Do you have trouble getting your clients to pay you on time? Having to wait and wait for payments can be frustrating, and it can cause you to get behind on your own payments. Here are some ways you can help ensure your clients pay you on time.
Send invoices sooner.
Make sure you are sending your client invoices as soon as their work is complete. For one, this demonstrates to clients that you are punctual, which will encourage them to follow suit. Second, it gets the invoice in front of them when they are still thinking about the work you did, so there is a greater chance they'll be thinking about paying you and have the time to do it. If they don't get an invoice for a few weeks after you've completed the work, they may be out of town, onto the next project, or otherwise occupied and may not take notice and pay as soon.
Make sure your invoices state when payment is due.
Some business owners like to give clients 30 days to pay. This sounds nice, but really it causes a lot of people to think they have plenty of time so they set the bill aside and proceed to forget about it. Consider giving clients only 10 days to pay and print this on your invoice. This ensures they feel more of a sense of urgency when they open that invoice.
Send invoices via email.
These days, much of the physical mail that comes via the post office is just junk. Your invoice my get accidentally thrown out with the ads and credit card offers. It will be harder for your clients to miss invoices sent via email. If you have older clients who do not use email as vigilantly, you can send the invoices via mail, but consider also sending them a text or email reminder that the invoice is coming, just in case.
Charge late fees.
Make sure your invoices specify that late fees are expected for late payments. Charging a 5% late fee is pretty standard across the industry. Knowing that if they do not pay on time, they will owe more will encourage most clients to pay promptly.
If you follow the advice above and are still struggling to get clients to pay on time, consider hiring an accounts recievable management company to handle your billing and invoicing for you.
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