In an ideal world, you won’t have to worry about your invoice getting paid on time all time. Unfortunately, the reality is far from that. Due to the pandemic and the economy’s imbalance in the past few years, there’s always the risk of your business invoices not getting paid in a timely manner.
But how do you deal with that? What strategies can you use to ensure that you get paid while still maintaining your good relationship with clients? In this post, BarrettStacey Accounting, an established small business accountant in Bristol, shares some tips:
How to Ensure Your Invoices Will Be Paid on Time
Invoice Ahead of Time
The longer you wait to invoice someone, the lower the possibility that you’ll get paid on time. As you know, no invoice typically means no payment. You might not think yourself to be someone who would forget about your billing, but once things start picking up in a business, it’s easy to get too distracted by all the tasks that need to be done and forget about things like invoicing. This is especially the case if you’re the one who personally has to take care of all these things.
It’s a good idea to work with a small business accountant who can take care of such processes for you so you can focus on your business while knowing that you are invoicing on time.
Offer Convenient Payment Options
One thing that you might overlook is the payment method you are offering people. Often, people want to pay, but because the payment option is inconvenient, they plan to do it later and forget about it. It would be best if you make it easier for clients and other people to pay you. Small things can make a huge difference. For example, including your bank details on the invoice will eliminate the need to call you for your bank details. Adding a “pay now” button that links to a payment gateway is also a good idea. You could also offer convenient payment options like PayPal, online bank transfer, direct debit, credit card payment, and others.
Build a Positive Relationship with the Accounts Payable Team of Your Client
It wouldn’t hurt to be nice to the person in charge of paying you. The stronger your professional relationship is, the higher chances you have of getting your invoice paid on time and avoiding delays. If this is not the person you are in contact with when dealing with the client, you might want to ask for their name and contact details. And if it doesn’t breach any agreements, you can send samples of your products or tokens to that person so you’ll be on their radar. The important thing, though, is to keep things professional and fair to avoid any issues.
Consider Having a ‘Payment First’ Policy
There is no hard rule saying that you should only invoice after you start working. If you make it so that you require payment upfront, clients will most likely be okay with that. If not, you can discuss this, and maybe they’ll be fine paying a deposit. You may also offer a payment plan for clients who cannot pay in full upfront.
Conclusion
These are just some of the tactics that you can do to help ensure that your invoice gets paid on time. Give these a try and see if they will help eliminate your problem with unpaid invoices. Of course, you can seek the help of a small business accountant in Bristol who can perform other strategies to ensure that everything related to your finances, including invoicing, is taken care of.
BarrettStacey Accounting is a small business in Bristol that offers accounting and bookkeeping services. Contact us today to know how we can help you!