Bad record keeping that is the single worst situation and unfortunately, is widespread. It’s getting better with the onset of the computer, you know computers and more sophisticated ways of keeping books but it is amazing how even small and even some of the larger businesses have poor in house bookkeeping systems. They don’t keep track of what they’ve sold, when, where, if there were any damages to the product, if there were late deliveries. They don’t have a system that is well organized and especially well documented to enable me even as a good lawyer to win their case. After all, we have as the plaintiff they burden of proof.

We have to show a judge or in some cases a jury but mostly a judge whether it’s in pre-judgement ancillary remedy such as a pre-judgement right to attach order writ of attachment, which I can discuss later, or otherwise, we have to prove our case. And when you look at the sloppiness, incompleteness of the records of many businesses they just don’t get it. And so, the first thing I try to educate a client on is keep better records going forward. Here’s what you need to show if it’s a sale of goods. You got an order, was it the purchase order from the client or do you have a standard, master purchase order, which you ask your client or customer to sign and read?

If you do, you should have it attached to a credit application. You should have it attached to conditions of sales. In other words, if there are warranties, promises you’ve made of quality, you being the client, document it. If there are terms, document it. Don’t just say oh well, most people pay in 30 days. Make sure it’s written, make sure your client, your customer, if you will, knows the terms of the business. Make sure that you document it so that when he, she, or it do not pay their bills you can prove that you did everything that you needed to do correctly, timely, effectively, efficiently, and then you win the case and it’s amazing, just amazing.

A few years ago than today how many people don’t understand the critical nature of keeping books. I was blessed for 24 years with a bookkeeper in house who was just unbelievably good. She was ironclad and kept my practice absolutely straight on, if you will, with bookkeeping, with keeping credits, keeping charges, keeping late payments. Everything in order so I had the ideal system in my own office that I could show to my clients when they said well, how do I do it? What do I do? And the answer is hire very, very competent personnel and a bookkeeper is so critical.

And I say bookkeeper, it’s a bit old-fashioned we’re talking accounting personnel. But make sure that you have a hierarchy in that accounting personnel so that everybody knows what you’re doing. Everybody knows whose product got shipped, where, how, when, etcetera. And if there are problems, complaints, late deliveries that everybody in that chain of producing the product, billing the product knows what happened. It’s so important, and again, it comes back to the fact that you as the plaintiff, we as your lawyers, have to prove our case.