The success of every business often relies on you getting paid on time. In order to get paid, you will need to issue an invoice and invoicing should not be seen as a back-office administrative nuisance. Rather, it is a vital first step in achieving healthy cashflow.
Here are the ways to get paid faster so you can worry about scaling your business instead of chasing down exhausted clients.
Automate
Do you have clients that are billed the same amount each month because of ongoing projects, retainer relationships, or subscription service? You can automate invoice process with monthly recurring invoices. It only takes two minutes to set-up and you’re guaranteed to be paid each month since funds are withdrawn from the client’s bank account or credit card automatically, as opposed to creating and sending invoices for the same amount each month.
Send Your Invoice ASAP
Once your client has confirmed your quote, you should invoice your client immediately. This reminds your client that work is completed and payment is the last step, a good practice which found to results in immediate payment. The best way to make sure your invoice reach your client will be by email.
Shorten your policy terms
Shorten your payment terms to 30 days or less so that you’re receiving money into your account more quickly. Just make sure that you discuss these terms with your client during the cooperation process of a project so that they’re not caught off-guard.
Timing is Everything
Just like most things in life, timing is everything. If you are sending out recurring or short-term invoices, be sure to make the payment intervals crystal clear in the agreement. Set deadlines and make sure your client respects your time.
Get Your Invoice Details Correct
Make sure you have to get the right company details, delivery date and location, customer purchase order number, clear description of the goods or services supplied, payment terms, accurate quantities, prices, discount (if any), GST and total amount due so that they can proceed to prepare payment without changes and delay.
Review Pending Clients Payment Regularly
It’s usual to have a few clients that don’t pay on time, but if the majority of your clients are skipping payments or paying late, then the problem is with your payment system. You should keep track of your invoices narrowly and monitor any late payment behavior so you can catch any flaws sooner. The best way to track that is with your account receivable aging report to resolve which clients have not paid and when they are due to pay.