How to Deal With Overdue Invoices and Get Paid
It appears overdue invoices are becoming a thing in the business world these days. Wherever you turn, you will hear different stories of clients not paying their invoices as and when due. There are a lot of clients who owes invoices dating back to two years or more. How did this come to be? Business is supposed to be business. This means when a job is done for a client, such a client should reciprocate by paying their invoices as soon as possible. However, the reverse is the case now and situations like this have a telling negative effect on businesses and how it performs. If you are dealing with overdue and unpaid invoices, try and use some of the tips below to avoid a future occurrence and to get paid for the ones you are being owed.
- Create a Good Relationship with Clients: Fostering a good relationship with your clients may help you in preventing overdue invoices. The truth is, a client who you have a fantastic working relationship with would likely have you at the top of their payment lists when the time for paying out invoices arrives. Such a client would value the relationship you have and would not want to tarnish that with paying your invoices late.
- Mail Out Your Invoices Earlier: You should consider mailing out your invoices earlier to ensure the paying clients have no excuse as to why they won’t be paying your invoices. We have definitely heard of stories like, you didn’t get paid because your invoice arrived too late. Don’t be cut in that web, so do ensure you mail out your invoices earlier.
- Follow Up on Invoices: After mailing out your invoices, try and follow them up by sending friendly reminder to clients at intervals. You could send messages like, ‘invoice will be due in 10 days thanks for your businesses’. This will serve as reminders and make your clients consider paying on time.
- Set Payment Standards: You may want to set standards for paying your invoices on time and for paying late. Let your invoice carry terms like ‘5% off for paying on or before February 13’, also you should set terms like, ‘late invoices attracts 7% increment flat’. These terms may be the little trick that performs the wonder of your invoice getting paid as opposed to being left unpaid.
- Ask for Upfront Payments: In a world where businesses are struggling with getting their invoices paid, you will be advised to fix this gaping problem from the beginning. Whenever you want to take on a new project henceforth, especially with clients that have a history of not paying their invoices as and when due, you should consider asking such clients for an upfront payment of say 50%. This would give you an assurance that you are at least getting a part of your money already. Since the other half is not as much as the whole payment amount, it may even be easier for your clients to pay them.
The problem of unpaid invoices is currently bedeviling the ease with which businesses are conducted currently. You might want to avoid such issues by following the above tips as it would do you a lot of good.
