Chasing Invoices from Customers: How Not To Look Like a Mobster

If you are a business owner and you struggle to get the payments you need on-time or if you are sick and tired of checking your accounts, only to find that you have an endless stream of unpaid invoices then you are not alone. Constantly working on a backlog of payments can be debilitating, not to mention that it can also make it very difficult for you to keep on top of your financial situation as well. If you want to speed up the payment process without looking like a mobster to your customers then you can find out everything you need to know, right here.

Don’t Wait

The longer you want, the longer it is going to take you in order to move that money to your bank account. When you have a delayed payment, your cash flow suffers and as a result of this, you might not be able to pay your own expenses either. If you want to avoid this then try and make sure that you get paid before an invoice is even due. You will be able to ask them for a deposit or even a retainer and this is a great way for you to get the cash you need, right now. You may even want to invest in a reliable cash flow finance solution, as this is one of the best ways for you to actually benefit from late paying customers.

Stay Organised

You need to be organised if you want to be able to stay on top of your account information. You’ll want to create invoices that show who has paid their bill and who hasn’t, and you will also need to set up notifications when someone changes their email address as well. Invoicing tools are great for this and some of them even give you the chance to send out automatic reminders as well. Every entrepreneur knows that it is their responsibility to get paid and one aspect of this is to make sure that your invoices are manageable and that they can be created quickly.

Firm but Fair

When you know a payment is late, you probably feel like flipping off the handle. You may even feel like putting on your 1920’s Al Capone-style suit and knocking on their door at midnight demanding that they pay. Even though this makes a great movie scene, it is not great for business. You need to make sure that you are firm with them when payments are late, and that you have a system setup that covers every aspect of the timeline. For example, when the payment is one week late, two weeks late, etc. When you do this, the decision is taken out of your hands and you can automate it for every customer. There are plenty of firms out there that can help you to enforce your payment policy as well, so you don’t have to deal with the fee process or even the late process at all.

So as you can see, late-paying customers can be a problem, but when you follow the above tips, you can be sure to put an end to them once and for all.