GUARANTEED GREAT IDEAS! Cash Flow Tips from Real Clients & Profits Users These Clients & Profits users share their tips for managing cash flow: Require signed estimates "After getting burned a number of times, we've gone to almost always requiring a signed estimate before work will begin," says Rey Scott of Kich & Company. "Or if it's a verbal OK, that gets documented as well. This requirement has strengthened our position when it's time to get paid." Stick to a budget "Originally, there were just two persons doing purchasing, so cash outflow was easy to track," says Sharon Walker of The Wallace Agency. "Now that the company has grown and more people are purchasing, we watch carefully so our outflows don't exceed our budget. We're working on a more extensive budget right now which we'll add to our C&P database to take advantage of the budgeting reports." Collect up front...or not at all "One of our biggest rules is for jobs over $5,000, we require an up-front deposit of 50 percent. Without that, you become a bank, and the margins in advertising aren't that great," says Susan Ackman of Fraser Wallace Advertising. "Also, we don't pay any media. Vendors bill the clients directly." Bill faster = faster Cash "Billing status codes automate the billing process and let me know what's ready to bill. I don't have to ask a lot of questions or chase people down," says Rey Scott of Kich & Company. "Before C&P, the communication wasn't that clear cut so jobs would be finished and just sit there unbilled. Now I can go in, sometimes each morning, and pull up a list of jobs that are ready to bill, and bill them." Squeak, squeak, squeak "Always be the squeaky wheel. Always make noise and never let your receivables slide," says Roxanne Cowan of Rutherfod Bolen Group. "I make phone calls for collections. Knock on wood, our client relationships have remained good. We go into it smart; we know where our invoice is in their cycle, and the account team is always working with the client."

Q. When is the right time to write off a client's unpaid invoice?

The right time to write off a client's invoice depends on why it's not being paid. If there's a dispute about work that was done, wait until your negotiations have ended. Perhaps you'll reach an agreement to collect at least some of the outstanding monies. If a client goes bankrupt, you may be able to collect as a creditor of the business, so don't rush to write it off. If it's just a few dollars or cents (the client misread the invoice) and you'd rather just write it off quickly, see below.

Q. How do I write off a client's unpaid invoice or the balance of an invoice?

Once it's been decided that it is the right time to write off an invoice, it's easy to do. When adding a new Client Payment, select Write Off for the payment type. Automatically, the usual dGL (probably a cash account) is removed. You'll type the amount you're writing off as the Amount and the G/L account to which you're debiting the write off, probably a "bad debt" expense account. After saving, apply the amount you're writing off, either some portion or all of an invoice, just as if you're paying it. This action reduces the amount owed for the invoice or removes the invoice entirely from the aging without raising the amount in your cash account.

Q. Can I place a vendor on hold?

If you need to ensure that a vendor is not used for any new work, you can place the vendor on hold. In their Vendor file, click the On Hold checkbox. Once selected, a user is stopped from adding a new PO or A/P invoice for that vendor. A user-defined explanation of why the vendor is on hold can also be included.

Q. Can we be automatically notified if a client approaches its credit limit?

Yes, credit limits can be set up for each client as part of their billing information. When a client's total outstanding invoice amount is within 10% of its credit limit, you'll be notified in two ways. First, when a new job ticket is added for the client, the person adding the new job sees a message stating that the client is close to, or over, its credit limit. And, when a new A/R invoice is added for the client, the person adding a new invoice sees a message stating that the client is close to its credit limit. If the client is over its credit limit, a new A/R invoice can't be added.

Q. Our shop doesn't want to pay vendors before our clients pay us. Can I have that print on all our orders?

You need to state on all your POs, BOs, and IOs, that you are acting strictly as an agent for your clients and won't pay vendors until your clients pay you. Include this text on all orders through the disclaimer.s Choose Setup > Preferences. From the Preferences menu, choose Insertion Orders. Add the text in the Disclaimer. Click Save. Then from the Preferences menu, choose Purchase Orders, and do the same thing. BOs copy the disclaimer from the IO preferences.