Erica Sporer Controlling Purchase Costs – Creating Purchase Orders If your company sells products, it first needs to buy them. In order to avoid potential inventory snafus, most buying companies use purchase orders to confirm the details of the agreement. When you deal with vendors, especially new or troublesome vendors, a purchase order is your safety net. … Read more
Controlling Purchase Costs – Getting Vendors to Extend Credit It can be hard for new, small, unproven businesses to get credit terms from vendors. In fact, some vendors may insist on deposits or cash on delivery until they’re comfortable with your company. Even though your brand-new business won’t have a credit history, let alone a … Read more
Controlling Purchase Costs – Choose Your Vendors Wisely Your vendors have as much interest in your company’s success as you do. When you make a lot of sales, they make a lot of sales; when you get paid, they get paid. Having reliable and trustworthy vendors can help your business succeed, just as dealing with … Read more
Controlling Purchase Costs – Know What You Want Before You Buy Planning your purchases may not sound like as much fun as coming up with a splashy new ad campaign, but it can do an awful lot for your bottom line in the long run. In fact, cutting costs has a bigger impact on profitability … Read more
Handling Customer Credit – Accounting for Accounts Receivable Transactions When it comes to accounts receivable, there are three basic transactions: two that you’ll see a lot of, and one that (ideally) you won’t. The two every- day transactions are recording credit sales and collecting on-account payments. The third involves writing off bad debts. Credit sales … Read more
Handling Customer Credit – Dealing with Collections Sometimes customers just do not pay their bills. Your business, however, has a legal right to collect any money that they owe you. That doesn’t mean you show up on their doorstep the very day an invoice becomes past due. It does mean, though, that you have to … Read more
Handling Customer Credit – Creating Invoices and Account Statements In order for customers to pay you, they have to know how much they owe. Before writing a check, your customers, especially if they are businesses, will want a lot more information than just the amount due. Your company also has its own bookkeeping to consider. … Read more
Handling Customer Credit – Don’t Give Credit to Just Anyone Sure, letting people or companies buy from you on credit will increase your sales. If they don’t pay you, though, the sale will not count, and you’ll be out whatever they got (whether it’s a physical product or a service you provided). New business and … Read more
Handling Customer Credit – Establish Your Credit Policies The first guideline for setting up your company’s credit policies is to take a look at other businesses just like yours. If you work in an industry that has pretty standard customs, you have a solid starting point from which to build your own credit rules. For … Read more
Handling Customer Credit – Why Sell on Credit? Most small-business owners do not want to deal with all the expected hassles that come with offering credit to customers. Most of them also realize that in today’s highly competitive markets, extending credit (at least to some customers) can be essential to success. Many drag their feet, … Read more
