How To Effectively Deal With Unpaid Invoices
It is not uncommon to have some clients not pay at the due dates after the issuance of invoice properly and timeously, where such happens, you know it is time to chase that pay and deal with the unpaid invoice. It is actually one of the toughest as well as most uncomfortable part of business, but it has to be done. Once you have offered the service required of you, you are entitled you pay and below are ways that you can deal with such unpaid invoice;
Do well to not be rude at first: despite the fact that you are very entitled to your pay and it is not a proper thing to be owed or for the client to default in payment, it is advisable to, at the first instance, resort to being rude and unruly to recover the funds. For the protection of your business brand and name, you should first of look beyond a rude first approach. Rather you can show create a sense of empathy towards the defaulting client, it is quite a great approach as it can go a long way to motivate the debtor to pay off his debt.
Remind defaulter of the terms: as long as you had properly invoiced the client, the terms of payment would have been stated in the invoice, it is then a good move to remind the defaulting client of the terms of the payment as contained in the said invoice so to remind him of the default and encourage him to meet up with the agreement as immediately as possible.
Charge interest for late payment: the addition of interest for late payment is a good way to make clients do well to settle payments on time. Inform client of the extra charge on the late payment of the invoice so to motivate a payment of the invoice. These charges could be 5% (five percent) or 10% (ten percent) as the case may be, depending on the terms you both decide on agreeing.
Notice of demand of payment: send a notice to defaulting client demanding the fulfilment of the agreement to pay the sum owed on the default of the terms set in the invoice. You can do this personally or you can get a legal practitioner to do this for you.
Call the client: Most clients can deny receiving demand notices sent via messages so you might also want to reach out to them via calls so to hear them and get a personal reaction to the demand notice. Such call can also serve as reminder to offset such pending debt. Where this you cannot do this personally, you can hire a private freelance personal assistant (PA) to help you handle this action.
Be the defaulter a corporation or a person, remember that they are humanly operated and humans can be restrained by so many reasons that can be the cause of such default so it is good to also be understanding in as much as you are trying to be firm with recovering your owed funds. The above among other means can help you deal with unpaid invoices where properly applied.
