GPI 446 – Always accept cash sales. Never turn down a cash sale, regardless who it is.

Everyone has had customers in the past that did not pay on time, were late with payments or when they found themselves out of money, came and begged your firm for more credit. Your company may have caved in and given them more credit. After you helped them, some still did not pay you or went out of business. After all of your troubles, you never got paid the full amount that was owed regardless of your kind efforts. Please remember that as much as that is important, it is now irrelevant. It is unrelated to accepting cash sales in your course of business.

Some customers are going to default no matter what you attempt to do. Unless you completely stop credit sales, you will endure more losses in the future.

Regardless of what transpired in the past, declare a steadfast company rule that your company always accepts cash sales. Always, without exception, take cash.

Reasons to take cash sales (regardless of the customer):

• Cash from current debtors: Take cash even from the guy who still owes you $1,000,000.  You may never get the million but you will get the cash for this sale and that helps to turn inventory back into cash.  Make sure to apply the cash you receive today towards the past-due amounts on his statement regardless of what he wants. Send him a revised statement showing the payment and the new open current invoices.
• Cash from bankrupt losses:  Take cash even from the guy who went bankrupt and caused your company a financial loss in the past. Just make sure the cash he gives to you is paid up-front. Require a prepaid incoming wire transfer cleared and credited to your bank account prior to shipping him anything else.  Forget what he did not pay you previously. Focus on the money he is now putting in your hand. Drop your feelings and do not allow him give his cash to someone
• Cash from unlikeable people: Take cash even from those you personally do not like (i.e. ex-customers, difficult vendors or even competitors).  If you do not, they will have someone else buy it from you for cash or worse, go give the cash to your competitor.