As month's end approaches we, along with many other businesses, have invoices on our minds. In this post we present a few tips we’ve learned from our small business clients over the years that can help a small business ensure that their invoices are getting paid on time, or even early.
Whether you’re just starting out in business or you’ve been around for a few years, it is tempting to take any and all business that comes your way. You can save yourself time and headaches if you do a little homework early in the sales process. Take some time to gather intelligence on the businesses you’re going after, try to figure out their cash flow situation. If you think you may have trouble being paid in a timely fashion you’ll need to decide whether the business is worth the wait, or if you should find a more reliable customer.
Consider playing around with your billing cycle. No matter when your invoice is sent, you want to be on top of the pile when it comes time to pay. Instead of invoicing on the first of the month just like everyone else your client deals with, why not bill in the last week of the previous month? Depending on your business and how your client deals with invoices you might shave days or weeks off of the wait between sending an invoice and receiving payment.
The sending and payment of invoices is one of those mundane business tasks that most people give the minimum of thought to. Having a creative think about your invoice process could save you some time and help you ensure that you are getting paid what you owe more quickly than you ever have before.