Business cash flow is an important factor during these tough economic times. You offer your customers the best services and products possible only to find out later that their invoices are going unpaid. Getting customers to pay after the fact can be like banging your head off the wall. Lots of time and energy wasted while your left with a headache.
Howard Mann, author of The Business Brickyard, offers simple steps and tips to get your invoices paid in a timely manner. In the article “5 Ways To Get Paid Faster“, Howard suggests sending invoices via email with a receipt request. I think this is a great idea. Sending them in the mail doesn’t guarantee that the customer will receive the invoice let alone open it and give it the proper attention. Having an email receipt confirmation gives you some peace of mind that at least the invoice was looked at, if only for a brief second.
Making little changes in how you collect on your invoices is an easy way to increase your current cash flow. Afterall, these bills are for services or products already used by the customers and won’t cost you a penny more. More importantly, this is money you deserve and you shouldn’t feel guilty trying to collect on it.
I like that idea as well and imagine it could be quite effective. Let’s face it, these days people deal with their email long before they deal with their paper mail.
I would tend to think that something sitting in the inbox would get attention much faster than snail mail.
I think emailing invoices is a good idea, but I would skip the return receipt option. I personally hate to be the receiver of emails that request a return receipt, have my email set to reject return receipts and always choose to delete them.
And they could work against you as a small business owner. My biggest issue with return receipts is that they “imply” mistrust. Who wants a client relationship like that? Not me.
Definitely send the invoice but pass on the return receipt.
[...] Another fellow blogger created an interesting post today on Getting Your Customer Invoices Paid FasterHere’s a short outlineIn the article “5 Ways To Get Paid Faster“, Howard suggests sending invoices via email with a receipt request. I think this is a great idea. Sending them in the mail doesn’t guarantee that the customer will receive the invoice let alone … [...]
sitting in the inbox would get attention much faster than snail mail. - Of course Chris, that’s the benefit of the digital world.
I agree with spelling out the terms of payment before a transaction takes place. It’s important to have a meeting of the minds to avoid confusion. If possible, it’s a good idea to have a billing agreement signed by both parties. You keep a copy in their records and you give them a copy. That way when your client gets home, they have no excuse to no know the terms of payment.