Making Sure You Get Paid!

One of the biggest worries for a small business is often getting paid. Whether it’s that you have too many accounts open for customers who haven’t paid their full bill, or it’s that you don’t have the right modern resources for customers to pay for products on site, you need to make sure that you are working at getting paid on time.

Every small business owner worries about not being paid on time, and yet there are so many ways that you can avoid a customer receiving a product or service and avoiding payment. From the right PoS software to ensuring that you have an enforcer on side to help you get paid, you have to be on top of this. Your business can suffer if you don’t get paid for the service that you are providing and you deserve better than to miss out. So, with this in mind, here are some of the most important things to consider when it comes to getting paid – and how you can do it.

1. Don’t extend credit. If you have new customers, it’s wonderful that they want your service and it’s typical of you to want to help. However, if you’re going too far by extending credit lines to customers in the hope that they come back and use you again, you could find yourself learning a very expensive lesson. Make sure that you are setting payment terms that mean you’re going to get paid when you are due to get paid. It’s Important to do it this way!
2. Always take a partial payment. For larger items that are relatively expensive, always take a partial payment in advance. Not only will this help you out to know that you’re not creating a product that won’t be paid for, you’re going to give the buyer the incentive to remember to pay for the other part of the product, too. This means that if they decide not to finalize the bill, you still have something – which is always better than nothing.
3. Always invoice on time. If you want to be paid on time as a business, you need to make sure that you are sending the right invoices, too. Some products and services don’t require a point of sale, but they do require payment via invoice. If that’s the case for your business, then you should invoice your clients and contacts on time.
4. Make sure that your payment terms are clear. If you send out payment terms, make sure that they are clear. If this means writing them in red, do that and if it means sending a reminder email promptly, you should. You need to ensure that your clients are aware of the expectations, too.
5. Offer payment incentives. Give your clients an incentive to pay on time. Whether that be a discount for early payment, it’s totally up to you. When you offer payment incentives, you will find clients to be more inclined to pay in time every time.

Image Credits: Kindel Media