Complete Story
11/18/2025
How To Properly Carve a "Turkey" Before It Carves You
Source: Andrea Schlack, November 10, 2025
Thanksgiving: a time for gratitude, gravy, and—if you're in credit and collections—a fresh serving of financial indigestion. But this year, skip the stuffing and talk turkey. Specifically, how not to carve up your receivables like a bird on the holiday table.
🪓 Step One: Know Your Bird (a.k.a. Your Customer)
Before you extend more credit, take a hard look at the turkey in question. Is it plump with potential or just full of hot air? Because nothing ruins a feast faster than a customer who’s already behind on payments but still asking for seconds.
Cue the infamous “120% Deal”: the customer owes $10,000 but promises to pay $12,000 on their next order—$2,000 toward the old debt, $10,000 for the new. Sounds generous, right? Like a turkey offering to baste itself.
🍽️ Step Two: Don’t Let the Drumstick Distract You
That 20% debt recovery? Often just garnish. The real meat—the new sale—is what the customer wants. They’ll use your product, your goodwill, and your extended terms to keep their business afloat… until they find a supplier who doesn’t ask for the garnish.
Suddenly, your turkey waddles off to another vendor, using the cash flow you created to pay someone else. You’re left with a wishbone and a fresh stack of unpaid invoices.
