Section: Termite Administration

Subject: Termite Collection 

Approved by: Tony Massey

Effective Date: 27 October 1999

Last Reviewed Date: 9 October 2025

Policy Owner: Administrative Training Manager

Policy #

PURPOSE

The philosophy and concepts that support Massey’s Collection Policies and Procedures are:

• Our sales inspectors, technicians, and service managers must collect all charges in advance or at the time of service.  Sales Inspectors are charged with this responsibility because it is a valuable closing technique and will also anchor the sale. (See P&P 1105, Credit Policies)
• Termite Protection billing will be routinely managed by Business Intelligence on the accounts that do not pay before or at the time of service and have a balance owing.
• General managers, service managers, and office managers must provide daily follow up with all team members to assure collections are being made on all accounts at the time of sale/service.

The step-by-step procedures that each team member must follow in order to accomplish our total collection goals are outlined on the following pages.

Note: See PP1105 Credit Policies, for specific guidelines on cash and credit including credit card policies.

COLLECTION CALL ACTIVITY

All efforts will be undertaken to collect outstanding balances; however, such actions will adhere strictly to applicable federal and state regulations. To ensure compliance, collection calls will be made only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., based on the customer’s local time. Additionally, no more than seven calls will be made within a seven-day period or within seven days of having a conversation with a customer.

Responsibilities #

General Manager Responsibilities #

The general manager has the overall responsibility to make sure all collection policies and procedures are followed. In addition to managing the overall program the general manager has the following specific responsibilities: 

• Ensure that all team members are trained in all collection policies and procedures.
• Ensure that only Massey authorized terms are offered to customers.
• Review all agreements for completeness before assigning them to the service department.
• Enforce Massey policy in regard to depositing all monies the day they are collected.
  • All monies should be scanned via the check scanner before 12:00 pm and/or taken to the bank before 2:00 pm each day for cash and foreign checks.
  • All monies received after 2:00 pm, including cash, must be secured and deposited the following day – without exception.
  • The service center administrative team members will report the deposit daily by 12:00 pm, via the ‘Report Deposit’ link on the intranet. 
• On the 25th of each month,
  • A copy of the Initial Services Completed but not Paid in Full report will be given to the Sales Inspector and General Manager. All completed accounts that have not paid in full must be contacted and collected prior to month end close.
  • Ensure the company bad debt procedure is followed on all un-collectible accounts.
  • Review commission reports for accuracy.
• Using the Debit Management by Region and Service Center in Detail report, personally contact all customers appearing in the “Over 60 Days” columns. Establish a date/time with customer for payment ofthe past due balance, when in violation of terms on service order.
• Ensure that the office manager has a control file set up by sections as follows:
  • Sold, not completed
  • Completions, this month
  • Completions, prior months, not paid
• Assist the sales, service, and administrative teams in performing their responsibilities. Ensure that all team members understand their individual role in the complete collection process.
• Ensure that no commissions are paid on termite services where collection terms are outside the guidelines of Massey policy and/or stipulated in the original service agreement.

 Note: There will be no commissions paid if the credit guidelines are not followed in full. (See PP1105 Credit Policies)

Sales Inspector and Account Manager Responsibilities #

The sales inspector/account manager is responsible for ensuring that accounts are up to date with their collections. As the initial point of contact for customers with Massey, the sales inspector/account manager has several key responsibilities related to all sales activities.

• Make the presentation and close the sale.
• Offer the auto-pay payment option.
• Obtain a signed agreement which clearly indicates email address, complete billing information, home, work, and mobile phone numbers.
• Be certain that the customer fully understands the method of service and payment, the insects and areas covered by the agreement, and the type of guarantee to be issued.
• Evaluate the customer’s ability to pay in order to offer the best service possible within the limits of the customer’s budget.
• Offer the customer all payment options including pay in advance and auto pay.
• Follow-up with a personal visit within thirty (30) days to see that the work was performed satisfactorily and to ask for referrals.
• Collect the required payment on all fumigation agreements and full payment for all other termite agreements at the time of sale and explain company policy regarding payment of the remaining balance in accordance with PP1105 Credit Policies.
• Provide the termite technician with as much information as possible about the service. If there is an outstanding balance the sales inspector is to meet the technician at the property to collect the remainder of the balance for the service.
• Collect all special service or one time services at the time of sale. (All exceptions must have prior written approval in accordance with PP1105 Credit Policies)
• Review the Debit Management by Region and Service Center in Detail report each week with the general manager.  Make follow-up visits and phone calls to all customers who have not paid.

Note: Sales inspectors and account managers will not be paid commission on any agreement not sold in accordance with PP1105 Credit Policies.

Service Manager Responsibilities #

The service manager is responsible for making sure that the termite technician is thoroughly trained in executing a quality termite service in a productive and efficient manner.

The service manager is specifically responsible for the following items:

• Ensure that all complaint calls are serviced according to Massey policy and in a way that will maintain a satisfied customer.
• Review termite technician’s work using the Technician Summary Report.
• Review the Technician Assigned Daily Work Sheet to ensure that all services are paid prior to service completion.
• Contact all customers appearing on the ‘Over 30’ and ‘Over 60’ day column of the Debit Management by Region and Service Center in Detail report and log all commitments for payment of the past due balance if in violation of the terms of the service agreement.

Termite Technician Responsibilities #

The termite technician plays a vital role in assuring that a customer’s agreement is fulfilled. After the sale the termite technician, alone with their attitude and execution in providing service, is a major factor in keeping all accounts under guarantee.

The termite technician is specifically responsible for the following items:

• Perform the initial service and handle any necessary follow-up calls in a manner that will maintain a satisfied customer.
• Upon arriving, the termite technician will present the customer with the workorder/invoice reflecting charges due upon completion of the work.
• When the down payment was not collected by the sales inspector at the time of sale, payment must be collected by the sales inspector or the termite technician prior to completing the scheduled work.
• All workorders must be filled out completely and accurately with the customer’s signature obtained using the mobile device.  If the workorder is on paper, bring the customer copy back to the service center when the billing address differs from the service address, or the account is a corporate billed account.
  • Depending on the billing arrangements with the customer, an alternate system is to make/print a copy of the workorder and mail or email it to the customer (administrative team member, service manager, or general manager).
• Notify the service manager immediately of any account that you feel may have financial problems, which may lead to non-payment of the balance.

Administrative Responsibilities #

Collection efforts are the most important function of the administrative team.  All administrative team members are expected to spend a minimum of one hour every day on the collection of accounts.

1. After the initial termite service is complete, the administrative team will make a “Welcome to Massey Call” to ensure that the service was performed to the customer’s satisfaction (PP-105 Welcome to Massey Quality Assurance Program).  All account information will be verified for accuracy including email, phone numbers, and billing address.  The scope of service and future service schedule will be confirmed with the customer.  Any remaining balance on the account will be collected and the customer will be offered the option of having the account on auto pay.
2. If the balance is not collected by the 30-day mark, the administrative team will contact the customer via telephone and a collection letter (Appendix A: Collection Letter 1).
3. Subsequent statements will be mailed during the statement cycle and until such a time that they payment is received in full.
4. If the balance is not collected by the 60-day mark, the administrative team will contact the customer via telephone and a collection letter (Appendix B: Collection Letter 2).

Debit Management #

The following procedures will be used to enhance collections through personal contact with our customers.

While executing the month end closing process, the office manager will print the Debit Management by Region and Service Center in Detail report.  This report will be printed in duplicate as of the last day of the month, with an updated report printed weekly (Thursday), and distributed as follows:

• First Copy: To be used by the office manager, service manager, and general manager, as a master list to log all customer telephone communication and commitments.  The office manager, service manager, sales inspector, and account manager are responsible for contacting all customers in the ‘Over 30’ day column.  The general manager is responsible for contacting all customers in the ‘Over 60’ days column, and all cancelled accounts with a debit balance.
• Second Copy: To be used by the administrative team to log telephone communication and commitments on all accounts in the ‘Over 30’ day column, including responses from Sales Inspectors.  This copy should be filed along with the manager’s copy at the end of the month.

All customers in the ‘Over 30’ and ‘Over 60’ day columns must be contacted each week and details of the conversation logged in the CRM notes section of the customer account.

It is the general manager’s responsibility to make sure that efforts are made to contact all customers with a balance that is inconsistent with the terms of their agreement. To ensure that each customer on the Debit Management by Region and Service Center in Detail is contacted, the general manager should divide telephone collection efforts amongst the service center team as follows:

Table 1.

Collection Responsibility by Role

Status	Responsibility
Over 30 Days	Sales inspector/ account manager (call or visit)Service manager (call or visit)Administrative team
Over 60 Days	Administrative teamService manager (call or visit)General manager (call or visit)

Bad Debt Process for Delinquent Accounts #

An account will be posted as a bad debt and sent for collection only after the following conditions have been satisfied:

1. All debt can be supported by completed workorders and a signed customer agreement.
2. No arrangement has been reached for satisfactory repayment of the debt.
3. The general manager has made a final attempt to contact the customer via telephone and in person and all collection efforts have been exhausted and documented according to policy.
4. The customer has been sent a Final Collection Letter (Appendix C) via certified mail.

On the last day of every month the general manager will review a final Debit Management by Region and Service Center in Detail report and approve the following action:

• List the cancelled account on a Bad Debt Adjustment form (Appendix D)for the following month. Put the customer’s hard file with the Bad Debt Adjustment form.  Continue to make collection calls.

Example:

1. The account is cancelled on the last day of the month due to a delinquent balance.
2. The Bad Debt Adjustment form is completed at the time of cancellation (prior to the 1^st of the new month)
3. The office manager will mail a final invoice along with the Final Collection Letter via certified mail on the last day of the month.
4. On or before the 10^th of the new month, a fully prepared bad debt file will be sent to the regional manager for approval.  The file will include the Bad Debt Adjustment form completed in its entirety, proof of service (completed workorder), a signed customer agreement, and proof of the Final Collection Letter being mailed via certified mail.
5. The regional manager will forward the bad debt file to the regional vice president for approval by the 21^st of  the month
6. The approved Bad Debt Adjustment form will be returned to the service center by the 25^th of the current month.
7. On the last business day of the month, the office manager will review the account of each approved bad debt for payment and to make a final collection call.
8. If payment is not secured, the office manager will post a bad debt credit on the customer account.
9. The approved bad debt file will be forwarded to the Accounting bad debt department for further collection activity.
10. If there is no response from the customer within 45 days of the bad debt department’s Final Collection Letter, the account will be turned over to a collection agency.

Note: Once an account has been processed as a bad debt, if the customer contacts the service center to make a payment, process the payment while the customer is on the phone, applying the monies to cash on program.  After the payment is successful, put in a helpdesk ricket to the Accounts Receivable department to reverse the bad debt then apply the monies on cash on program to the open invoice.

Returned/NSF Checks #

All checks returned for the reason of non-sufficient funds should be processed as follows:

1. On the same day the check is returned by the bank, the accounts receivable department will post a debit adjustment equal to the amount of the check on the customer account using the code ‘NSF Check’
2. A copy of the check will be returned to the customer with the Collection Letter NSF-1 (Appendix E) and a statement showing the status of the account.
3. The accounts receivable department will retain the original check.

Appendices #

Downloads #