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How to get paid faster
Did you know that it takes, on average, 9.4 days for someone to pay your invoice? This can have a negative impact on your cashflow! It’s common for New Zealand small businesses to struggle with keeping the cash flowing in, while the cash is flowing out.
Are you having trouble with slow-paying clients? Here are some things you can do!
5 Tips to Get Paid Faster:
Use the right Accounting Software. Xero is a fantastic tool that makes your accounting easy and almost enjoyable. With a couple of changes to how you handle your invoicing, you can enjoy getting paid faster.
Invoice straight away
Have you heard this one before? Invoice as soon as you can because your client can’t pay until you’ve invoiced them.
The theory behind this is clients are more likely to pay straight away for goods or services that they have just received rather than making them wait days or weeks (which is what happens when you invoice monthly!).
Your client is more likely to forget about the amazing service you provided and is more likely to question your invoice.
Ask for prompt payment
Traditionally, the standard business practice is to wait until the 20th for payment but this is no longer necessary. Internet banking and online credit card payments make a 7-day payment term easy. Invoice on the 1st of the month with payment due on the 7th.
Make it easy to pay
Have you ever received an invoice that didn’t include bank account details or the invoice is missing something else? It is such a pain going back and requesting these details. Using Excel or an invoice book to create your invoices can make it easy to overlook important information.
Your clients will pay faster if they have your payment details on the invoice and don’t have to chase you for details.
Chase payments
In Xero, you can set up automatic Invoice Reminders. This has changed the way we do credit control (that’s chasing payments). Online invoicing makes it easier to track and reconcile payments against invoices. Not only does that save time, it makes knowing who hasn’t paid so much easier.
Do you want to get paid faster?
Ready to take the plunge and get your accounts sorted? Sign up for a free Xero trial – it’s pretty easy and we can help you get it sorted if you are short on time or knowledge.
Once we have set up your account and entered all your business details, you’ll be ready to email your invoices direct to your clients.
