Software X Inc has completed its first year of business. X has had a great year as it markets speciality marketing plans for high end retail boutique companies. X has two marketing specialists. X's founder James Dixon had been a marketing executive for years for a large exchange traded company. He decided to strike on his own and he hired to key marketing people to get this business up and running. James split the territories into different geographical locations. X concentrates on high end boutiques such as women's boutique clothing groups; high end flower boutiques; and even high end independent niche bookstores. X also has done some marketing work for specialty architectural firms. X charges an upfront fee paid monthly over three months for its services and the X gets additional incentives if directly increases the company's revenues. James recently came back from meeting with his advisory accountancy firm as X outsourced the accounting to them. James has funded X entirely out of his excess capital as he has large personal savings built up from his days at the large exchange company - exercised stock options has given him a $5 Million capital base.
However, the accountancy group has explained to James that he has burnt through $500,000 cash from his savings getting this business off the ground. X has a superb gross margin on sales and low expenses except for commissions on deals done (paid to two marketing employees) but collections seem to be the reason for the cash burn. The specific issues James faces according to his accountants:
1. X has an average collection period on Accounts Receivables (from his customers) running at 120 days. These customers could pay (as James knows how to select paying customers) but they seem to pay sporadically. James charges no interest on overdue
Accounts Receivable accounts (accounts due in full in 30 days). Nobody at X conduct customers with overdue accounts.
2. James also has a concern that the two marketing employees (paid on commission based on $ value of deals completed with a trailing commission on monthly fees paid to X) are not currently following the stringent rules he set out for picking clients. James knows not to pick company's that have limited ability to pay. However, James now wonders if the two marketing employees have attempted to up their commissions by taking on more marginal clients - promising them much and then getting a commission on the upfront payment the customer pays. The two employees get a significant commission upfront as they take it out of the first month's upfront payment the client pays. A client normally pays a $10,000 upfront fee and then pays smaller amounts on a monthly basis.
You have been requested to draft a 500 word memo addressing the issues James faces on his cash flow problems and possible along with possible recommendations.