How to Collect Outstanding Invoices before 2012

We all have them. Stories about how long it took to get paid. For creative business owners it can take months and months to see receipts come in long after a project is complete, in the clients hands and active.

Lucky for me, knock on wood, every single client has paid their invoices in full. Although, not all necessarily with 30 days. But, other creatives aren’t so lucky. And, not being paid on time is not restricted to creative service firms only. When Gary Bohringer, of Bohringer Creative, mentioned to me that he’d written a book about how to collect outstanding invoices without using a collection agency, I was intrigued.

Because Gary’s book, Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Collection Agency, covers how to do that, I won’t give away all of his secrets. But, being the clever creative person he is, Gary’s come up with a way to identify the outstanding debt in a way the whole world [hint: search engines] can see.

Did you know collection agencies can keep up to 50% of the amount owed to you?

When Gary realized hiring a collection agency would only recover half of the outstanding invoices, he decided to test out a new approach. He wrote down everything he did, illustrated the system and packaged it like a graphic novel into a book you can buy online.

Gary even includes example emails and site templates so that the project is simple and foolproof. I must admit it would take some bravery for me to undertake this method, but it works. At least it has for Gary – three times!

To give you an idea of what’s in the book, here’s some information from the site.

Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Collection Agency is designed for any business owner who is frustrated by deadbeat clients not paying their bills and

• Can’t get clients to pay through normal channels, such as repeated follow-up and adding interest charges to overdue balances.
• Does not want to hire a collection agency, which often requires you to reduce your fee and give a percentage of the collected balance to the agency for their services
• Cannot repossess the item that was sold to the deadbeat client, such as a business owner who provides professional services

At $27, Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Collection Agency, is an investment worth making – anytime you need to get your outstanding invoices paid.

FTA Disclosure: Links in the post are affiliate links, which means my company will receive compensation if you buy this product. I only recommend products and services I believe in and trust. Before you make any purchase, please consider the value and relevance of the product to your business.

Question: How about you? How much time would you wait before considering using a collection agency to get your invoices paid?