Payments and Billing
- Thread starter redsox24
- Start date
MINewBeginning
Expert
- 81
What's so wrong about cash payment client? If and when I am able to establish my own P&C agency, these will be my primary target.
- 414
I don't allow for cash payments. Pre-paid cards, money orders, etc. are fine but no cash. I try to enroll each of my clients on EFT or pay in full. Unless it's a referral then I'll allow direct monthly billing.
I call all of my pending cancellations one month then one week before cancelling. Most clients know they are behind and call in on their own but some moved without telling us or need to update their EFT account.
- Thread starter
- #4
MINewBeginning, no disrespect here but your answer shows you have a lot to learn when you start your own agency. Here is what your work flow is when a customer comes into your agency with cash. The customer hands you cash. You either choose to write out a receipt from a receipt book which you will have purchased for this reason or go to your computer and apply the payment directly to the company's website and print out a receipt. You owe the customer change which means you have a petty cash box with change for all customers. You hand the change to the customer, write how much change you gave to the customer on your copy of the receipt and file the payment in your payment envelope. This day, you had 30 visitors. 20 of them paid cash for their monthly premium payment. Now the day is coming to an end, someone has to get to the bank. A deposit has to be made into your agency management system. So an entry for cash receipts and then cash paid out must be made in each customer's account. Will this be your job? The money is added up, the petty cash drawer is paid back and someone goes to the bank. You will have an separate TRUST bank account at the bank. Will the bank charge you fees for this? Who is going to the bank? How much time will be spent there? Are they reimbursed for gas? These transactions happen every day that you are open. Who is in charge of these transactions? Are you? Aren't you supposed to be selling? If you aren't doing it, you will have to hire a trustworthy person that will handle cash everyday. Now the month is over, you get your bank statement and you have to make sure you balance against your records in your agency management system. Are you understanding what I am getting at? These seemingly insignificant transactions costs agency owners a lot of money.
We dont accept in office payments. All must be direct billed unless its commercial then we will accept the down payment in person for both direct bill and financed. ONLY DOWN PAYMENTS, we do not collect installments... That is how you attract non standard... sketch stuff... we dont like that stuff.
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- #6
It's hard to up and change this over night but I would issue a letter stating to those clients with recent changes in operations protocol you are no longer able to accommodate cash payments. This is kind of one of those hard spots that it would have been easier if you never started collecting cash in the first place. I personally have no problem telling a prospect thats not how we do business and that the agency down the street will help them. People understand things change, if they have to leave so be it, you can replace them.
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- #8
- 1,473
I have about %80 of my clients on EFT from checking account or CC and the other %20 on full pay. Its easy to set up and the client usually saves money by doing that.
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- #10
Getting resistance about this in the office. We live in a low income area and our employees are saying we aren't being fair to the people who have no checking accounts. I say, take your cash to the bank, get a bank check and pay your bill that way. How do they pay their phone and electric bill? How about their oil bills?
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