invoices Archives - Successful Blog

As you step back for a minute to analyze how your business is doing, take a look at your financial well-being.

For most business owners, their survival revolves around being financially solvent. Seems like an easy concept, but you might be surprised how many individuals running companies struggle with staying out of the red.

That being the case, are you doing everything within your power to make sure your customers make timely payments?

If you are dragging your feet here, you could end up getting behind on payments, leaving you in a precarious position.

So, are you prepared not to drop the ball with on-time customer payments?

Keeping the Money Flowing in

So that you can make sure (as best as possible) that you do not fall behind on customer payments, remember these important tidbits:

Invoicing – First and foremost, make sure you are sending out necessary invoices on time each month. While some of your customers will pay in-person (especially if you own a physical storefront), others will need to be billed for the purchasing of products and services. For that latter group, you can’t do the invoicing whenever you get around to it. For one, it throws the customer off (especially repeat ones) when they are expecting an invoice around the same time each month. Secondly, it can create a backlog in the invoicing process, again leading to problems. Lastly, you won’t get paid in a timely manner, oftentimes the biggest of all the concerns. If you are having issues with invoices, it could be something as simple as making them up in the first place. In the event that is an issue, look to work with a vendor so you can create a free invoice. Putting an invoice together should take little time and effort, so don’t make it out to be a big project;
Deadlines – If some customers are not paying you in a timely manner, you are often left with few avenues to turn to. The one that many business owners dread, heading on over to a collection agency. No, it isn’t something you’d prefer to do, but you also want to make sure you get your money before too long. In looking at the collection agency option, use it as a last resort. It may simply be that a friendly reminder or two nudges some customers into paying you when all is said and done. Remember, the customer has already purchased products and/or services from you, so they owe you money if they have not already paid up. Do not feel bad about having to go after them for the money that is due you;
Assistance – Lastly, it may simply be a case that you need to hire a financial assistant to make sure you get your funds when you should. If you’re a small business owner, the idea of hiring someone may make you hesitate at first, but you also want to make sure all your business needs are being met. Bringing on someone with an accounting background (even in a PT role) is perfectly fine. Doing so removes one more responsibility from your shoulders, allowing you to concentrate on other important facets of your business. Just make sure that whomever you decide to bring on has a good financial background, plus is orderly and works well without lots of supervision.

If you drop the ball when it comes to your customer payments, your business can suffer sooner rather than later.

While some aspects of your business can take a backseat at times, invoicing and customer payments have to be priorities.

Sit down and review how well (or not so well) you are doing when it comes to customer payments.

You might be surprised to see that you are not doing as well as you should be.

When that happens, putting your finger on the problem and ultimately fixing it, that is your best road to travel.

If you have customers struggling to meet their bills, you can work with them (to a degree), that is without letting them take advantage of you when all is said and done.

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

About the Author: Dave Thomas covers business topics on the web.

If your business isn’t on top of the billing process, then there’s a good chance it’s missing out on precious income.

Whether you’re in the retail, medical, service industry, or other, you need to make sure your clients are billed properly.

When it comes to income, here are just a few reasons why billing is so important to your business:

Too Many Claims = Lost Revenue

There’s a difference between a few outstanding balances and multiple claims that completely disrupt the revenue process.

When your business has more claims than payments, it can seriously damage your income to the point where your business has trouble covering its costs.

Claims have a snowball effect, especially for a billing department that isn’t prepared for the collections process. It’s important for your business to have a plan in place for anytime an outstanding balance does enter the claims cycle.

Outstanding Balances Are Difficult to Track

Customers who pay their balances on time make owning a business a pleasure.

However, every business experiences customers who allow their outstanding balances to grow beyond what is acceptable. In cases such as this, the numbers become difficult to track.

A bill that’s paid on time is considered an asset in the eyes of accounts receivable. When that same bill becomes an outstanding balance, it puts your business’s collections in the red.

In addition, the outstanding balance costs your business more money every day it’s not paid because it takes your billing department more time and energy to track it.

Whether your business collects interest on unpaid bills or not outstanding balances are bad news for both your business and its customers.

Revenue Software

For medical practices in particular, claims and unpaid balances can seriously damage revenue over time. Because medical practices have such a high volume of patient turnover, hospital and clinic billing departments oftentimes become overwhelmed.

As the following article asks, Where does your practice fall on the medical billing risk matrix?

Well, if you are in the medical industry, Revenue Cycle Management software, or RCM, can help you get your billing under control. With RCM software, your practice can automatically track balances, claims, and insurance coverage considerations from one payment cycle to the next.

Collections Agencies Are a Headache

Collections agencies are an unneeded stress that no business should have to deal with.

Unfortunately, there are clients who don’t pay their bills and some businesses have no choice but to use outside resources to collect on outstanding balances.

To avoid the hassle and headache of collections agencies, there are some things your business can do to improve its billing process.

Billing Tips

There are clients who are negligent with their payments, but in most cases, clients simply forget a bill is due. Sending helpful email reminders to your customers a few days before their bill is due will help avoid unpaid bills.

If an unpaid balance does go beyond one or two billing cycles, then your billing department should call the customer directly.

Explaining the payment situation to the customer and coming up with a new payment plan is the best way to reach a payment resolution.

By keeping in mind the pointers above, your business will keep its income stream flowing without issue

Photo credit: Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Adam Groff is a freelance writer and creator of content. He writes on a variety of topics including small business and finance.

Don’t Drop the Ball with On-Time Customer Payments

The Business of Properly Billing Clients