- Home
- Bankruptcy and Bankruptcy Code
- Business Entities
- Departmental Operations
- Credit Practices
- Legal
- Bulk Sales
- Bustout Fraud; Credit Fraud; Criminal Behavior
- Trade References and Defamation: Libel and Slander
- Fraudulent Transfers
- Root Cause Analysis of Past Due Accounts
- Risk Analysis
- Understanding Accounts Receivable Costs
- Accounts Receivable Forecasting
- Informing Customers of their Credit Limits
- Authorization for Bank to Release Credit Information
- Authorizing Release of Credit Information
- Bank Loans and Bank Credit
- Expediting Bank Reference Requests
- Understanding Banking Relationships
- Bounced Checks; Collecting on Bounced Checks, NSF Checks
- Business Credit; Trade Credit; Open Account Credit Terms
- The Five Cs of Credit Analysis
- Check Acceptance
- Check Kiting
- Classification of Risk; Customer Risk Score
- COD Terms; Slow Pay; High Risk; Risk Mitigation;
- Code of Ethics
- Confidentiality Agreement
- Consumer Credit Granting
- Commercial Credit Application; Necessary Components
- Credit Approval Process
- Credit Associations
- Credit Decision-Making
- Offering Open Account Terms; Credit Extension
- Customer Credit File; Credit File
- Credit Granting Authority
- Credit History and Strategy
- Credit Insurance; Trade Credit Insurance; Export Credit Insurance
- Credit Line or Credit Limit
- Credit Policy Checklist
- Credit References
- Credit Reporting Agencies
- Credit Risk Environment
- Credit Risk Management
- Credit Role/Strategy
- Credit Decision Making: Is it Art or Science?
- Customer Purchase Orders, Errors on POs and their Impact on Collections
- Customer Retention
- Grace Periods and Cash Discounts
- Direct and Indirect Credit Investigations
- Unearned Discounts; Unearned Cash Discounts; Cash Discounts
- Enterprise Resource Planning
- Ethics for the Credit Manager
- Evaluating Financial Health
- Exchange of Credit Information
- Extended Dating Terms
- Credit File Documentation
- Fraud Signs and Prevention
- History of Credit
- Cargo Insurance
- Insurance Brokers and Credit Insurance
- Internet as a Source of Credit Information
- Late Charges
- Minimum First Order Without Credit Investigation
- New Account Checklist
- Non-Disclosure Agreement
- Open Account Sales; Open Account Terms; Extension of Credit on Open Account Terms
- Order Approval; Order Hold; Credit Reviews; Pending Order Review
- Order Controls / Order Approval
- Pro Forma Invoices
- Requesting Financial Information from Customers
- Restrictive Endorsements
- Returned Checks
- Return Merchandise Authorizations
- Root Cause Analysis of Past Due Balances
- Safeguarding Accounts
- Security Agreements; Secured Debts
- Seller's Invoice
- Terms and Conditions
- Terms of Sale
- Terms of Sale: Examples
- Types of Credit: Consumer Credit; Bank Credit; Commercial Credit; B2B; Business to Business
- Written Credit Policy Manual
- Handling Post Audit Claims More Effectively; Post Audit Claims
- Do's and Don'ts of Business to Business Debt Collection, Debt Collection Practices
- Bad Debt Reserves
- Advantages and Disadvantages of Purchasing Credit Insurance
- A Letter of Introduction
- Addressing Chronic Slow Pay Customers
- More about Cash Forecasting
- Streamlining Order Processing
- Legal
- Collection Practices
- Financial Analysis
- Financing Methods
- International Credit
- Laws and Regulations
- Payment Methods
- Performance Measures
- Security Instruments
- Career Management, and Job Change
- Credit Website Tools
- Upcoming Educational Events
- Credit and Collections Tools and Tips
- Tips on Creating Better Emails
- Generating Effective Credit Correspondence
- Exporting
- Accounting
Root Cause Analysis of Past Due Accounts
Astute credit managers regularly try to determine the underlying reasons why customers don't pay. It is just not good enough to "dial for dollars." Root cause analysis is an approach intended to identify the underlying causes of why customers become delinquent.
Analysis is needed to determine why customers are not paying invoices or repaying deductions taken in error. By grouping problems into categories, it is possible to search for and to examine the root causes that negatively impact customer payment. By tracking deductions by type, number and value, a pattern will emerge that should point to areas that the creditor company can improve that will reduce the number of deductions taken. Some of the more common reasons for customer deductions include:
- Picking or packing errors;
- Quality issues;
- Pricing disputes
A root cause analysis can be performed after deductions have been classified by type, number and dollar value. This analysis should be done each month and should describe the number and amount and value of deductions for which credits were issued - meaning that the customer was correct in taking the deduction. This information will be the key to conducting a root cause analysis to determine how the creditor company can make fewer errors that result in customers taking deductions. It is importanttomakethisreportavailable to the managers and the departments that contribute to the deduction problem.
Edited by Michael C. Dennis