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Drilling Into Money Not Boring by Mark E. Battersby Dealing with Troubled Customers There are a ways customers who go out of bus ness w thout warn ng - or w thout pay ng the r b s. Wh e, n these cases, t s often too ate to co ect anyth ng, f a dr ng profess ona s v g ant about out- stand ng accounts rece vab e and the f nanc a status of a customers, many osses can be averted. It s far eas er to take a proact ve approach by avo d ng the types of customers who usua y spe trou- b e, stay ng a ert to s gns ong-t me customers are hav ng f nanc a prob ems, and tak ng qu ck act on when payments are s ow ng down. Worr ed about the customer go ng e sewhere? Somet mes t s a good th ng. Troub ed or prob em customers become prob ems for compet tors. Obv ous y, th ngs can go south qu ck y, so m n m z ng exposure to a customer or potent a customer s cred t troub es requ res every dr ng contractor to exerc se “due d gence.” In other words, m n m ze exposure to the cred t troub e of others n the be- g nn ng, and at every step of the re at onsh p. Due d gence a so means stay ng on top of paperwork. It s a too easy to fa beh nd on nvo c ng n the m dst of b g projects, but ett ng t s de for a month or two w put the dr ng operat on at r sk. Before you know t, a customer owes a s gn f cant amount of money. To avo d th s prob em, estab sh regu ar rout nes for b ng customers wh ch ref ects the r preferences. Send ng an nvo ce every two weeks m ght be a good strategy. If customers start tak ng onger than usua to pay, t s read y not ceab e. Wh e most dr ng contractors are aware contracts and payment terms shou d a ways be put n wr t ng, th s a one may not protect the bus ness f a customer runs nto f nanc a prob ems. Few troub ed customers are ke y to beg n pay ng s mp y because there s a contract. Own ng a bus ness can be a ot of fun, but there s one aspect no one enjoys: try ng to co ect from customers who have run short of money. Unfortunate y, wr ng ng money out of deadbeat customers has become a common ssue n today s s ow-grow ng economy. In some cases, the on y opt on may be h r ng a co ect on agency or go ng to court to co ect, but many sma bus ness owners don t ke to go these routes. By mon tor ng customers payment pract ces, cred t stand ngs, other f nanc a nd cators, and even goss p, a dr ng contractor or bus ness owner can s gn f cant y reduce potent a f nanc a headaches. After a , to stay n bus ness means dea ng w th cus- tomers, warts and a . Mark Mark E. Battersby may be contacted via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com 52 AUGUST 2016 WorldWide Drilling Resource ®