The / submenu is used to input your registration number, specify parameters used for decision making by the collection system and for printing letters to various parties:
| Time Delays |
| Rates |
| Thresholds |
| Addresses |
| Defaults |
| Utilities |
| Registration |
When you exit the / menu by using /, there is a slight delay as the new setup is stored on disk. The current setup is used until a new setup is specified.
This is the most complicated part of /, and it may be helpful to use these menus while reading this section, setting values as you go.
/ are the default number of days between events if no external events take place. By changing these values, you change the rate at which different aspects of the collection process proceed. The defaults are typical values commonly used in the industry, but are entirely up to you. When changing these values, it is important to understand that when times become too short, debtors don't have the chance to respond before the next action takes place, and when times become too long, the process proceeds at a `snail's pace', and this is not conducive to successful collections.
/ are normally scheduled every 30 days so that people can make payments when they pay all of their other monthly bills. Most collectors notify the debtor immediately when a payment is missed, and give debtors 30 days between a missed payment and charging late fees. This is the default `Late Payment' delay. It is not unusual to make this 10 days instead of 30 days to speed the process.
The / delay is normally 10 to 15 days, and is the time between identifying a payment as late and moving to the next step in the process.
The / delay is the time between scheduling a case as uncollectible and actually abandoning it. This value is normally two payment periods, based on the idea that anyone who doesn't respond within that period is unlikely to respond afterward.
The / delay is the time between sending the notice that they owe money and the second attempt to make a `first contact' with the debtor. We usually allow 10 days for the original letter to be received and responded to before sending a second letter.
The / delay is the time between declaring a debt bad and actually abandoning it. This is normally the same as the closure period.
There are three / delays. The / delay is the time before making the first call on a case. The / is the delay before making a call on a late payment. The / delay is the time between trying to call a debtor is they were unreachable on the last call. Many collectors prefer 1 day recall times so that they keep calling day after day by default, but it is unclear how effective this is. In cases where the person answering a call specifies a good day to call back, this date can be input into the system manually.
The / delay is the time between threatening a law suit and actually forwarding a suit to the lawyer for pursuit. Normally, we leave 10 days, which is enough time to get the suit letter and respond.
The / delay is the time between a dispute's arrival and when we expect it to be resolved (from our point of view at least). This is normally a short period of time adequate to get the original information to support our collection case. In cases where this information is stored on-line, we would expect next day turn around.
The / delay is the time between anticipated reports from the lawyer. Unless our lawyer responds in a timely fashion or tells us that the next report will be at a specific time, we normally desire a monthly report on each case.
/ specify percentages of the balance used for interest payment calculations.
The / rate is the interest rate charged on unpaid debt per month. This is normally in the range of 0.05 to 0.015. The system limits the maximum value to 0.05 to prevent `loan sharking'.
The / rate is the minimum portion of the current debt the computer will allow as a regular payment. This prevents us from accepting promises to pay minute amounts of money.
The / is the percentage of payments retained by the collection agency as fees for payments, while the / is the percentage retained on the value of product returns. A product return is normally credited at an amount specified by the creditor, and fees are collected relative to that amount.
/ selections specify decision points where / uses different strategies in the collection process.
The / is the minimum dollar amount worth pursuing.
The / is the minimum dollar amount worth making a telephone call about.
The / is the minimum dollar amount worth filing a law suit over.
The / is the number of `late' points required before a debtor is marked as habitually late.
The / is the number of `abuse' points required before a debtor is considered abusive.
The / is the number of broken promises before we consider the debtor a habitual liar.
| Company |
| Agency |
| Lawyer |
The / information describes the name and address of the company the debtor originally owed the money to. For companies collecting their own debts, this is the normal company information. For collection agencies collecting debts of other companies, it is normal to perform one installation per company, and in this case, the company information is the name of the agency's client.
The / information describes the information about the collection agency performing collections. For companies doing their own collections, it is normal to perform collections under a fictitious name. This gives the appearance that the collection agency is a different entity and that now more people know about the debt. It also tends to redirect any anger toward the collection agency rather than the company, so that it doesn't hurt reputation or sales. It is also common to use a post office box and separately listed or unlisted telephone number for a company owned collection agency. This helps disassociate the two. For a normal collection agency, this is the agency name.
The / information is the information on the lawyer used for legal collections should the collection process require legal action. It is always best to use a lawyer with a lot of collections experience, and to make certain both parties understand the legal arrangements for fees ahead of time. A good lawyer will also provide you with the information you need on credit forms to assure that legal fees can be added to the amount due, thus making your legal costs nominal and forcing the debtor to bear the cost of collections. By default, we include the name and address of a well known collection lawyer that has good collection facilities and expertise.
The / selection allows you to specify the default values for select parameters:
| Cause of Debt |
| Case Type |
| Area Code |
| City |
| State |
The / selection is used to specify the default reason for a debt. As an example, if you primarily sell jewelry, you might make the default `jewelry' so that in most cases, you don't have to specify the details when you enter a new case.
The / selection allows you to choose the default relationship between the `company' and the `debtor'.
The / selection specifies the default telephone number. It is commonly used to specify the area code only, so that when phone numbers are within the default area code, the area code information is not enteres.
The / and / entries allow you to specify default city and state entries. This operates the same way as the default telephone number. Please note that for heads down data entry when the defaults are not always perfect, it may be better to leave these values blank than to fill them in and require the user to undo the default.
The / selection is used to specify the utilities used by / for document formatting and printing. The defaults are almost always right, so you should only change these if you are an expert. Details of this are provided in the customization section of this manual.
The /// selection is used to enter your temporary registration number when you first install / and your permanent registration number when you register with /. Registration numbers must be reused when moving / from computer to computer and when changing some hardware configurations on your computer.