Many freelancers and small business owners want that special something that's going to set them apart from the herd. The edge that's going to put ahead of the group; Yeah, everyone wants a piece of that magical 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 modern marketplace.
Many small business owner and freelancers don't realize that a big part of attaining success resides in the way you manage your businesses invoicing and payment collection. It seems almost obvious to have efficient systems in place to deal with invoicing, payment collection and management of bad debit. But all too often I come across companies that overlook this aspect of their success completely.
Making your business more successful though effective invoicing procedures:
Don't spend a lot
Chief among the challenges the small business owner or freelancers face is getting the cost of operation low. This is very true when it comes to making the costs of billing and payment collection low.
The best way to keep spending to a minimum is to implement methods that facilitate systems automation. There are several creative online and software solutions out there that for a small spend automate billing and allow you to keep a smaller staff on the payroll to handle your SMME's invoicing.
It is vital to remember that you have options. Always look around for payment gateways with the lowest fees. To keep your options free search for a payment facilitator to act as intermediary between your business and the payment gateway. Some payment gateways do not allow you to easily export customer details and for companies using more than one gateway merged management is important. A payment facilitator will store customer banking details securely on your and your gateways behalf and allow easy changing between gateways.
Act trustworthy and professional
How many times have you received a badly made invoice full of spelling errors, missing fields or incorrect information? What does that make you think of the company sending the invoice? Badly made, unprofessional invoices reflect negatively on the products and services you render. This method of creating a bad impression of your businesses degree of service is just as simple to avoid as it is to create.
Start using software or start using an online service designed to make professional looking quotes and invoices. Always check spelling and layout on invoices. Ensure the customer's information is correct and that if it is a tax invoice needs to be generated it has all the legally required fields.
Payment collection
Now that you have issued your professional looking invoice you need to collect payment for it. Allowing your clients several ways to make payment your invoices is always advised. The easier it is to pay your business the more payments you will get. We recommend having the following payment options available to increase your ability to receive payment:
- A way to accept instant safe payments via credit card
- The option for clients to pay through an automated recurring debit order from credit card or bank account
- A facility to record and process electronic funds or wire transfers as well as direct or bank deposits
Keep your business liquid
The necessity to monitor and control bad debt in an important factor in the success of your business. Managing bad debt will ensure that your cash flow stays strong and constant. One of the best ways to do this is striving hard to avoid bad debt in the first place. This asks for correspondence on an organised, automated scale. By this I mean, keep your clients informed every step of the way.
This requires correspondence on an organized, automated scale. Issuing text message (SMS) and email messages to clients throughout your businesses repayment, due and past due periods will increase your chances of getting paid. We recommend sticking to a basic notification schedule for at least 30 days after sending of an invoice. If funds on not recovered on COD invoices within ninety days of sending we suggest making use of a professional debt collection service to handle recovery of payment.
Make your business exceptional
SMME's need to strive to set themselves apart from the crowd. Standing out from the competition translates to more business. The only way to genuinely stand out from the herd and keep clients coming back is to provide a exceptional quality service or product reliably.
That being said, limited success can be achieved through other means. But the only way to create long lasting customer relationships and foster outspoken positive advocates for you business is to give your clients constant, excellent service and quality products and services that meet their needs and assumptions.
And there you have it! The ways for making your company more successful are now in your hands. No time to waste, get concentrating and start putting these secrets to good use!
Many small business owner and freelancers don't realize that a big part of attaining success resides in the way you manage your businesses invoicing and payment collection. It seems almost obvious to have efficient systems in place to deal with invoicing, payment collection and management of bad debit. But all too often I come across companies that overlook this aspect of their success completely.
Making your business more successful though effective invoicing procedures:
Don't spend a lot
Chief among the challenges the small business owner or freelancers face is getting the cost of operation low. This is very true when it comes to making the costs of billing and payment collection low.
The best way to keep spending to a minimum is to implement methods that facilitate systems automation. There are several creative online and software solutions out there that for a small spend automate billing and allow you to keep a smaller staff on the payroll to handle your SMME's invoicing.
It is vital to remember that you have options. Always look around for payment gateways with the lowest fees. To keep your options free search for a payment facilitator to act as intermediary between your business and the payment gateway. Some payment gateways do not allow you to easily export customer details and for companies using more than one gateway merged management is important. A payment facilitator will store customer banking details securely on your and your gateways behalf and allow easy changing between gateways.
Act trustworthy and professional
How many times have you received a badly made invoice full of spelling errors, missing fields or incorrect information? What does that make you think of the company sending the invoice? Badly made, unprofessional invoices reflect negatively on the products and services you render. This method of creating a bad impression of your businesses degree of service is just as simple to avoid as it is to create.
Start using software or start using an online service designed to make professional looking quotes and invoices. Always check spelling and layout on invoices. Ensure the customer's information is correct and that if it is a tax invoice needs to be generated it has all the legally required fields.
Payment collection
Now that you have issued your professional looking invoice you need to collect payment for it. Allowing your clients several ways to make payment your invoices is always advised. The easier it is to pay your business the more payments you will get. We recommend having the following payment options available to increase your ability to receive payment:
- A way to accept instant safe payments via credit card
- The option for clients to pay through an automated recurring debit order from credit card or bank account
- A facility to record and process electronic funds or wire transfers as well as direct or bank deposits
Keep your business liquid
The necessity to monitor and control bad debt in an important factor in the success of your business. Managing bad debt will ensure that your cash flow stays strong and constant. One of the best ways to do this is striving hard to avoid bad debt in the first place. This asks for correspondence on an organised, automated scale. By this I mean, keep your clients informed every step of the way.
This requires correspondence on an organized, automated scale. Issuing text message (SMS) and email messages to clients throughout your businesses repayment, due and past due periods will increase your chances of getting paid. We recommend sticking to a basic notification schedule for at least 30 days after sending of an invoice. If funds on not recovered on COD invoices within ninety days of sending we suggest making use of a professional debt collection service to handle recovery of payment.
Make your business exceptional
SMME's need to strive to set themselves apart from the crowd. Standing out from the competition translates to more business. The only way to genuinely stand out from the herd and keep clients coming back is to provide a exceptional quality service or product reliably.
That being said, limited success can be achieved through other means. But the only way to create long lasting customer relationships and foster outspoken positive advocates for you business is to give your clients constant, excellent service and quality products and services that meet their needs and assumptions.
And there you have it! The ways for making your company more successful are now in your hands. No time to waste, get concentrating and start putting these secrets to good use!
About the Author:
An online billing and invoicing solution 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.
Ditulis oleh:
Unknown - Thursday, November 15, 2012
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