When a payment is received, it is entered in the cash book and posted to both the ledger and the collection card. Every card must be located at the time payments are entered in the ledger, or the customer will very likely receive notices after he has made the payment.
=The Collection Follow-Up.= The promptness of the follow-up on this class of collections is of the greatest importance--the debtor should not be given the excuse that he failed to receive a notice. Though not provided for in the contract, the debtor expects a notice of every payment due.
When the goods are shipped, a formal notice of shipment should be mailed, and if the first payment has not been made, it should be requested. In ten days, or after the approval time limit has expired, a second notice should be mailed, provided no payment has been received. This can be a formal notice, and should assume that the goods are entirely satisfactory, and at the same time calling attention to the fact that the first payment is past due. If this does not bring a remittance within ten days, it is well to send a draft notice. This notice should go into the conditions of the contract in some detail, and, without assuming a threatening attitude, it should assume that if payment is not received within five days it is the desire of the debtor that a draft be made. Either the notice or the draft will usually bring the first payment, or the return of the goods.
[Illustration: Fig. 31. Attorney's Collection Register]
Each month, a formal statement showing the exact condition of the account should be mailed a few days before the due date. It is well, on this statement, to make an offer of a discount for cash to pay the account in full. A discount of 5% on an account that has several months to run will often be accepted, and is profitable to both parties. This statement should be followed in ten days by a second notice, also of a formal nature.
All notices up to this point may be printed, but further requests should be in the form of letters. Except when it has been found that an account should be handled in a special manner, form letters will be found most satisfactory. The letters should start out mild in tone increasing in insistence as the series is extended.