As a business owner, there is nothing more frustrating than dealing with clients who refuse to pay their invoices on time. This type of recurring situation not only brings your cash flow to a grinding halt, but it also causes friction between you and your clients. Encouraging your clients to pay on time and putting certain steps into place may help you to keep the peace and create a smoother process all round. When it comes to keeping potential business clients happy, you always want to put your best foot forward, however you shouldn’t have to put your own income at risk. With this in mind, here are six steps to encourage your clients to pay on time, so you don’t have to deal with the stress of late payments.
- Create an Easy to Follow Process
Is there anything more frustrating than trying to pay for something as a consumer and having a broken link or error message? Making the process as simple as possible for your clients will help you to receive those all important payments on time. Creating a link that is easy to follow and simple to use is an easy way to ensure smooth payment processes all round. If you use an invoicing software already, this is probably a built in option that you can take advantage of.
- Make the Guidelines and Consequences Very Clear
When you send out your contract to new clients it’s very important to outline the guidelines regarding payments. Your clients need to know the conditions and consequences of not paying on time, such as penalty payments and the potential to escalate collection agency companies to handle the late payments. As long as their outstanding invoices are paid, your clients should feel comfortable doing business with you, but also be aware that paying on time is a very important part of the process.
- Send Reminders
After fulfilling one of your services you can send a friendly reminder to your client and make sure they’re aware that payment is expected soon. Keeping these reminders professional, firm and friendly will help to supply them with the push they need to pay you what you’re owed while still maintaining a good working relationship. You may want to set up automated reminder emails when your client has received their products or service. Sending an email every couple of days until the payment has been received will ensure that you’re always at the forefront of their minds.
- Establish Good Communication From The Start
As a business owner, you will be well aware of the importance of communication and how it can affect your overall relationship with your clients. When you set off your business with excellent communication this will usually be reciprocated from the other end too. On the other hand, if you are late to reply and slow to respond to queries, you may find that your clients start to mimic this type of behavior too. If you show your clients how you want to be treated, they will follow your lead and pay you the same type of respect.
- Provide a High Quality and Timely Service
Providing a high quality service that is always on time will also show your clients what type of relationship you are looking for. Establishing your business as professional, timely and respectful from the early days will help you to carve out your brand reputation from the outset. If you fail to send products on time or your services are sub-par, you can expect this to be reflected in the payments from your clients. They will only want to pay for goods and services that are received promptly so keep this in mind at all times.
- Offer Incentives for Early Payments
If you are able to offer some sort of incentive to your clients to pay early, this will help you to get your invoices paid in good time. You may want to offer a small discount to early payments to get them over the line as quickly as possible!
As you can see, there are a number of procedures you can put in place so that your clients feel incentivized to pay on time. Whether you’re creating easy processes to pay, you’re offering an excellent service all round, or you’re establishing good communication from the get go, there are so many useful methods to help you find a healthy relationship with your clients. Being paid on time should be the norm, rather than a luxury so hopefully this sets a standard for your business for the long haul.
