In business, sometimes, if you don’t ask for the money you may not get the money.
WE ARE A BUSINESS, NOT A BANK
When making any calls you should prepare all relevant information and have ready for your use. Some of the items are:
• The invoice(s) you are calling about plus any supporting documents. • Notes from prior contacts regarding this invoices or any past due invoice(s). • Customer account status for any other outstanding invoices that are past due. • Customer contact : name for Accounts Payable and their extension number • It is important to get the correct name and extension, fax number, and e‐mail address – and remember to add the information to the notes so that it is available for use at anytime for anyone.
When calling, in your own words introduce yourself and cover the following:
o Company name (KBC)
o Your name
o Purpose for your call
o Specific invoices you are calling regarding and age of invoices
o If the cheque has mailed, get the cheque number, amount, invoices paid and the date it was mailed.
o If the cheque has not yet mailed, try to get confirmation of when it is scheduled to be paid, how long it will take to get signed and mailed out When leaving a voice mail, cover the same, plus:
o Your phone number, extension
o Please call by such and such date and time (depending on the age of the invoice) Remember, to put your notes in the system and mark your calendar for follow up in a few days. This is in case they haven’t called back or the payment has not yet been received.
o If there is an issue with an invoice(s) and their Accounts Payable is waiting on someone at their firm, get the name of the person who they are waiting on, their phone number, extension, email so that you may try to resolve the issue and get paid sooner.
o Always remember to follow up on any information quickly to prevent further delays.
o A good idea is to ask for a good time to follow up with them.
Smile: Come up with a greeting that shows you are happy, pleasant, and confident.
Speak up: Speak with confidence. Your voice should be loud enough to be heard, speak as if that person is sitting across from you.
Focus: Staying focused on the call, don’t check your e‐mail, play with your paper clip or pen, or watch other people in your office. Stay focused on your conversation.
Relax: Breathe and make the call.
IN THE END NO NO (no money, no funny!)
While doing some online research one of the websites that came up was the Canadian Payments Association’s website. Thought it was interesting to pass along:
How Cheques Work Cheques are processed in an automated fashion, through the use of magnetic ink in the MICR line (the numbers at the bottom of the cheque that contain your financial institution information), and image technology. In most cases, when a cheque is deposited at a Financial Institution (FI), it is sent that evening to the nearest processing centre serving that FI. There, cheques are sorted according to the financial institution that holds the account of the cheque writer (i.e. the Payor’s account). The cheques are then delivered to the processing centre serving the Payor’s FI. This exchange, or “clearing”, usually occurs the evening of the day the cheque was deposited. However, in some situations, such as deposits made late in the day, on the weekend or through an Automated Banking Machine, clearing may not occur until the evening of the next business day.
After clearing, the cheque must still be delivered to the branch that holds the cheque writer’s account to confirm that the payment can be made. Within Canada, this process generally takes from one to three business days. If the cheque cannot be honoured – for example, due to insufficient funds (NSF), a stop payment order or a forged signature – the cheque will be returned to the branch that accepted it, and the depositor’s financial institution will be provided with a reason why the payment cannot be made. The return voyage will also generally take from one to three days but could take longer in some circumstances.
How long does it take for a cheque to be returned if it’s dishonoured (for example, NSF)?
In most circumstances, once the cheque has been received by the branch that holds the Payor’s account, it has one business day to decide whether the cheque will be honoured or dishonoured. If the cheque is dishonoured, the financial institution has until the next business day to initiate its return through the clearing. The return journey to the branch that initially accepted it may take a number of days. There are some exceptions to the next business day rule. For example, in case of a forged endorsement on the back of the cheque, the Payor’s financial institution (i.e. the institution that makes the decision whether to honour the cheque) has 6 years from the date of receipt to initiate the item’s return through the clearing. The Payor’s financial institution may not have a direct relationship with the person who endorsed the cheque, so it is difficult to verify that the endorsing signature is valid. Consequently, considerable time may be required to uncover a forgery. In the case of material alteration, financial institutions have 90 days to initiate the return of the item.
Can a certified cheque ever be returned through the clearings?
A certified cheque will have the words “accepted” or “certified” or other words to that effect written or stamped on it by the cheque writer’s financial institution, which has set aside the funds to cover the cheque in its own internal account. Under the clearing rules, a certified cheque may be returned for only three reasons:
• the cheque bears a forged endorsement on the back of the cheque; • the cheque is missing a signature required as an endorsement on the back of the cheque; or • the cheque has been altered in a material way subsequent to its certification, such as a change to the name of the payee or the amount.
What happens if a post-dated cheque is accepted and processed to my account before the due date?
A post-dated cheque is not eligible for clearing and therefore should not be deposited before the due date. However, given the large volume of cheques and the degree of automated processing, some postdated items may inadvertently slip through.
A cheque can be returned through the clearing by a CPA member financial institution for the reason “post-dated” up to and including the day prior to the due date. Once the due date is reached, the payment item cannot be returned for the reason “post-dated”.
If you have concerns about a post-dated cheque being processed to your account, you should raise them with your financial institution. If the institution is notified within the timeframe described above, the cheque can be returned through the clearing. Questions about overdrafts as a result of the early processing of post-dated items should also be addressed to your financial institution. And from the US Federal Reserve website:
The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21) was signed into law on October 28, 2003, and became effective on October 28, 2004. Check 21 is designed to foster innovation in the payments system and to enhance its efficiency by reducing some of the legal impediments to check truncation. The law facilitates check truncation by creating a new negotiable instrument called a substitute check, which permits banks to truncate original checks, to process check information electronically, and to deliver substitute checks to banks that want to continue receiving paper checks. A substitute check is the legal equivalent of the original check and includes all the information contained on the original check. The law does not require banks to accept checks in electronic form nor does it require banks to use the new authority granted by the Act to create substitute checks.
How will Check 21 make check processing more efficient?
Instead of physically moving paper checks from one bank to another, Check 21 will allow banks to process more checks electronically. Banks can capture a picture of the front and back of the check along with the associated payment information and transmit this information electronically. If a receiving bank or its customer requires a paper check, the bank can use the electronic picture and payment information to create a paper “substitute check.” This process enables banks to reduce the cost of physically handling and transporting original paper checks, which can be very expensive. Will Check 21 increase the speed with which checks are cleared between banks?
The speed of check‐processing already has increased in response to check‐system improvements other than Check 21. Thus, even now, once a check is deposited with a bank, it is almost always delivered overnight to the paying bank and debited from the checkwriter’s account the next business day. Checkprocessing speeds should continue to increase, over time, as banks make further operational changes in response to Check 21. That means money may be deducted from your checking account faster. Before you write a check, it’s always best to make sure your checking account has enough money in it to cover the check.
When you are out and about in the evenings and weekends, do you ever hear a company name and think they might be a client? What do you do with the information? Here in Ontario a quasi government organization is in the news a lot lately for some shady dealings. When we received their first order with KBC Tools this week I called. Do we have the correct information? The billing indicated it was “in trust” what did that mean, was that set up due to the problems we are hearing about in the news? It wasn’t. And yes, I did mention I was following the news stories about their organization, but I did not dwell on it.
In the fall, the support staff of the Ontario Colleges went on strike. I called on a couple orders to ensure that the payments would be processed while being short staffed.
A couple years ago, I was at a stag and doe speaking with the parents of someone I had gone to public school with and they mentioned the company he was working for was closing. “Which company is that”…. Monday morning I came in to work called said company to ensure we received payment before they shut their doors.
There are many opportunities for information to “fall into your lap”, you never know when or how. Use it wisely!
Wishing you the “luck of the Irish” this March. Let’s make our own collection “luck”
Team Mississauga
KBC Tools & Machinery 