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“Whether we’re approached by a customer or we approach a customer, I discuss what the volume will be with sales,” Gillis notes. “I don’t want to give a mixed message when I set a $25,000 limit, and the customer is buying $10,000 a week—and is not going to be able to pay me until 21 days—which puts me behind the eight ball.”
There are, of course, times of the year when commodities are in high demand but very short supply, like strawberries around Valentine’s Day.
“When you only get in so much of a perishable item,” Lott remarks, “are you going to send everything to a customer who pays in 50 or 60 days, and then returns product, or send it to a customer you know is going to use it?”
Concluding Thoughts
Generally speaking, it is a good idea for credit seekers to be as transparent as possible and make financial information available, if not directly to the credit extender, then to an agency that will manage the information.
A customer’s creditworthiness can be a moving target, but a good credit department will ask the right questions, know what to look for, and utilize the tools available to make informed credit decisions—with or without the availability of financial statements.
“Credit and collections is an ongoing process,” observes Lott. “It’s not just a matter of processing the paper, you have to keep up with all the ins and outs and what’s going on. You can’t just process a credit application and call it a day,” she advises. “You must stay in touch with the customer.”
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