In the lifetime of most businesses, especially in the health care industry, companies need an injection of capital to keep running full speed ahead. Whether a medical practice or other healthcare business requires an expansion, relocation, new equipment, more inventory, the need to overcome an unforeseen emergency or a number of other reasons to acquire a healthcare loan, the loan lifecycle is one that tends to cause many doctors or healthcare practitioners to feel pressure.
The lumpiness of remittances and the loan billing cycle is one that can be overcome, but it must begin with the doctor's full understanding of their business, their finances and their payment options.
- UNDERSTAND YOUR SITUATION
It’s important to realize before it’s too late if your medical loan debt is becoming overwhelming. Assess the big financial picture and decide where to take immediate action to alleviate the situation. It might feel like extra work at the time, but it will save a lot of future heartache. Between late fees, employee loss or even the closing of your business, being proactive is one decision that will absolutely help you.
- CONSIDER A FINANCIAL PLANNER OR HIGH QUALITY ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE
Doctors have better things to do with their time than teaching themselves how to manage debt. Meeting with a certified financial planner will help you to manage your outstanding payments in terms of your general business costs and debt. You may learn insider tips on how to manage the lumpiness of your billing cycle – being educated in smart financial decisions is half the battle to successfully handling outstanding payments.
- RENEGOTIATE YOUR LOAN TERMS
If you’re at a point in your payment process where you just feel deep in a hole, contact your lenders to discuss other options. At the end of the day your lenders would rather be paid than have you go out of business, and being honest with them will likely bring positive outcomes for both of you. Feeling buried in debt is extremely stressful, and renegotiating your terms will help to ease some of that pressure.
- REDUCE YOUR BUSINESS COSTS – INTELLIGENTLY
Think about smart ways to reduce business costs. For instance, can you decrease your staff in ways that won’t put too much pressure on your other employees or business? Can you negotiate with your suppliers to receive a discount if you purchase in bulk or are a long-time customer? Can you combine stacked loans into one, often called debt consolidation loans (or business loan consolidation), to help reduce your interest rate, help prevent defaulting, and free you up from dealing with multiple payments? Can you refinance your loan? There are options available to help reduce your business costs. Just think intelligently about each one and any negative effects they might have before moving forward.
Being proactive in your medical business is the most important part of success. If you see that your debt might be weighing more heavily on you than anticipated, take the proper steps to overcome it.