How do you deal with slow paying clients? clients who are not willing to pay. There are a lot of small businesses who failed to survive during the first two years. Inability to collect from non-paying customers is one of the biggest contributors to their business’ failure. When starting a business, you should implement a few strategies to help you avoid the burden of non-paying customers. Here are some of them. Ask for upfront payment When providing services, most clients would require you to accomplish the job first before settling the bill. However, keep in mind that this could lead to collection problems. In order to avoid being in this situation, you can ask for full or partial upfront payment. This is especially beneficial if you are providing long-term services such as computer programming. Establish payment guidelines Before anything else, inform the client of your guidelines. Provide them with the necessary information regarding the payment options. Once you have set these guidelines, it is important to stick with them. If a certain client sees that you are lax in collecting payment, there’s a higher chance that they’ll take advantage of it. Put it in writing Use this as a policy with every client that you deal with. Legitimate clients would understand the need of documenting the transaction. Though, you have to be sure that the agreement covers all the necessary aspects of the transaction like the products/services you offer, the date you are going to provide the product/service, total amount and the expected date of payment. Also, don’t forget to include the interest which will be applied for late payments. If the client refuses to sign the contract, then you might want to think again. These types of clients are not worth your time. This could also be a sign of a non-paying client. Provide clear and concise invoice Your invoices have to be dependable and systematic. If you fail to send an invoice, then the client would think that the payment is not a priority. When sending an invoice, make sure that they are numbered. Plus, you have to ensure that the due date and billing terms are clear and visible.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 03:02:07 +0000
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