American Nurseryman -Jan 2012

Accounting for good business relations by Maria Zampini If you have a vendor or customer you want to stay married to in the good times you need to be taking care of them in the bad times as well Maria Zampini is the president of UpShoot LLC Her companys focus is living sharing and supporting horticulture through new plant introduction representation including LCN Selections She can be reached at maria@ upshoothort com and her website is www upshoothort com Trade shows are in full swing Were all a grippin and a grinnin as I call it And while it is enjoyable to meet and greet old and new customers we are all at trade shows for one or two basic reasons to buy or sell product Holiday and economic indicators are looking more promising than they have in years Hopefully that increased buying trend continues at the trade shows and more importantly in spring when consumers are out in full force But one of the age old business challenges we face is what happens after the sale namely accounts receivable and accounts payable Now that youve made your spring 2012 buys it is time to assess your ability to promptly pay for your orders Actually its past that time as it should have been done before placing an order But better late than never I know the topic isnt new however I believe we can all use a friendly reminder especially if it helps us during these overwhelmingly stressful times Youve likely heard the saying A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part If in business we fail to plan we plan to fail And when we dont adequately plan our purchasing it has a trickle down effect either for our vendors when we cant pay on a timely basis or for us when our customers dont pay as scheduled In an economic downturn there are many nurseries or green goods suppliers who are more than happy for your business quite honestly theyre taking orders from anyone and everyone regardless of whether the buyer is considered an A B or C grade customer Dont misunderstand me you need all size customers Pennies always add up to dollars What Im talking about here is how promptly customers pay their bills as cash flow is king There are even some people who will skip from vendor to vendor knowing they cant pay and can afford to burn some bridges Some will however be forced to switch vendors because for them the few nickels they save can mean life or death and at this point they have no other choice There are also those vendor customer combinations that are loyal to each other despite slow pay or slightly higher costs They talk frequently and work through the rough patches together as a team I think our industry has gone to just in time buying for many reasons but perhaps most of all because this way people are assured they can only buy and pay for what they can afford Wow just think What shape would our country be in if even more of us personally and professionally had taken that path instead of the enticing credit card lane But what goes up must come down The thing is this economic situation isnt going to last forever And when things do fall back in to line in my opinion more vendors are going to be able to pick and choose whom they do business with Thus I contend that right now is the time youd best be taking care of that customer or vendor who takes care of you If you have a vendor or customer you want to stay married to in the good times you need to be taking care of them in the bad times as well Now that youve made your spring 2012 buys it is time to assess your ability to promptly pay for your orders Actually its past that time as it should have been done before placing an order But better late than never If you didnt discuss terms up front youd better double check your order terms now If you need credit or extended terms ask for them 12 JANUARY 2012 American Nurseryman www amerinursery com