By: Maria Moynihan
As consumers, we expect service, don’t we? When service or convenience lessens or is taken away from us altogether, we struggle to comprehend it. As a recent example, I went to the pharmacy the other day and learned that I couldn’t pick up my prescription since the pharmacists were out to lunch. “Who takes lunch anymore?” I thought, but then I realized that too often organizations limit their much needed services as a cost-saving measure.
Government is no different. City governments, for instance, may reduce operating hours or slash services to balance budgets better, especially when collectables are maxed out, with little movement. For many agencies, reducing services is the easiest way to offset costs.
Often, municipalities offset revenue deficits by optimizing their current collections processes and engaging in new methods of revenue generation. Why then isn’t revenue optimization and modernization being considered more often as a means to offset costs? Some may simply be unsure of how to approach it or unaware of the tools that exist to help. For agencies challenged with collections, there is an option for revenue assurance.
With the right data, analytics and technologies, agencies can maximize collection efforts and take advantage of their past-due fines and fees to:
- Turn stale debt into a new source of revenue by determining the value of their entire debt portfolio and evaluating options for a stale assets sale
- Reduce delinquencies by better assessing constituents and businesses at the point of transaction and collecting outstanding debt before new services are rendered
- Minimize current debt by segmenting and prioritizing collection efforts through finding and contacting debtors and gauging their capacity to pay
- Improve future accounts receivable streams by identifying the best collectable debt for outsourcing
What is your agency doing to offset costs and balance budgets better? See what industry experts suggest as best practices for collections, and generate more revenue to keep services fully in place for your constituents.