (face to face) conversation with my late paying customers helped in collecting past due invoices and have reduced future late payments. Two very important points I would bring up: First, if the product sold, he/she should do the right thing and pay for it (some emotion triggers), and by doing so we’ll be able to ship them more “good sellers” so to create additional cash flow. With no threats of stop shipments, I left that task to our accounting Dept. Second point, I would make it very personal, let them know that it’s not a faceless company that doesn’t get paid, it’s me, the one that always had their interest at heart. During those 14 years I had the lowest number of “problem” customers in the company. Today, as a business owner, I find that humor, yes humor, helps in nudging them to pay. As an example, I’ll send an e-mail with the subject line: “Kids need new shoes, please help”, as a reminder of an unpaid invoice. It works, most of the time. Mark Shamash, Vogue Visual voguevisual.com

You need to fix the submission form, it tends to multiply posts.

You need to fix the submission form, it tends to multiply posts.

As the VP of a jewelry advertising agency, I find that a great incentive for payment is a small disclaimer at the bottom of the bill that reads:"

As the VP of a jewelry advertising agency, I find that a great incentive for payment is a small disclaimer at the bottom of the bill that reads:"

As the VP of a jewelry advertising agency, I find that a great incentive for payment is a small disclaimer at the bottom of the bill that reads:"1.5% discount if paid within 30 days" followed by the new total. It is a small amount, but it seems to work!

If you have jewelry out on memo, file a UCC1 form with the state in which the store/gallery/rep/corporation/owner resides. Filing fee is nominal, usually $25 and is really your only protection (other than a solid consignment or independent contractor agreement). A Financing Statement (Form UCC1) is filed to perfect a security interest in named collateral and establishes priority in case of debtor default or bankruptcy. For more about UCC1 for California, Google the term UCC1 California. This saved me in a recent store bankruptcy, a rep gone missing (along with my samples), and a sole proprietor that died (my jewelry was finally returned after 1 year in probate). John S. Brana www.johnsbrana.com