Wouldn’t it be great to live in an ideal world in which clients always pay in time?
Unfortunately, in a real world this is almost impossible. And, sometimes, your monetary flow is affected.
This is always a problem, especially for SMBs since the lack of liquid funds does not allow them to reach their full growth potential.
However, there are some tips we would like to share with you to help you improve these situations and ensure your clients are not delayed in their payments.
Easy and accessible payment methods
You have to bear in mind that this is one of the most effective ways for getting paid for a work you’ve already done. If the client faces some obstacles when having to pay, this will undoubtedly delay payment. Hence, you should offer a wide variety of payment methods: credit and debit cards, ePayments and, although it may sound old-fashioned, checks.
Billing in time
To have your bills done in time, as agreed with the client, is something you must not put aside. Companies, especially service companies, must be highly organized and have a clear register of the projects on which they are working. Hence, it is very useful to implement ERP tools which help in the billing process of rendered services.
Offer incentives for advance payments
Sometimes, the fact of offering a discount to those clients who pay in advance is a good way of encouraging them, since it represents a benefit for both, the client and your company. Another effective way is to offer credits or an extra service/product.
Keep good communication with your client
Many times, what happens is that communication is not effective and our clients were not informed that they had to pay. Sometimes, one simple e-mail or, better indeed, one call, is everything that keeps us apart from getting paid. Do always bear in mind that you should be very careful and empathetic when going through these issues, since they tend to be sensitive for anyone.
It might happen that our client is going through a complex economic situation. For you, the best strategy is to sit down and negotiate how to make payment more accessible. Offering installments is one of the options we recommend.
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