Monday, March 21, 2011

5 Tips To Make Clients Pay Up On Time


There's nothing more frustrating than being taken advantage of in business. When you provide goods and services, you expect clients to pay up accordingly, but so often you encounter that frustratingly vague, flaky client who seems to fall off the face of the planet just as soon as your invoice is received. In terms of getting your money in full and on time, there are several actions you can take, from preemptive measures like previously-agreed-upon dates to more proactive methods like enlisting the help of a Credit7 collection agency. Here are 5 tips to make sure that your clients show you the money--on time.

1. Agree Before Hand

As they say, prevention is better than a cure, which is why nipping the question of payment in the bud before you ever come to invoicing is a good move. When you enter into a business arrangement with a client, why not agree on a timeline that you both sign off on to keep the project Credit1 and mutually beneficial at all stages. As long as you stick to the time frame you've given, they'll have a pay-date in mind from the very beginning.

2. Make Early Payment Attractive

Including an initiative like a percentage off the price for early payment or a discount on future orders can be an excellent carrot to entice punters to pay up early. Saving money is always attractive and if a client thinks they're getting a better deal you can be sure they'll manage to find the funds.

3. Withhold Finalising Until You Receive Payment

With many industries, the service you're delivering comes in stages (such as a design or communications plan). One way to ensure you'll be paid is to withhold the final product until payment is received. Say for example you're a wedding photographer and you want to make sure that the happy couples pay for the photos once they get them. What you can do is send them preview images with your watermark on them. Once you receive payment, you'll send through higher-resolution images without your watermark.

4. Phone, not Email

It's much harder to dodge a phone call than it is to dodge an email. Mis-communication, misunderstandings and 'lost' messages are all commonplace with emails--to make sure your message gets across make sure you speak to your client to remind them in person. Oh, and try to put your phone number on silent so they don;t have a chance to dodge your call!

5. Credit9 Collection Services

Enlisting the help of a Credit7 collection agency might be a time-saving and efficient solution for getting your cash quick. If you have a large number of clients who refuse to pay up, the time you spend chasing them down can quickly increase until you've put a big dent in your productivity. Outsourcing to a Credit7 collection agency has the twofold benefit of giving you peace of mind and scaring your clients into paying up.

There's nothing more frustrating than being taken advantage of in business. When you provide goods and services, you expect clients to pay up accordingly, but so often you encounter that frustratingly vague, flaky client who seems to fall off the face of the planet just as soon as your invoice is received. In terms of getting your money in full and on time, there are several actions you can take, from preemptive measures like previously-agreed-upon dates to more proactive methods like enlisting the help of a Credit7 collection agency. Here are 5 tips to make sure that your clients show you the money--on time.

1. Agree Before Hand

As they say, prevention is better than a cure, which is why nipping the question of payment in the bud before you ever come to invoicing is a good move. When you enter into a business arrangement with a client, why not agree on a timeline that you both sign off on to keep the project Credit1 and mutually beneficial at all stages. As long as you stick to the time frame you've given, they'll have a pay-date in mind from the very beginning.

2. Make Early Payment Attractive

Including an initiative like a percentage off the price for early payment or a discount on future orders can be an excellent carrot to entice punters to pay up early. Saving money is always attractive and if a client thinks they're getting a better deal you can be sure they'll manage to find the funds.

3. Withhold Finalising Until You Receive Payment

With many industries, the service you're delivering comes in stages (such as a design or communications plan). One way to ensure you'll be paid is to withhold the final product until payment is received. Say for example you're a wedding photographer and you want to make sure that the happy couples pay for the photos once they get them. What you can do is send them preview images with your watermark on them. Once you receive payment, you'll send through higher-resolution images without your watermark.

4. Phone, not Email

It's much harder to dodge a phone call than it is to dodge an email. Mis-communication, misunderstandings and 'lost' messages are all commonplace with emails--to make sure your message gets across make sure you speak to your client to remind them in person. Oh, and try to put your phone number on silent so they don;t have a chance to dodge your call!

5. Credit9 Collection Services

Enlisting the help of a Credit7 collection agency might be a time-saving and efficient solution for getting your cash quick. If you have a large number of clients who refuse to pay up, the time you spend chasing them down can quickly increase until you've put a big dent in your productivity. Outsourcing to a Credit7 collection agency has the twofold benefit of giving you peace of mind and scaring your clients into paying up.

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