The Messy Math of Tariff Refunds
Due to the Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down Trump’s tariffs, refunds may be available to importers of record through U.S. Customs, but apparently only after litigation. In addition, because tariff costs were typically passed along through supply chains,...
You Reduced DSO, But Did You Reduce Credit Risk?
Reducing Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) is one of the most important goals to attain in credit management. When DSO drops, leadership notices. Cash flow improves. Reports look stronger. And bonuses sometimes even follow. On paper, a lower DSO signals discipline,...
Hector the Collector — Clean Credit Creates Collected Cash
Hi Everyone, Every March, people start talking about spring cleaning. Closets get reorganized, garages get cleared, and desks get decluttered. But let me ask you something, when was the last time you spring cleaned your credit files? In collections, we often focus on...
Take the Poll — With Q1 Almost Over, Are You More Optimistic or More Concerned About the Rest of 2026?
As the first quarter winds down, credit and collection professionals are in a unique position to gauge economic momentum. Long before headlines confirm a trend, the aging report often tells the story. Payment patterns, dispute frequency, and...
Roses Are Red, Tariffs Are Blue, Payments Are Down, Cash Flow Is Too!
Valentine’s Day is usually associated with romance, roses, wine, and chocolate. But this year, something far less sweet is lurking behind the heart-shaped boxes on store shelves. Tariffs on imported goods which include cocoa, sugar, and packaging materials, are...
Why Credit Managers Have Complicated Customer Relationships
Credit managers are often described as gatekeepers, but that label barely scratches the surface. In reality, credit managers occupy one of the most complex customer relationship roles in any organization. They sit at the intersection of sales, finance, operations, and...
Dear Crabby — My Past-Due Customer Gets a Little Too Personal
Dear Crabby, I’ve been managing credit and collections for many years and generally feel confident handling difficult customers. But I’m currently dealing with a situation that leaves me unsure where professionalism should end and discomfort begins. One of our...
Take the Poll — Knowing How Frustrating Collections Can Be, How Do You Stay Mentally Fit During Winter?
Collections is never an easy job, but winter can make it significantly harder. Shorter days, limited daylight, and fewer opportunities to step outside can quietly amplify stress. At the same time, collectors continue to face broken promises, delayed...
Why January Is the Month of Broken Promises
Every credit and collection professional knows the truth: January isn’t just the start of a new year; it’s the start of the annual payment excuse season. Once the holiday decorations come down, the real “January effect” kicks in, and suddenly the promises that...
Your Customer’s New Year Resolution: Pay as Late as Possible
Every January, credit professionals brace themselves for a familiar trend: the sudden wave of customers who decide, consciously or not, that the new year is the perfect time to stretch payment terms. While individuals throughout the world promise to eat healthier,...
When Sales Promises Net 30 but the Customer Lives in Net 120 Land
Hi Everyone, It’s Hector and I hope you had a wonderful New Year! If you work in credit long enough, you eventually encounter the kind of customer who treats payment terms the way some people treat speed limits, as friendly suggestions rather than actual rules....
Take the Poll — Are Customers Being Honest About Why They’re Paying Late?
In the world of collections, no two debtors are exactly alike, yet almost every past-due customer falls into one of four recognizable categories. Understanding these personalities not only helps credit professionals craft the right approach, but...
Happy Holidays from CMI 2025
https://youtu.be/k60xVx0VuLU
How the Shutdown Is Freezing Cash Flow Across America
As the federal government shutdown drags on, its ripple effects are spreading far beyond Washington. While political leaders trade soundbites, credit and collection professionals are seeing something more tangible — a creeping freeze in cash flow that’s hitting...
The Tariff War’s Casualties in the Heartland
For generations, the American Midwest has been called the nation’s breadbasket. Today, that breadbasket is starting to look more like a casualty zone. As the U.S.–China tariff war drags into another season, soybean fields, grain elevators, and farm supply businesses...
My Boss Wants Me to Extend Credit to a Customer I’d Never Lend a Dime To!
Dear Crabby, I’ve been managing credit for more than a decade, and I pride myself on being firm but fair. Lately, though, our sales manager has been pressuring me to approve a large credit line for a customer whose financials are shaky at best. I’ve reviewed the...
Take the Poll – As a Credit & Collection Professional, What Is Keeping You Up at Night?
Ask any seasoned credit and collection professional what keeps them up at night, and you’ll get a knowing smile — the kind that hides years of hard-earned experience. For many in our field, insomnia isn’t caused by caffeine or late-night screen...
It’s So Frustrating Being Ghosted by a Customer
October has long been associated with ghosts, goblins, and eerie tales of things that disappear in the night. But for credit and collection professionals, the scariest kind of “ghosting” doesn’t happen in haunted houses — it happens when a once-reliable customer...
Walking the Credit Tight Rope This Holiday Season
For many businesses, the holiday season represents both opportunity and risk. Sales surge as customers place larger orders to meet consumer demand, but the same season often exposes the cracks in cash flow management. Credit managers find themselves on the front lines...
Hector the Collector — Should You Trick or Treat a Habitual Slow Payer?
Hi Everyone, I always enjoy hearing your stories about the unusual challenges that come up in the collections world, especially when they involve that tricky balance between keeping a customer relationship alive and protecting your company’s bottom line. Recently, I...
Take the Poll – Would You Ever “Scare” a Customer into Paying?
In the world of commercial collections, credit managers often walk a fine line between firmness and relationship management. Sometimes, the temptation arises to apply pressure, and even fear and intimidation, to get a customer to pay what’s owed....
Fall Forecast — Are Policy Shifts About to Blow Through Your A/R?
As the weather cools and companies shift gears into the final quarter of the year, credit and collection professionals face more than just seasonal changes. This fall, the business climate is shaped by a combination of policy shifts, economic headwinds, and new...
Q4 Crunch Time: Can Your Credit Team Deliver Profits Before Year-End?
For decades, the credit department has carried a reputation as the “sales prevention” team — focused mainly on blocking bad deals rather than driving new business. But in today’s fast-moving commercial environment, credit teams are increasingly expected to show how...
Dear Crabby — My Customer Insists that Tariffs Justify Short-Pay
Dear Crabby, Over the past several months, several of my long-time customers have started short-paying invoices, claiming that new tariffs are cutting into their margins. One customer in particular reduced a $100,000 payment by $15,000, stating it was their way of...
Take the Poll – Will you allow credit policy exceptions for “strategic customers” in Q4?
As the calendar turns toward year-end, credit and collection professionals often find themselves in the hot seat. Sales is pushing to close last-minute deals, finance is watching cash flow like a hawk, and leadership is laser-focused on meeting...
Should Your Company Hop on the Cryptocurrency Bandwagon?
Cryptocurrency has evolved from a niche experiment into a mainstream financial tool, raising an important question for businesses: Should your company use cryptocurrency to pay its commercial obligations? As adoption grows among major corporations and startups alike,...
Paying Your Credit & Collection Experience Forward
Over the next several years, the commercial credit and collection industry will experience a significant generational shift. Thousands of seasoned professionals, many with 30, 40, or more years of experience, are preparing to retire. These individuals have weathered...
Hector the Collector – My Daughter Wants to Do High-End Asset Repossessions
Hi Everyone, I always enjoy receiving your emails, especially when they involve the next generation finding creative ways to apply what we do in the credit and collection world. A recent email came from a commercial collector here in the U.S. whose daughter is...
Take the Poll – It’s Friday at 3:00pm and your sales manager hands you an urgent order for $100K needing your approval by the end of the day from a long-term good customer with a credit limit of $65K. Do you:
This scenario is all too familiar for many credit professionals. End-of-week urgency, especially on a Friday afternoon, has become a pressure point where credit discipline and sales momentum can collide. While the customer may be reliable and the...
The Halfway Point: Are You on Track with Your Credit Goals?
July marks more than just the start of the second half of the year, it’s also a critical checkpoint for credit professionals. Are your credit goals for 2025 on track? Or have they quietly drifted off course while you were juggling approvals, collections, lack of...
Is Your DSO Taking It Easy at the Beach this Summer?
As the sun stays out longer and offices start to feel a little emptier, many credit professionals notice a familiar and unwelcome trend: Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) begins to climb. While the summer season brings vacations, barbecues, and long weekends, it also...
Dear Crabby — My Customer Slipped in a “DAP” Delivery Term on Their PO
Dear Crabby, I’m the credit manager at a gear manufacturing company and recently received a purchase order from our long-term Canadian customer. Everything seemed normal until I noticed the shipping term was listed as “DAP.” As I’ve never encountered this term on...
Take the Poll – How often do you perform economic stress tests on your A/R?
As we enter the second half of 2025, economic headwinds are swirling once again. From whispers of a mild recession to the continued unpredictability of global supply chains, credit professionals can no longer afford to rely solely on historical...
Tough Love in Credit Risk Management — Just Like Mom Taught Us!
Mother’s Day reminds us that real love isn’t about saying ‘yes’ to everything — it’s about knowing when to say ‘no’ for someone’s own good. In credit risk management, tough love isn’t just necessary, it’s the heart of protecting both customers and companies. Setting...
Seeking a Director of Global Credit Position? Your Resume Must Reflect a Stellar Experience!
If a credit risk manager is aiming for a Director of Global Credit role at a multinational company, the resume needs to do a lot more than just check boxes. It should tell a story that projects global leadership, strategic foresight, and deep operational experience....
Dear Crabby — Why Should I Tag Along with the Sales Manager?
Dear Crabby, I am the credit risk manager at a small manufacturing company that manufactures all kinds of industrial springs. I’ve been working here for about two years and overall, I have been working in credit and collections for over twenty years. Although I...
Take the Poll – What is your biggest concern regarding customer risk over the next 12 months?
As credit risk professionals, we're trained to make decisions based on patterns using financial metrics, payment histories, and macroeconomic indicators. But in today's environment, the patterns are breaking down. Many companies find themselves...
What Do an Easter Egg Hunt and Credit Risk Management Have in Common?
At first glance, Easter eggs — a symbol of fun, mystery, and childhood delight — seem to have little to do with the serious world of credit risk management. However, when we step back and ponder these two activities more deeply, intriguing similarities begin to...
How Can a Credit Manager Turn Their Department into a Profit Center?
One of the most frequent complaints I’ve heard over the years from credit risk managers is that they don’t feel appreciated for their hard work in trying to increase cash flow and minimize the risk of selling on credit. In fact, as time goes by, some credit...
Hector the Collector — Changing Course After 25 Years in Collections
Hi Everyone, As always, I greatly appreciate your emails, especially when they mention how someone would like to improve and expand their professional goals. One email came from a middle-aged collector at an agency here in the US regarding his employment. After 5...
Take the Poll – With tariffs in full swing, are you tightening credit on foreign and/or domestic customers?
When a broad tariff policy — like Donald Trump’s recent across-the-board tariffs — is implemented, it suddenly forces credit managers in the U.S. to navigate new challenges in evaluating credit risk on their international customers. For example,...
How the Sidelining of the CFPB Will Impact Businesses
It has certainly been quite the whirlwind over the past several weeks with many new changes in our regulatory agencies. One change that has hit close to my credit and collection home has to do with the sidelining of the Consumer Financial Protection...
Do You Check the Authenticity of Letters of Credit?
To be expected, as the use of AI continues to advance through the entire global business community, there is also an increase in the creation of forged Letters of Credit. A forged Letter of Credit (LC) is typically created to deceive a supplier into...
Dear Crabby — I’m Dealing with Multiple Collection Personality Disorder
Dear Crabby, I am the credit and collection manager at a small logistics company. I’ve been working here for about one year and as a small company, I find myself wearing several multi-ethnic hats that are making me slightly unbalanced. Let me explain. I am an older...
Take the Poll – As a Credit & Collection Professional, when should you get your sales representative involved in collecting a past due account?
As a credit and collection professional, getting your sales team, manager or representative involved in the collection of a past due account can range anywhere between successful to disastrous. Following below is a general guideline as to when it...
How Will Tariffs impact Commercial Claims?
I don't profess to be an economist. In fact, like many credit professionals, my focus is primarily on the credit and collection problems directly in front of me. However, in the back of my mind is the accumulation of all the news and opinions I’ve been hearing from...
Which Pathways to the C-Suite Should a Credit Manager Pursue?
Over the course of my credit and collection career, I’ve observed the careers of hundreds of credit professionals. Some may enter a client’s place of business as a high school graduate and slowly work their way up to becoming the credit and collection manager. Others...
Hector the Collector — When Debt Collection Calls Are Not Recorded
Hi Everyone, It’s Hector and as always, I greatly appreciate receiving many wonderful emails from readers asking for my thoughts and guidance. Last month I received a rather concerning email from one in-house collection manager, I’ll call Joe, who was confronted...
Take the Poll – As a Credit Professional, what is your biggest regret regarding your career in credit?
At a recent conference, I was invited into a group of other long-term credit professionals to discuss what we felt were some regrets in our long careers. Following below are the major ideas I took away from our discussion.Overlooking Relationship...
Will You Be Celebrating “Quitters Day” this Month?
I was talking with several relatives on New Year’s Day about my New Year’s resolutions and from their reaction, I guess my list seemed over the top. Since I like adventurous activities, which includes wall climbing, a few of them suggested...
