Credit, Cash Flow, And Collections with Thea Dudley

If you are going to grow a successful roofing business, you’re probably going to need a credit line with a local material distributor. In today’s interview with Thea Dudley, we’re going to get into how your supplier can help. Thea has over 30 years of credit and collection management experience in the construction industry. She writes a credit advice column for ProSales Magazine and has presented education sessions for numerous trade organizations.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

Thea’s background, growing up as the teenager tagging along on her dad’s construction site
The problem and the trap in “shuffling” the money around
The confusion in setting up a company and handling the money issues
The problem when you push your bookkeeping off on someone else because you don’t want to be bothered with it
The problem with working capital and cash flow

What Thea wants to see: a financial statement that shows payroll, costs of goods and services, and if jobs are being underbid
Why trade suppliers are a much cheaper loan than a bank, but they still have required paperwork
Only half of the contractors who ask for discounts actually take them
Things a credit person can teach you
Liens, pre-liens, and lien waivers and why you should explain it all up-front
The automatic process of lien notices
Why you need extra security against the bad things that MIGHT happen
Why you should have a relationship with your credit manager
How Thea can help when rough times come
Why contractors are afraid to ask for the money
Why you can’t use “hope” as your credit tool but must hold people accountable
Processes that need to be in place about a payment schedule
Why you must focus on indemnification and how you will get paid
Keep emotion out of money conversations
Document every conversation: “If you do end up in court, best documentation wins.”