It’s that time again. You send out invoices and you sit and wait and wait and wait for your customers to pay you. Sometimes it’s a matter of cash flow on their end, sometimes they’re too busy to forget and other times it’s something small they’re not sure about but haven’t found the time to contact you.
* Put terms on your invoices.
How can you get paid on time if your customers don’t know what “on time” means? Whether you select “net 15”, “net 30”, “payable upon receipt” or other terms, be sure to let your customers know when they should pay you.
* Accept credit cards.
This is critical in today’s world and if you don’t, you won’t get paid as quickly as you could. I highly recommend using a Merchant Account Service like Card Service International (www.cardserviceinternational.com), but if you’re not ready to do that, at least get a PayPal account. It’s free and allows anyone to pay you with a credit card.
* “Ask for money”.
If you have a PayPal account, make it easy for your customers by sending them a “Request Money” link from your PayPal account. Your customers won’t have to stop to get a check, write the check, address an envelope, seal it, and mail it. They can click a few buttons and you get paid.
* Send your invoice by email.
Software products like QuickBooks allow you to send email directly from the software with the email address coming from
you. Do this even if you have submitted a PayPal funds request so that your customers have proper backup.
* Unique invoice numbers.
Make it easy for your customers by including unique invoice numbers. There’s nothing worse than having your customers throw away an invoice because they think it’s a duplicate.
* Be available.
Make sure your (or your accounts payable person’s) contact information: physical address, email address, and phone
number — it’s on every bill. If your customer has a question, you want to be able to answer it quickly, and the person paying the bills may not be the person you work with.
* Invoice out of cycle.
If you bill regularly and not “per project,” bill at a time other than the end of the month. At the end of the month, you are competing for your customers’ cash at the same time as most other providers.