BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AMERICAN SOD PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION 4415 WEST HARRISON STREET HILLSIDE, ILLINOIS 60162 FIRST CLASS MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID Hillside, IL 60162 Permit No. 217 Rush to: June/July, 1985 FILE ASPA_DUES LEVELS ARE UNCHANGES FOR 1985-86... RENEWAL DEADLINE SET FOR JULY 1 Membership dues fees -for the coming year in ASPA will remain at their 1984-85 level, according the the Board of Trustees. Renewal notices have been sent to all current members, with the new membership year beginning on July 1, 1985. To avoid any suspension in benefits or services, dues payments should be made promptly. Care should be taken in reviewing all of the information contained in the renewal notice, with any required changes being made directly on the notice and returned to ASPA, along with proper payment. Items to review with extreme care are: 1. Firm/Farm Name 2. Representative's Name 3. Mailing Address, particularly numbers 4. Acreage in production... including all acres devoted to sod, regardless of maturity or planned harvest dates. 5. Secondary Members and "Turf News" Subscription information Payment should be made to ASPA, in U.S. Funds. REMINDER: ASPA RENEWAL DEADLINE IS JULY 1 This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is provided with the understanding that this publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Published bi-monthly for members of the American Sod Producers Association, under the auspices of the ASPA Business Management Committee. We invite your comments and recommendations. ASPA'S SECONDARY MEMBERSHIP PROVE EXCELLENT FARM MANAGER MOTIVATION EDUCATION TOOL An excellent method to motivate, educate and reward -farm managers is by use of ASPA's Secondary Member category. This level of membership includes the information-packed AS PA binder, membership plaque and monthly receipt of "Turf News" magazine or "Business Management Newsletter," as well as other special mailings generated by ASPA. The non-owner, farm manager has access to the latest sod production information prepared by ASPA and certainly feels part of the "team" because of this special membership. All of this for only $50 a year? To enroll an individual as a Secondary Member, the primary member must pay dues at the Class A-III rates, $300 for 1985-86, regardless of the actual number of acres in production, and provide complete mailing information for the Secondary. This enrollment can be accomplished at the same time the Primary Member's dues are paid. "Turf News" can be sent to anyone by an ASPA member for only This has proven to be a valuable benefit for $6.00 a year. assistant farm managers or other key employees. The bi-monthly magazine can be sent directly to the employees home or office address, thus exposing the individual to all of the latest information about the industry and association. Current ASPA Members can arrange to send subscripton copies of "Turf News" at the same time they pay their 1985-86 dues. HELP KEEP FIELD TEAMS HEALTHY SUPPLY AMPLE AMOUNTS OF FRESH, COOL WATER Working in an open field, engaged in strenuous work such as sod harvesting can endanger your employee's health, if precautions are not taken. Because water helps keep the body's temperature down, care should be taken to insure fresh and cool water is reasonably available at each work site. If too much body fluid is lost through perspiration, and not replaced, the blood thickens and internal temperatures will increase, perhaps to very unhealthy levels. Studies have shown that every ounce of weight lost through perspiration should be replaced by an equal weight of water. The low cost of supplying fresh water and the small amount of down-time during a break certainly off-set heavier lasses that could be encountered because of employee illness and resultant medical and/or sick-pay costs. timely tips from Cecil Collings, Business Management EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT... a few Committee Chairman This month's theme page will be brief. It deals with time management and after all, brevity is one of the components of effective time management. Several years ago, our current president, Bill Campbell, gave me a paperback book entitled, "Getting Things Done.” In it, the writer pointed out that there are four types of demands made upon our time. They were classified as: "Urgent and important" "Important but not urgent" "Urgent but unimportant" "Neither urgent nor important" The problem comes when deciding what to do next. He suggested that we keep a running list of jobs on our desks and learn to classify each new task as it comes to us into one of those four categories. Most of the time, there is no problem deciding what to do first. Tasks that are urgent and important can rarely be put aside. It's just too easy to fall into the trap of chasing around doing things which seem urgent but are really of no real importance because they are not screaming for immediate attention. Finally, the writer suggested we must learn to say "NO" to others who would unload their urgent problems on us, even though their problems may not really be our concern and certainly not urgent or important to us. SOCIAL SECURITY RECORDS WORTH AN OCCASIONAL CHECK How certain are you that your Social Security tax payment records agree with what the government has? There's an easy way to check on this important area and it's recommended that you check every few years. This may be particularly good advice now that the Social Security office is tranferring all of its records to a new computer system. An SSA-7004 statement of earning request form is available from all district Social Secruity offices, some senior citizen centers and post offices. The postcard size form is easy to complete with self explanatory directions, but a response may take about four weeks. To also get an estimate of retirement benefits circle the letters "AX" in the upper right-hand corner of the card and write the letters "BE", for benefit estimate, next to it. If you're not at least 60, this estimate may not be very accurate because of change of income you are likely to encounter in your later earning years. "AN UNPAID ORDER IS NOTHING MORE OR LESS THAN A LOAN..." Graham Cunningham, editor of “Independent Business Review," published by the Bank of Montreal, writes that not only is an unpaid order nothing more than a loan you've extended, he adds, "a deal is not a sale until the cash is collected." Cunningham reports that collecting at the earliest possible time is more than a desirable business practice, it is more often than not a basic survival strategy, particularly when cash is king- As an example, Cunningham points out that if you base interest at 14%, the company that allows accounts receivable to reach an average of 64 days loses $9,000 of profits on every $1 million of sales, compared to the company who doesn’t permit receivables to average more than 40 days. Cunningham suggests three steps to good credit control; credit policy, collection procedures and meticulous book keeping. Permit credit only when the customer truly deserves it... would you lend a stranger interest free money? Establish a credit limit based on factual information and bank reports. For those who seem questionable, resort to COD, or CBD (Cash Before Delivery). According to Cunningham, experience shows that adding interest to overdue accounts doesn’t dis­ courage account delinquency. . .it's an exercise in futility. Collections are improved by establishing policy and prompt follow-up- Write or call no more than a week after the first payment is missed. Get a commitment of payment and follow that up... let them know you mean business. By the 50th day of late payment, call again and get another com- mitment... make sure they know you're disappointed in their reneging on their agreement. If sales are continuing, go to the COD or even CBD approach to avoid incurring more "free loans. " Establish a bookkeeping system that pin-points slow or no­ pay customers. Without this knowledge, you'll never be able to take any meaningful collection steps. The system does not have to be sophisticated, but accurate and timely. It should record sales, cash receipts and accounts receiveable on a daily basis. Another useful tool is subscribing to the ASPA DUN & BRADSTREET COMMERCIAL COLLECTION SERVICE. For Just $25 for the 1985 calendar year, ASPA members in the U.S. and Canada can gain access to one of the world's most reputable and successful collection services. The normal cost of an annual subscription is $100, so ASPA members save $75 right away. To subscribe to this service, simply jot a note to ASPA, giving your firm name and representative's name and complete address and phone number. The $25 payment to ASPA should be enclosed.