Getting your customers to pay on time will require managing your cash flow successfully. This is one of the most essential things you can do to ensure the success of your business. However, without a doubt doing this isn’t as convenient as it may also seem, particularly if you offer credits and you have clients who by no means pay on time.
Timely repayments from clients or consumers make it less complicated to hold money reserves for unpredictable instances such as financial downturns or the COVID pandemic.
Several researches reveal that accommodating late repayments results in serious money drift problems. So, no matter how nicely you manipulate your cash flow, if you’re not getting paid promptly, you’re at serious chance of running low on funds.
Thankfully, there are a lot of methods you can get your clients or customers to pay their invoices on time, besides compromising your relationship with them. Here are some of the most effective ways you ensure timely payments from your clients.
Create Flexible Payment Plans and Methods.
Creating various payment options gives your clients every reason to pay you on time. Therefore, it is vital that you provide them with flexible payment options or plans so they can nevertheless settle their invoices on time in spite of unforeseen certainties.
Accepting more than one payment plan or method provides you the following advantages:
- It reduces hesitation from your consumers throughout a purchase
- Enables you to reach a wider audience
- Allows you place your business as a forward-thinking brand.
Go past the standard cash payment and opt in for smart payment solutions that enable your clients the flexibility and the affordability to make payments conveniently in installments. Find out more about the Pay Small Small Payment solution by Kalabash. –
There are other multiple payment methods that you can also consider to enable your clients the freedom to go with the approach of fee charge they are most comfortable with like Paypal, Flutterwave, PaySimple
Nurture Personal Client Relationship.
Managing relationships with your clients means you are in business. Therefore, one of the focal points in dealing with your clients should be building good communication and understanding their needs as well.
For as many times you ensure that you consistently deliver high standards of service, your clients will be satisfied and are more likely to pay you promptly. However due to unforeseen circumstances you may fall short of this and it will serve as a factor to not getting your payments on time.
This is the reason you need to invest in building the right perception of your brand through personalized relationships with your clients. This type of relationship can be created with your clients through ActiveCampaign, a marketing automation platform that enables you build one on one conversation with your client as well as segment your clients based on their preferences and previous interactions with your business.
Put Penalties In your Contract
If a client does not pay on time, they must be penalized. Otherwise, you are effectively offering them free credit. It is important to have a written agreement between you and the client that clearly outlines the terms, deadlines, fees and other essentials.
This helps ensure that both you and the client are aware of when invoices are sent and how long payment is due. It is important to include these penalty terms in every contract and on each invoice, so that the customer is aware of them. Having the customer agree to the penalty terms in writing will help ensure that your invoice is received and paid on time.
Reward Your Customers that Pay on time.
Reward your good customers by offering a discount up front, if they pay on time. This can be a percentage of the total invoice amount, which often adds up for clients as a cost advantage. For example, a 2% discount for early payment may entice a client to pay the invoice earlier. It doesn’t sound like much, but a good accountant will put this invoice at the top of their pile to pay immediately.
