To quit or not to quit?

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  • #191328
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    So i’ve been working at this company for 3 months now and the first 2 months were great! I work in accounts payable and from the 3 months that ive been working here, it is clear to me that this is company is crazy strapped for cash.. they have trouble paying their bills on time.. its so bad to the point that vendors have held our orders for nonpayment. Its gotten really bad. They’ve laid off more than 50 plant/corporate employees so far.. this is a small-mid size manufacturing company so they are significantly downsizing. Had a meeting today with management today and its going to get worse before it gets better. our sales are decreasing and payables/expenses keep increasing. Theyve brough in new people to restructure everything but its going to take some time before it gets better (more than 6 months).

    we owe vendors a lot of money.. and they call every day asking for payment and im at the point where i dont know what to tell them anymore. Ive talked with the cfo and my managers and theyre suggesting I negotiate the amount we pay ( we have a lot of past due invoices) … like ask them if theyll release our order if we cut a check for half the amount of the past due invoices). sometimes that doesnt work. these people want their money and im at a loss for words. Obviously I cant tell them that we dont have the money.. or we have to save what little money we have for other stuff…

    Ive only been with this company for 3 months and even though they laid off a buncha people, my department actually.. promoted me to staff accountant.. I was only a clerk before and im sort of a recent grad (graduated a year ago). Its so bad i can see them not being able to pay my salary if it doesnt get better. I kinda wanna leave because its basically a shithole here now (after laying off a whole buncha people i was close with) but i want to stay because i want to help make a difference and Id get a lot of experience… so two questions

    1.) how do i handle vendors asking for payment

    2.) should i stay or go?

    Any advice would be appreciated!

Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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  • #638040
    needhelpnow
    Member

    2) Start applying for another job right away. Quitting before you have something else lined up isn' a good idea.

    #638041
    evesocal
    Member

    1. Say whatever your supervisors told you to say.

    2. Like needhelpnow said, find another job ASAP and leave.

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    #638042
    mla1169
    Participant

    As for vendors asking for payment, they don't care what the reason is, so its not necessary to give them a reason. If you know when they will be paid even if its a month from now, you just tell them when they will be paid. Its ok to say can you call back next Friday and I should be able to give you a date then, or that you are waiting for your CFO to release the payment (which you are). If their terms are net 30 and you know you're paying 60 or 90 days just say so. Yes they're going to hold orders and theres nothing you can do about that but relay the message. B2B collections are nothing at all like personal collections with the pressure tactics (I say this with 100% certainty as I've done both). You're talking to someone who is looking at an A/R aging and is obligated to go down a list of over 30 day balances and make some kind of note to document that they made an attempt to collect the money and thats it. You might run into one or 2 phone calls where the person calling becomes agressive, just keep your cool and say that you're sorry but you're only in a position to provide information not to make decisions.

    As for leaving, just look for something else first. I've found potential employers to understand and accomodate working job seekers and have often had interviews after office hours.

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    #638043
    Rocky123
    Member

    That's a scary situation to be in. Did they mention the financial stability of their company during the interview process?

    I would start looking elsewhere. There's not much more stressful in life than not knowing if your paycheck could be your last.

    The tallest oak in the forest was once just a little nut that held its ground.

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    #638044
    BRITTANY.CAMP
    Participant

    I've been in the same boat as you. I also work in accounts payable. We went through a rough couple of years of getting behind on paying vendors. I had vendors calling all the time. We have over 100 vendors that we deal with throughout the year. We get our money from the state and sometimes they get behind on paying us. We just had to pay the utilities and things that keep the company running.

    A few things that helped cut down on some vendors was cutting those out that weren't necessary and finding vendors that were cheaper. Maybe you can research if the company is using unnecessary vendors and maybe find ways to cut costs. Sometimes you just have to prioritize who gets paid first. Hope things get better for you and maybe you can find a better job. Accounts payable is enjoyable for me though.

    #638045
    BRITTANY.CAMP
    Participant

    And the people I work for usually will not talk to the vendors.

    As far as handling them, just be considerate of how they feel and never piss them off. Just be respectful and tell them you are doing your best to get them paid. They usually understand that it isn't your fault. And do what your boss has said and try to offer them partial payment. Some is better than none. If they don't want that, maybe just send them something anyway.

    #638046
    TiffaNiffaNi
    Member

    1. From a collections standpoint, just keep the communication lines open. When clients tell me that they are experiencing cash flow issues, I do my best to work with them. Typically, I tell them that at minimum we need to see some progress (i.e. a small payment each month). If I have to chase you or you stop returning my calls, etc. that's when collection action escalates. As far as vendors holding orders, there's not a whole lot you can do once you go to cash terms with them. You can work yourself back up to credit terms, but it will usually take quite a bit of time to reestablish your credit worthiness. Overall, I can't stress enough to just keep the communication lines open and never fib about having mailed out a payment when it really wasn't sent.

    2. At this point, I would absolutely start looking for another job. The boat is sinking and you need to get off unless you think they will give you something valuable to put on your resume between now and when they file for bankruptcy protection. However, this is a risky waiting game. I worked at a place that had a very, very similar situation and once they got to the point of vendors cutting them off, they were only open for another few months. The employees never got their last paychecks. They showed up to work one day and were simply told to go home.

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    #638047
    Herbieherb
    Participant

    Yes definitely start looking. One of my old companies was like that. Even was late on their rent payment…small layoff first, then a massive layoff after they maxed out their line of credit with the bank.

    NEW YORK- DONE

    #638048
    musicamor
    Member

    Contrary to the advice given on this thread, I wouldn't be so quick to quit. You need to have open and honest conversations with the CFO and your manager. If they're doing their best to (1) help you keep your job and (2) remediation-type activities in order to bring the company out of a rough patch, then take a moment to look at the big picture. Just because you're in the fire doesn't mean you're going to get burnt. I've worked for a dairy company that hit a rough patch. Had I quit, I would've missed out on some great experience that now resides on my resume. Give it some more thought.

    Texas CPA - licensed in 2012!!!

    #638049
    mla1169
    Participant

    Musicamor has a good point. But not all “rough patches” are the same. If you're in a fairly stable industry (which I imagine daily most often is) a few changes by the company can right the ship and you stand to gain by hanging in there.

    When I left my last manufacturing job, the industry itself was tanking. We were a subcontractor to the three largest defense contractors in the country. They were having huge layoffs, the defense department was having furloughs and it would be YEARS before there was any hope for the little subcontractors to turn the corner. (Last I heard everyone was still working 30 hours a week with a 10% hourly pay cut).

    So look not only at your employer but the industry itself. As an extreme example if you only manufacture cigarettes get out now because the industry is declining and will not recover, ever. If it's a good industry like gluten free products but just mismanaged, hang in there.

    FAR- 77
    AUD -49, 71, 84
    REG -56,75!
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    Massachusetts CPA (non reporting) since 3/12.

    #638050
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Thanks for the input guys. honestly feel like this is a sinking ship but im gonna stay for a little longer and see how it goes… will probably slowly start looking for other jobs as well

Viewing 11 replies - 1 through 11 (of 11 total)
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