Tips and advice to get paid on time

The cash flow of a small business depends mainly on getting paid on time. In this guide we’ve compiled some tricks that will help you get your clients to pay on time. This is the result.

Where invoicing gets complicated

Invoicing in a small business isn’t easy. The fundamentals are relatively simple, you work, invoice and your client pays you. But reality is much more complicated. These are some of the things that make getting paid not so easy:

Getting invoices done on time

This is a very common problem. When your business is at its peak and you’re busy working to generate income, finding time to create and send your invoices can be complicated. This is where an online invoicing program can help you create and send your invoices quickly. Even do it automatically.

Doing good follow-up of overdue invoices

This point is especially tedious and difficult to manage. With an online invoicing program you’ll always have overdue and pending collection due dates very well controlled.

Dividing payments into multiple due dates

Controlling payment of due dates associated with a specific invoice is something that can get very complicated. Obviously the first advice is to try to avoid multiple due dates on one invoice, but if there’s no alternative an online invoicing program will be great for keeping this task up to date.

Invoice quickly and well.

If you’re slow to invoice, you’ll be slower to collect. And if your invoices contain errors, the process gets even more complicated: you’ll have to make a corrective invoice, send it again, … and a long etcetera of things that will delay what matters most to you: getting paid. An online invoicing program allows you to issue the invoice instantly without effort and ensure there are no simple errors like invoice numbering or tax calculation.

Invoice all completed work

Not getting paid for work you’ve already done is bad, but not getting paid for work you’ve already done because you didn’t generate the invoice is a serious mistake on your part. An online invoicing program speeds up invoicing and allows you to have multiple users who invoice.

Getting your invoice not to go to the back of all the others

You can create an invoice with a professional appearance, but that’s not enough. In addition to a good invoice you need to create a good relationship with the person who’s going to pay it. Don’t just trust the invoice.

Having a small business means having little time, even so it’s worth spending time optimizing your invoicing. With an online program you’ll speed up invoicing and collect sooner.

Suggestions to get your invoices paid quickly

Sending an invoice is only a small part of the process to get paid. Some of your clients will pay on time and without reminders, but others will probably need you to encourage them to do so. These are some ideas to get your invoices paid on time:

• Communicate with your clients: sending payment reminders by email is useful, but picking up the phone and calling is even more so. If the person who has to pay you knows who you are, it’s much easier for them to do it soon.

• Use short due dates: why wait 60 days if you can collect in a week? If you do the impossible to fulfill your work on time, there’s no reason why they can’t pay you soon.

• Warn your client quickly, don’t let time pass: warn your client as soon as the due date of your invoice has passed. Send them a reminder email after a few days and if they still don’t pay pick up the phone and call. You can take advantage of any moment to do it. Don’t let time pass.

• Make paying your invoices easy: indicate the payment method on your invoices, and add your account number if you want them to pay you by transfer. You also have the option of asking them for their account number and charging them by direct debit. An online invoicing program will allow you to automate these processes.

8 tricks to get paid quickly

There are two key factors for the health of any small business: getting paid soon and having good cash flow. But getting this to happen isn’t as easy as sending an invoice at the end of the month.

These are some tricks that can help you achieve it:

• Discuss payment terms before starting: it’s not comfortable to talk about these topics in advance but if you do it you’ll avoid confusion and make payment expectations clear to the client.

• Record in detail the time and material you’ve used: it will help you make your invoices much faster and ensure you don’t forget anything. You can also warn your client if the work is deviating from the budget, instead of sending them a very expensive surprise at the end of the month.

• Make your invoices clear and easy to understand: detail your work in a way that’s easily understandable for the client, confusion or doubt will delay collection of your invoice. It also helps to personalize your invoice with the logo and other details, to give it a professional appearance.

• Properly indicate payment conditions: if you need to receive payment of an invoice within a maximum of 60 days, put the due date two weeks before. On average debtors pay their invoices 15 days late.

• Send the invoice to the person who pays: make sure the invoice goes directly to the person who’s going to pay it to avoid it getting lost in someone else’s inbox. If you’re not sure who the person is who’s going to pay you, call and find out. The effort of calling will have its reward.

• Invoice as soon as possible: the faster your client receives the invoice, the faster they’ll pay it. You should send it to them when they still have fresh everything that your work brings them. An invoicing program with mobile application can be very good for invoicing quickly and on the go.

• Follow up on your debtors: there are many of your clients who will need follow-up. Send them reminders, notices or call if necessary. It will help you show them that you’re serious about collecting for your work.

• Make payment as easy as possible: add a credit card payment link to the email where you send the invoice. Your client can pay instantly if they want.