Holidays are probably the most challenging time for managing the accounts receivable revenue cycle of your company. For many debt collection agencies, they stop making calls during holidays, so if debts are important, you should be extra proactive.

Although it’s not a good time to collect debt, there is great approach to collect debts during holidays:

• Consider Season’s Greetings

Holiday seasons are a tough time for several people, so it is essential to be courteous and kind. It is okay to acknowledge holiday season and add season’s greetings to all your collection efforts. Just make sure to be patient and know that not all will have the ability to pay during holiday season, so try to do your due diligence and follow up after new year.

• Be Proactive

You should have a new plan in December. This plan is where you work harder compared to other months of the year and consider acting more proactively with the customers than you usually do. Begin through reviewing each of your outstanding receivables as well as following up on such accounts right away. Take note that the longer your debt stays in collection, the lesser the chances of getting paid. Think of some ways on how you can expedite payments that are past due through sending a courier to get the payment. Once you act quickly and find some accounts that could indicate bad debts are coming, you might have extra time to send such accounts to the collection agency and recover the money before new year.

• Take Action

If you learn that the customer is in a worse shape than you have thought, it is time to take an immediate action. If you wait until after the holidays isn’t going make it any simpler and it is a business decision instead of a personal one. Make sure to act fast.

• Pay Attention to Detail

It’s a great time to evaluate this customer if you’re visiting them in person as you could notice several signs of trouble. You could also find that this customer has his or her own challenging times and they might have more customers than usual who aren’t paying them. Ask some customer questions regarding how their year is ending.

• Try to Be Flexible

Debt collectors should be flexible with the payment plans, payment options, and some accommodations when attempting to collect debts. Working with consumers to determine how to get debts paid off as well as providing solutions may go a long way.

Those are just some of the ways on how to successfully collect debt before the holidays. You should always keep in mind to stay proactive and try to act fast if you don’t want to end up getting nothing. Once you keep those tips in mind, you can be assured that you will get the results you want and you’ll be able to start your holidays or new year with ease and peace of mind.