In a company as diverse as MPW in people and professions, it’s easy for all employees to settle into their immediate surroundings and lose touch with what other departments do on a regular basis, even on the same campus. Per reader request to focus more upon all MPW employees, sometimes all we need to bridge this gap is to experience ‘A Day in the Life’ through our co-workers’ eyes.
Each day is unique in accounts receivable. “I always begin my day with a plan of attack,” said Accounts Receivable Representative Vicki Turner. “But this often gets set aside if one of our field offices needs assistance with revised invoices, access to customer information portals or if a customer contacts our department and needs assistance with an incorrect billing or some other information.”
Turner said she manages customer accounts for the Midwest and some of the South Atlantic districts as well as all facility and environmental customers including the former RFG/MPW relationship. On a weekly average she manages roughly 150 customers and a total of approximately $17,000,000 in receivables with an average 85 percent current. Turner said all accounts receivable group members work very hard to be preventive, so they are in constant contact with new customers to ensure they have everything necessary to pay MPW invoices on time. Accounts receivable group members are also in constant contact with known “problem customers” to try to prevent payment delays.
Turner said her team also receives requests from customers, MPW salespeople and MPW Business Development team members to assist with forms necessary to set MPW up as a supplier for any new customer with whom MPW is working. “In between all of that, emails are sent to any customer with an invoice that is past due, or if it’s a new customer, I will touch base to make sure they have our invoice and ask if there is anything they need from us to approve the invoice for payment,” she said.
“There is never a dull moment,” Turner said. “There is always something new to learn and my teammates are awesome—not only my accounts receivable teammates but all my Midwest, South Atlantic and IS teammates, too! We all help each other in any way we can. I feel blessed to work with these groups of people and with the entire MPW team.”
Turner, who joined MPW in September 2015, said her interest in accounts receivable can be traced back 14 years to her previous employer, where Turner was responsible for handling collections for five manufacturing plants with an average of roughly $20 million per week in receivables. “Our primary customer was a big box store whose accounts payable group was in India,” she said. Turner said all communication was via email, and proof of delivery packets had to be compiled and submitted electronically for any disputed invoice or deduction taken that her department disputed. “I enjoyed the challenge of researching and was dubbed as Nancy Drew by my boss,” she said.
Turner said her department contributes to MPW by collecting customer payments so MPW can pay its suppliers and employees. “This is how companies grow and keep everyone happy,” she said. “I always say we (the accounts receivable group) are the janitors and we mop up the messes! We are the back-end discovery group and bring problems to light to be resolved by MPW team effort.”