Admit it, cash is still king! We all need to keep our business going and growing.
So how does one go about getting paid.. easy, here are some great ways of ensuring you get paid for the work you do.
Make it easy for them
It is important that the customer can easily pay you, yes some still like the good old cheque but give them quicker ways to pay. Look into credit card facilities and put them as a payment method for the customer to use to pay.
Yes, they do cost, however the cost is worth the benefit, ensure that your pricing reflects this. You will find the customer is enticed as they get an extra time to pay the invoice on their credit card and in many cases earn points that they use later on.
Furthermore, make sure your invoice also contains your bank details, I know this sounds silly but the number of businesses which don’t have an invoice with banking information is numerous. Customers put off having to call you find how you would like to be paid.
Use technology
Don’t be afraid to use technology to your benefit. Ensure the accounting software you operate makes it easy for you to raise invoices, nothing worse that putting it off because it takes too long to raise an invoice for the work you have done.
Technology can also be wisely used to send out reminders to customers that need that extra encouragement to pay, soft approach always works well at first simply reminding them that they may have forgotten to pay and again back to point 1, make it easy for them to pay then and there.
Be on the same page
The number of times businesses don’t discuss payment terms upfront is astounding.. there is nothing wrong to mention your payment terms when quoting on a new job or engaging a new client. It ensures that both you and the customer are on the same page as to when they should pay.
Make it worth their while
Whether like point 1 you allow them to accrue points by letting them pay with the credit card or whether you provide early payment discount. There is nothing wrong with enticing customers to pay, feel free to change your approach based on your customer and make it worth their while to pay you.
Don’t be scared to think outside the box; anything from providing an upgrade to the service or discount next time they use you. Customers will always tend to act when it benefits them. Just be clear on the message you are giving them.