3 Things To Do When Clients Don’t Pay Their Invoices
One of the hardest parts of entrepreneurship is dealing with clients who don’t pay their invoices. Many business owners are at a loss regarding what to do to manage the situation and still maintain the client. Let’s face it, most clients are never in a hurry to pay their bills. In fact, they would prefer to hold off for the longest period of time and pay up at the last minute.
In this scenario, you as the business owner is left to bear the brunt of their lackadaisical attitude. In this post we will highlight three major things that you should do when your clients don’t pay up. These methods are very subtle and will help you get your payment without having to hassle the client.
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You should resend the invoice
A major step in closing all business deals is the follow up after service has been rendered. If you notice that your client isn’t forth-coming on his payment, then you should resend the invoice both as an email and paper mail. Be sure to present it as a friendly reminder and be sure to not get aggressive with the client as you would want him to pay up and possibly rehire you in the near future.
A quick tip is to send more personal reminders instead of the automated ones and also follow up with a phone call telling them that the invoice has been resent. This puts pressure on them to pay up without making you look bad.
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Find another point of contact
If the defaulting client is a company, then you can look for another section of the company and make your petition known to them. Sometimes the person you are in contact with has little or no interest in seeing that you get paid on time and in this case, sending and re-sending invoices might not cause any positive change. You can change your point of contact by becoming acquainted with someone in the accounting department or anyone who can speed up the process for you and ensure you get paid.
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Escalate your case and threaten to take legal action
A lot of times, the issue with unpaid invoices can be settled amicably when both parties stay in communication and are responsive. However, in the case where the client refuses to respond you can begin to threaten legal action which always works. However, the downside to this tip is that you will lose the individual or company as a client, but nevertheless, you will get your payment.
Dealing with clients who refuse to pay their invoices can be quite the hassle but with the three tips discussed in this post, we are certain that you will get your invoices paid in no time.
