Business without pain

It’s funny to see a topic like this because I don’t really have to speculate on what life would be like without the Internet. I’ve LIVED life without the Internet. So have the majority of writers on this site, I bet.

It would be different, sure. Much less efficient. Transactions would be slower, news would be slower, information gathering much, MUCH slower. But, somehow, I think life would go on just fine. It did for hundreds of years prior to the Internet, and were we to lose that handy little device I think society could manage to stumble out of the ashes of the old era and keep on trucking in much the same way it always did.

There would be many sacrifices, of course. Like I said, everything would slow down. We’d lose much of our sense for instant gratification: we’d actually have to wait for things again, and information wouldn’t be as readily available as before. We might - gasp! - actually have to INTERACT with one another again, in the flesh, and lord knows that would be a tragedy of unparalleled proportions. If nothing else a lot of us would lose jobs - all those programmers, web designers, web editors and content writers would find themselves looking for gainful employment elsewhere, and the sudden glut of unemployed might bring the job market to its knees for a while. (I’d be one of those sad people. Sigh.)

But think of all the good that would could of an Internet-less world. We could be PEOPLE again, not just biological organisms with keyboards strapped to their hands and monitors shielding their eyes. We’d have to go out and experience the world rather than sitting back and passively letting information come to us. We might gain a certain level of curiosity about the world around us again, rather than relying on the first-hand accounts of others to supplement our own lack of experience.

I think we’d find the overall populace getting healthier, as well. As I noted before, we’d have to go outside to work. I spent a lot of time indoors working each day, and I try to supplement that work time with lots of exercise in the sunshine, heading out into natural spots and just enjoying the world. I doubt everybody does that, though. I’m sure lots of workers just sit online all day, whether they’re working or not. Lacking the Internet they’d have to find something else to do, and since television is so devoid of intelligence these days (except you, blessed Discovery Channel) they might actually get off their butts and tone their bodies a bit, if only by going for walks.

The world would slow down. We might be more willing to tolerate a turtle’s pace through life - and to be honest, given the stress inherent with a hectic, always stimulated life, I think I’d enjoy being a turtle for a while.

So bring on the end of the Internet. I’d have to find a real job, sure, but that’s okay - as long as it doesn’t have a computer and gets me outside occasionally, I wouldn’t mind.

If you run or own a business, you may use an accounting method that allows for customers to pay at a later date. This account is known as the “accounts receivable” account. Basically, this account represents the money that is owed to your company from customers that have not yet paid. Having this option is good because it allows customers to pay their bill at a later date (like a credit card). However, problems can arise if customers do not pay their debt for services rendered.

When customers do not pay, you have to try to go through in-house collection processes. You cannot automatically send this person to an outside collection agency and negatively impact their credit report for being a little late. Additionally, depending on the size of your business and the amount owed, it may not be worth the time and money to pursue an account to that extreme level. As such, you have to determine whether outside collection services are needed or are even warranted.

In-house collection processes usually means that you send a late notice to the customer reminding them that their account is due. If this does not work, you may try to call the customer so that they can verbally tell you the situation. If this does not work, another late notice or another phone call may be warranted. However, you have to be sure that your collection attempts to not reach level that could be considered “harassing.”

If you are noticing that the customer is avoiding your correspondences, you have to analyze whether or not to pursue the account further. The amount owed, the likelihood of being paid, and the cost of further collection attempts (whether in-house or outside) need to be factored into your decision. You may find that trying to collect is not worth your time and as such, you will write the debt off as bad debt.

By deciding not to pursue the customer, there are disadvantages and advantages. The most obvious disadvantage is that you do not get paid the amount that is owed to you. Many companies hedge this loss by requiring new clients to deposit a retainer or some other type of deposit as a sign of good faith or willingness to pay the bills. The advantages of not collecting on the debt is that you get to write the debt off for tax purposes, you save time and money by stopping your debt collection process, and you can make more money by using this saved time to help other clients and customers.

Make your decision as to whether to pursue a nonpaying customer. Decide an appropriate amount of time for which to pursue the debt. Once this timeframe has passed, move on with your business and utilize your time for more important purposes. Fire the nonpaying customer and take care of your loyal, paying customers.