Five Ways To Make Sure You Get Your Money

By: Ruth King

Many business owners forget to bill, or worse, don’t pay attention to making sure the business receives payment for the products/services the company provided.

First, make sure that your company bills on time.  If a customer gets an invoice two months after the work was completed, your company is sending a message that it doesn’t care about collections and doesn’t need to be paid in a timely manner.

The invoice should be sent the day your company completes the project.

Here are five ways to make sure you get your money.

1. Collect COD whenever possible. Until a satisfactory credit check is completed, all work should be paid COD.
2. Ask for deposits for work to be performed. This is a typical request, especially for materials which need to be ordered or a project that will be completed over a period of time. If you don’t get a deposit, then you don’t start the work.  This should be made clear in your contract with the customer.
3. Allow customers to pay by credit card or ACH. Many businesses would prefer to pay by credit card.  They get their “points” which are used for company expenses.  Others don’t write checks and prefer to pay by ACH.  Make sure your customer knows that these options are available.  You might ask, “How do you prefer to pay?  We take a check, credit cards, or ACH payments.”  If it is a credit card or ACH payment, you may need authorization for the payment to be made.  It’s best to discover this before the work begins.
4. Call the accounts payable department for all new customers. Introduce yourself and get the instructions on how the invoices are to be presented.  Do you need a purchase order number?  A manager’s signature?  Other documentation?    Then, if the customer doesn’t pay within the agreed upon time, you have a specific person to ask for.
5. Pay attention to collections. If your company terms are net 30 days, then on that 31^st day someone must make a phone call if payment has not been received.  Every week someone should review the aging accounts receivable report.  Progress on collection calls must be discussed during this review.

Many times new customers will see how serious your company is about being paid for the work that was done on their behalf.  Be serious about collecting money that is owed to your company.  You’ll get your money on time.

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Ruth King is known globally as the “Profitability Master,” and is a a thought leader in entrepreneurship and business. Her books have been recognized as among the greatest in numerous industries. Learn more about all her business activities here.