New Zealand Credit Finance Institute president David Young, of Dunedin, said the recession saw credit managers focus more on core credit functions.
Approval processes and criteria had tightened and a more proactive approach to collection was being taken, he said.
The institute had seen an increased demand for training seminars, both in-house and public, as businesses looked to improve the performance of their credit departments in a competitive environment.
"There is a great deal of competition for payment, especially with consumers who are finding it difficult to cope.
The changes to GST and tax will not help those who are already committed."
Marginal businesses that had not been able to adjust to the tighter credit environment had closed, bringing short-term pain but the overall economy would be stronger in the long-term.
Mr Young, a director of his own company Debtworks, with offices in Dunedin and Auckland, said his staff were busy.
Some of the work was from the credit crunch and some of it was the "second wave" of companies that had not been able to adjust to the new post-crunch environment.
"We have seen increases in the levels of consumer and business debt.
The consistently high level of inquiry we are receiving about our debt collection and related credit management services clearly indicate that we will be in business for some time," he said.
Baycorp chief executive Geoff Harper said his company's figures showed businesses were starting to get back on track, with debt trending down this year, although consumer debt was up slightly.
The recent figures could be the result of the weaker businesses either pulling back to a cash basis of trading or closing when the downturn started to bite.
"It would seem with some of the weaker businesses now out of the market, the debt collection figures are reflecting an environment populated by stronger businesses acting in a way that better understands the environment in which they are operating.
"This is supported by the fact that residential is still rising - albeit at a slower rate than in previous years - with consumers still having a hard time paying off their bills on time."
The trend was probably a sign that businesses were now smarter, Mr Harper said.
Businesses had changed their habits and there was evidence of increased growth in credit checking and businesses updating their terms of trade.
There was also evidence of companies simply not granting credit in instances where in the past they might have, he said.
It was not clear how the tax cuts and the GST increase on Friday would impact on the debt management of businesses or consumers.
There had been no sales surge before the GST increase.
Veda Advantage managing director John Roberts said New Zealanders were continuing to turn their backs on credit in an effort to pay off their debts.
"Consumer appetite for credit is down.
People are moving to consolidate debt and mainstream banks are, in part, stepping into the void left by the finance companies via personal loans."
He believed the most significant shift in people's attitudes to credit in the last 20 years was under way.
In the past three years, all credit inquiries had fallen 30%.
Last month, credit inquiries were down 11% and defaults were up 9%.
Credit card inquiries were down 24% compared with August last year, as people turned to debit cards instead.
