ORLANDO, Fla. -- Want to know how to manage your accounts receivable successfully?

Its easy, suggests certified public accountant and motorcoach operator Jeff Polzien, just dont have any.

"Just say no," he urged at a 2009 UMA Motorcoach Expo workshop designed to help motorcoach operators better control their businesses and collect money owed to them by their customers.

Polzien, owner of Red Carpet Charters in Oklahoma City, said thats what he does and it really works, saving him both money and time.

In most cases, he said, he requires charter customers to pay up front before he delivers his buses, just like what is done in most of the business world.

"What do you think the airlines would say if you told them that you want to fly with them but you didnt want to pay them for 30 days?," he asked. "No. They get their money before you ride."

Polzien said he has few exceptions to his policy, limiting his credit customers to long-time corporate clients and most government agencies, all of which have built good records with him of paying their bills and paying them on time.

Operators who do carry customers, he advised, need to have a firm collection plan in place that helps them stay on top of their accounts and increases their chances of getting paid as quickly as possible.

He recommends that bills be sent promptly requesting payment in 30 days and that customers who miss the deadline get a personal telephone call asking if they received their bill and reminding them their payment is overdue.

If no payment is received after 45 days, then a "final" notice should be sent and after 60 days, more drastic action should be taken, including more phone calls and mailings followed by possible legal action.

In addition to his tight policy on credit, he said operators should encourage customers to pay by check so their company does not have to pay the 3 percent fee normally charged by credit- and debit-card companies. "It can add up," he stressed.

Polzien even has a plan for customers who say they cant immediately pay with a check. He said he obtains their credit card information, but promises not to run it for 30 days so they have time to get the money together and make the payment by check.

He warned, too, of customers who usually dont pay until the last minute because that could mean theyre paying for each charter with money theyve collected for future trips.

"Theyre not the kind of customers you want to give credit to and it might be better if they go down the road to someone else," he said.