Woodworth & Frisella

In an effort to reduce overhead, streamline business processes, and utilize professional
expertise, outsourcing is one of the newest, most successful trends in business development. Outsourcing allows businesses to focus on the business of their business while improving cash flow.

When you consider outsourcing collections, you must ask yourself the following:

- Do you have a system for collecting overdue accounts?

- Does the person responsible for collecting have collection experience? Negotiating expertise? Do they like the job or does it take them away from their “real” responsibilities?

- Do your systems support tracking, reporting and recording all conversations with debtors?

- Do you have difficulty reaching debtors because they refuse to return your calls?

- Do you give up on unpaid accounts as “uncollectible” because the debtor has disappeared?

- Are you happy with settlements you’ve agreed to? Did the debtor end up paying in full?

If the answer to any of these questions is “no”, you may want to consider outsourcing your collections to a local professional with the expertise to get the job done right!

Has your company recently acquired another company?

If so, this may be the most advantageous time for you to look at leveraging the services of an outside collection service.

In any acquisition, an initial forensic review of outstanding receivables to determine collectibility is imperative. The faster you can begin to manage you’re your acquisition’s outstanding receivables, the more profit you will realize. We can help you bridge the time lapse between the date of acquisition and your integration with the purchased company.

Once we determine which outstanding accounts are likely to produce a return, we offer our corporate clients an outsourced automated system
designed to refine the business collection process.

Unlike collection agencies, The Law Office of Woodworth & Frisella attorneys handle the entire spectrum of corporate collection matters.

We investigate and evaluate outstanding accounts, negotiate creative and advantageous deals that preserve business relationships, and leverage
our power to litigate to bolster our efforts and enhance our client’s position. Because we are located in Massachusetts we offer expertise in
Massachusetts collection regulation, the convenience and reduced costs of retaining Massachusetts counsel, and the peace-of-mind as your company expands its business in the Commonwealth.

A few months ago I was having dinner with some businesspeople before I was to address their group on improving their collections. While speaking with one of the franchise owners I overheard the following comment:

“If someone owes us money, I go to his office, grab him by the neck and hang him out of the window until he agrees to pay!.”

He was kidding of course, but he understood the first rule of collecting money:

Do what works. When you talk to someone who owes you money, look for what will make that person put your bill on top of the pile.

First, determine what exactly is preventing them from paying. What are the obstacles to getting the money?

Are they having cash flow problems? If so, root for their success while determining when money is scheduled to come in the door, so you’re the first to get paid.

Is there a contract dispute with the creditor? Look for a way to solve the problem.

Are they trying to fight their way through the internal bureaucracy? Help them move through it.

One benefit of having a lawyer handle your collection matters is that some people will take a call from Attorney Jane Woodworth where they wouldn’t from Jane Woodworth. Having an ESQUIRE after your name, often translates into instant credibility – or perhaps instant fear.

It’s not enough to be an attorney though. You also have to be creative. You have to consider the needs of your client. Can you salvage the business relationship? Does your client want you to? Will filing a lawsuit result in the debtor declaring bankruptcy? Is it worth more to settle for less today than it would be by waiting two years for the full amount? What is the appropriate balance between the clients’ need for cash flow and the time spend haggling?

Conversations with the debtor should be geared to finding the pieces of the puzzle. There’s no such thing as one-size-fits-all when it comes to collections. Even for a single client, one debt may require careful hand holding to preserve a crucial supplier relationship, while the next might demand a strongly-worded letter.

Figure out what works and then do it!

A rebounding economy is a perfect opportunity to resurrect old debts. Dormant debt can often be brought in as profit — increasing revenues and enhancing the bottom line. Let us help you find that money.

Debt may become collectable after it is written off

1. TIME – This may be counter-intuitive, but occasionally the passage of time makes a debt more collectible rather than less. The debtor may be thriving now, willing and able to pay. The debtor may have merged or been acquired by another company liable and able to pay. The debtor may want to re-establish a business relationship with you, providing incentive for making good on the monies owed.

2. PROFESSIONALS – We are commercial debt collection attorneys. Debtors receive our calls, letters and correspondence differently than they receive yours. Letters and calls from attorneys are much less likely to be disregarded, and get the attention top management.

3. COST AVOIDANCE – Debtors with cash flow issues are less willing to spend money on legal fees. They are more likely to choose a deal than to hire legal counsel to represent them in defense of a lawsuit. And, by directly turning your collection matters over to an attorney, we can, when necessary, file a lawsuit timely and efficiently.

4. URGENCY – To get paid, your bill must move to the top of the debtor’s pile. An attorney adds urgency to your request for payment in the debtor’s mind. Once an attorney gets involved, the debtor must negotiate a payment plan, hire an attorney to defend a lawsuit, or face a lien and / or execution issued against them. We add efficiency and effectiveness to the process.

Of course, not all of your old debts are collectible — in fact, many may not be. But you have nothing to lose. Because we work on a contingency, we only get paid when we are successful.