NAGASA - The Compass - Spring 2000

• ARCHIVES Winter '98 Summer '98 Fall '98 Winter '99 Summer '99 Fall '99 Winter '00

  Navigating the Channel
• Importance of the CEO in Dealer/Reseller Growth
• Half of Accounts Receivable Collected Within 30 Days
• Internet Opportunities: Linking Customers, Dealers and Manufacturers
• Breakfast Meetings Promote Member Networking
• Forum Fund Contributors

FLASHSTUDY RESULTS INDICATE HALF OF RECEIVABLES COLLECTED WITHIN 30 DAYS

Members of the NAGASA Equipment and Supplies Network
for Small Manufacturers and Distributors voiced concern this past fall about possible slowdowns in the collection of receivables. At their request, and with their guidance, NAGASA developed a 15- question survey. The preliminary data in this article is based upon over 70 respons-es from companies responding to the sur-vey. The report will be published as NAGASA’s FlashStudy 5.

On average, companies collect half of their accounts receivable within 30 days. Another third are collected within 60 days. Fifty-three percent of respondents found no recent change in their collection cycle. Of those who did see change, 57% experienced improvement, and 43% observed a slowdown. According to Mary Beth McCutcheon, President of MBM Associates, “Our analysis looks for com-mon threads among responses in each category. With talk of additional interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve, these numbers could take on added significance some months down the road.”

The FlashStudy Report also analyzes other aspects of outstanding receivables and addresses questions such as:

• Do prompt payment discounts shorten the collection cycle?
• What follow-up methods are used to collect overdue accounts?
• What percentage of sales does a typical firm list as bad debt? How much of that is usually put up for collection?
• Do answers to these questions vary with the size and of type of a business?

Does this snapshot reflect your firm’s experience? Should it reflect your firm’s experience? With this new study you can learn how other similar firms in the channel address their collection issues.

The report is available at www.nagasa.org as a PDF file in the Members-Only section. Members may request a complimentary printed copy. The cost to non-members is $30. Voice 202-328-8441; Fax 202-328- 8441; E-mail: information@nagasa.org