Most freelancers and small business owners want that secret something that's going to set them apart from their competitors. The edge that's going to put ahead of the herd; Yeah, everyone wants a piece of that secret quality that is going to make their business the awesome example instead of the cautionary story. Small business owners are faced with a minefield of problems on their way to success in today's competitive marketplace.
One of these stumbling blocks can be lazy and ineffective control of your businesses billing and payment collections. Controlling how you invoice, gather payment and manage customer accounts is a vitally important piece of any SMME, but a surprisingly often overlooked one too. All too often we have come across business owners that neglect or entirely overlook the importance of effective invoicing procedure and management.
Making your business more successful though efficient accounts procedures:
Lower cost of operation
A key care for anyone wishing to make their small business a success is keeping an eye on the costs of operation. Keeping the costs of billing and payment collection low is very important when it comes to controlling the costs in your business.
Use creative online tools and systems automation to keep the amount of staff you need to employ in your accounts division low. There are lots of systems on the market currently that allow you to automate recurring billing giving you complete control over your day-to-day operations with an almost skeleton staff.
It is vital to remember that you have options. Shop around for payment gateways with the lowest rates. Many payment gateways do not give you the ability to simply export your client's payment details. This stops you from changing between gateways quickly. Shop around for a payment facilitator to give you more freedom. A payment facilitator will store customer billing details securely on your and the gateways behalf and allow easy switching between gateways, so you always have the cheapest rates and your clients the most choice.
Act trustworthy and professional
How many times have you received a poorly made invoice full of spelling mistakes, missing fields or wrong information? What does that make you think of the company issuing the invoice? Poorly formatted, incorrect invoices shine negatively on the products and services you render. This way of making a negative impression of your businesses level of service is just as simple to prevent as it is to create.
Start using software or start using an online service designed to issue professional looking quotes and invoices. Always check spelling and layout on invoices. Ensure the customer's information is right and that if it is a tax invoice needs to be sent it has all the legally required fields.
Get moola: Help them help you
The more the merrier! Now that you have sent your nicely formatted invoices you need to offer your customers the chance to pay you. Gathering payment for the products or services you offer becomes infinitely simpler if you make it basic and hassle-free for your clients to pay. Have as many simple to understand, working payment methods on offer to them as possible. To up you payment collection ability I advise having a minimum of 3 basic methods of payment on offer to your customers:
- A credit card payment gateway where customers can immediately and securely pay for your services online
- A payment gateway that automates recurring debits via debit order from bank account or credit card
- The facility for customers to pay via an automated recurring debit order from bank account or credit card
Good cash flow: Manage bad debits
In any business it is important to not only manage paying customer's accounts, but to control over due and non-paying clients. Controlling bad debt will ensure that your cash flow is strong and constant. Prevention is better than cure. One of the greatest ways of dealing with bad debt is working hard to prevent it in the first place. And you would be shocked how easy this really is.
This requires communication on an organized, scheduled scale. Sending text message (SMS) and email messages to clients throughout your repayment, due and past due periods will increase your opportunities of being payment. We suggest sticking to a basic notification schedule for at least thirty days after issuing of an invoice. If funds on not recovered on cash on delivery invoices within ninety days of issue we suggest making use of a professional debt collection service to take charge of collection of payment.
Stand out from the crowd: Provide a high quality product
What makes you different from the herd? Have you got something to make you different from the group? Don't search for the answer in gimmicks or throw away thousands on marketing and promotions. No, giving a good quality service or product reliably is the only way to really set yourself apart from the herd.
Limited success can be gotten with gimmicks and aggressive marketing, but this more than often does more harm in the long run than good. Providing a consistent, good service and quality products are the genuine way to make outspoken positive advocates for your brand. Strive to ensure your level of service meets your clients expectations and then, if possible, give that little bit extra not only meet their desires, but exceed their expectations.
So there you go. Now you know the secret to making your small business a success. What are you waiting for? Go out and achieve it!
One of these stumbling blocks can be lazy and ineffective control of your businesses billing and payment collections. Controlling how you invoice, gather payment and manage customer accounts is a vitally important piece of any SMME, but a surprisingly often overlooked one too. All too often we have come across business owners that neglect or entirely overlook the importance of effective invoicing procedure and management.
Making your business more successful though efficient accounts procedures:
Lower cost of operation
A key care for anyone wishing to make their small business a success is keeping an eye on the costs of operation. Keeping the costs of billing and payment collection low is very important when it comes to controlling the costs in your business.
Use creative online tools and systems automation to keep the amount of staff you need to employ in your accounts division low. There are lots of systems on the market currently that allow you to automate recurring billing giving you complete control over your day-to-day operations with an almost skeleton staff.
It is vital to remember that you have options. Shop around for payment gateways with the lowest rates. Many payment gateways do not give you the ability to simply export your client's payment details. This stops you from changing between gateways quickly. Shop around for a payment facilitator to give you more freedom. A payment facilitator will store customer billing details securely on your and the gateways behalf and allow easy switching between gateways, so you always have the cheapest rates and your clients the most choice.
Act trustworthy and professional
How many times have you received a poorly made invoice full of spelling mistakes, missing fields or wrong information? What does that make you think of the company issuing the invoice? Poorly formatted, incorrect invoices shine negatively on the products and services you render. This way of making a negative impression of your businesses level of service is just as simple to prevent as it is to create.
Start using software or start using an online service designed to issue professional looking quotes and invoices. Always check spelling and layout on invoices. Ensure the customer's information is right and that if it is a tax invoice needs to be sent it has all the legally required fields.
Get moola: Help them help you
The more the merrier! Now that you have sent your nicely formatted invoices you need to offer your customers the chance to pay you. Gathering payment for the products or services you offer becomes infinitely simpler if you make it basic and hassle-free for your clients to pay. Have as many simple to understand, working payment methods on offer to them as possible. To up you payment collection ability I advise having a minimum of 3 basic methods of payment on offer to your customers:
- A credit card payment gateway where customers can immediately and securely pay for your services online
- A payment gateway that automates recurring debits via debit order from bank account or credit card
- The facility for customers to pay via an automated recurring debit order from bank account or credit card
Good cash flow: Manage bad debits
In any business it is important to not only manage paying customer's accounts, but to control over due and non-paying clients. Controlling bad debt will ensure that your cash flow is strong and constant. Prevention is better than cure. One of the greatest ways of dealing with bad debt is working hard to prevent it in the first place. And you would be shocked how easy this really is.
This requires communication on an organized, scheduled scale. Sending text message (SMS) and email messages to clients throughout your repayment, due and past due periods will increase your opportunities of being payment. We suggest sticking to a basic notification schedule for at least thirty days after issuing of an invoice. If funds on not recovered on cash on delivery invoices within ninety days of issue we suggest making use of a professional debt collection service to take charge of collection of payment.
Stand out from the crowd: Provide a high quality product
What makes you different from the herd? Have you got something to make you different from the group? Don't search for the answer in gimmicks or throw away thousands on marketing and promotions. No, giving a good quality service or product reliably is the only way to really set yourself apart from the herd.
Limited success can be gotten with gimmicks and aggressive marketing, but this more than often does more harm in the long run than good. Providing a consistent, good service and quality products are the genuine way to make outspoken positive advocates for your brand. Strive to ensure your level of service meets your clients expectations and then, if possible, give that little bit extra not only meet their desires, but exceed their expectations.
So there you go. Now you know the secret to making your small business a success. What are you waiting for? Go out and achieve it!
About the Author:
A recurring billing and saas invoicing system is critical to allow any business to uphold a professional image. SnapBill has been helping businesses for years and are providing a free account to get started.
No comments:
Post a Comment