Sounds like good advice to me.  Our standard policy is that we bill Net30 and at 45 days if the account is still delinquent, we send a polite reminder. If we still don't receive payment, when a new order comes in from the client, we call them and notify them that we will not be able to complete the search until the delinquent balance is paid. 

The important thing is having a policy to deal with delinquent accounts and sticking to it.  If you fall for the "check is in the mail" bit once, you could wind up losing even more money.  Often times, we will do the search, but we won't send it out until we receive the payment.  That way, it is ready to go as soon as the check arrives.

Best,
Robert A. Franco
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