Every small business owner and freelancer wants the edge; that thing that's going to set them apart from the group. That unquantifiable thing that is going to make their business the shining example instead of the cautionary tale. But doing it is never as easy as it sounds. In our competitive, fast paced market small business owners and freelancers are faced with a lot challenges on the road to success.
Making a success out of your business is not as easy as it looks. Efficiently and effectively controlling the invoicing and payment collection in your businesses is one of the main problems obstacles faced by small businesses and freelancers. Most of you will be shocked to hear that this vital part of a business's success is shockingly often overlooked. You can never put too much importance on the necessity to have an effective invoicing policy.
Making your business successful though efficient invoicing policy:
Don't spend too much
A key care for anyone wishing to make their small business successful is keeping an eye on the cost of operation. Keeping the costs of billing and payment collection low is very important when it comes to managing the costs in your business.
Use creative online systems and systems automation to keep the number of workers you need to employ in your accounts division to a minimum. There are lots of tools on the market currently that allow you to automate recurring billing giving you complete control over your daily operations with an almost skeleton staff.
It is vital to remember that you have options. Look around for payment gateways with the lowest fees. Many payment gateways do not give you the ability to easily export your client's payment details. This stops you from changing between gateways easily. Look around for a payment facilitator to give you more flexibility. A payment facilitator will store customer billing data securely on your and the gateways behalf and allow simple switching between gateways, so you always have the cheapest rates and your clients the most choice.
Foster trust: Be professional
How many times have you received a poorly formatted invoice full of spelling errors, omitted fields or wrong information? What does that make you think of the enterprise issuing the invoice? Badly put together, incorrect invoices shine badly on the products and services you deliver. This method of making a negative impression of your businesses level of service is just as simple to prevent as it is to create.
A poor quality invoice reflects negatively on your client's option of the services you render. Doing away with those poor quality do-it-yourself Microsoft Word or Excel generated invoices for professionally fotatted ones is probably one of the greatest investments you can make in your SMME's success. Get software or start using a web based service designed to issue professional looking invoices. Always check that the client's details is correct and if you are issuing tax invoices ensure all the legally required information appear without error.
Payment gathering
Now that you have sent your professional looking invoice you need to get payment for it. Giving your customers several ways to pay your invoices is always advised. The easier it is to pay you the more payments you will get. We advise having the following payment options available to increase your ability to receive payment:
- A credit card payment gateway where customers can instantly and securely pay for your services on the web
- The ability for clients to pay through an automated recurring debit order from credit card or bank account
- The facility for clients to pay via an automated recurring debit order from bank account or credit card
Keep your business liquid
With any business comes the need to monitor and control bad debt. To keep your cash flow looking healthy the greatest offence is always a good defense. By this I mean, keep your clients informed each point of the way. Put them in the greatest possible spot to pay you and allow them the largest degree of access to their billing and account information.
Efficent communication and access to account data puts your customers in the best possible place to pay you. Sending text message (SMS) and email reminders to clients throughout your repayment, due and past due periods will increase your chances of getting paid. To help you do this, get software in place to help you automate and schedule correspondence with clients.
Stand out from the herd: Give a high quality service
Standing out from your competitors means more business. What makes you different from your competition? Have you got something to make you stand out from the crowd? The only way to truly stand out from the crowd and keep clients coming back is to offer a quality service or product reliably.
Limited success can be achieved with gimmicks and aggressive marketing, but this more than often does more damage in the long run than good. Providing a consistent, excellent service and quality products are the best way to make outspoken positive advocates for your brand. reach to ensure your level of service meets your clients expectations and then, if possible, provide that little bit extra not only meet their desires, but exceed their expectations.
So there it is! The secrets for making your company more successful are now in your grasp. No time to waste, get concentrating and start putting these tools to good use!
Making a success out of your business is not as easy as it looks. Efficiently and effectively controlling the invoicing and payment collection in your businesses is one of the main problems obstacles faced by small businesses and freelancers. Most of you will be shocked to hear that this vital part of a business's success is shockingly often overlooked. You can never put too much importance on the necessity to have an effective invoicing policy.
Making your business successful though efficient invoicing policy:
Don't spend too much
A key care for anyone wishing to make their small business successful is keeping an eye on the cost of operation. Keeping the costs of billing and payment collection low is very important when it comes to managing the costs in your business.
Use creative online systems and systems automation to keep the number of workers you need to employ in your accounts division to a minimum. There are lots of tools on the market currently that allow you to automate recurring billing giving you complete control over your daily operations with an almost skeleton staff.
It is vital to remember that you have options. Look around for payment gateways with the lowest fees. Many payment gateways do not give you the ability to easily export your client's payment details. This stops you from changing between gateways easily. Look around for a payment facilitator to give you more flexibility. A payment facilitator will store customer billing data securely on your and the gateways behalf and allow simple switching between gateways, so you always have the cheapest rates and your clients the most choice.
Foster trust: Be professional
How many times have you received a poorly formatted invoice full of spelling errors, omitted fields or wrong information? What does that make you think of the enterprise issuing the invoice? Badly put together, incorrect invoices shine badly on the products and services you deliver. This method of making a negative impression of your businesses level of service is just as simple to prevent as it is to create.
A poor quality invoice reflects negatively on your client's option of the services you render. Doing away with those poor quality do-it-yourself Microsoft Word or Excel generated invoices for professionally fotatted ones is probably one of the greatest investments you can make in your SMME's success. Get software or start using a web based service designed to issue professional looking invoices. Always check that the client's details is correct and if you are issuing tax invoices ensure all the legally required information appear without error.
Payment gathering
Now that you have sent your professional looking invoice you need to get payment for it. Giving your customers several ways to pay your invoices is always advised. The easier it is to pay you the more payments you will get. We advise having the following payment options available to increase your ability to receive payment:
- A credit card payment gateway where customers can instantly and securely pay for your services on the web
- The ability for clients to pay through an automated recurring debit order from credit card or bank account
- The facility for clients to pay via an automated recurring debit order from bank account or credit card
Keep your business liquid
With any business comes the need to monitor and control bad debt. To keep your cash flow looking healthy the greatest offence is always a good defense. By this I mean, keep your clients informed each point of the way. Put them in the greatest possible spot to pay you and allow them the largest degree of access to their billing and account information.
Efficent communication and access to account data puts your customers in the best possible place to pay you. Sending text message (SMS) and email reminders to clients throughout your repayment, due and past due periods will increase your chances of getting paid. To help you do this, get software in place to help you automate and schedule correspondence with clients.
Stand out from the herd: Give a high quality service
Standing out from your competitors means more business. What makes you different from your competition? Have you got something to make you stand out from the crowd? The only way to truly stand out from the crowd and keep clients coming back is to offer a quality service or product reliably.
Limited success can be achieved with gimmicks and aggressive marketing, but this more than often does more damage in the long run than good. Providing a consistent, excellent service and quality products are the best way to make outspoken positive advocates for your brand. reach to ensure your level of service meets your clients expectations and then, if possible, provide that little bit extra not only meet their desires, but exceed their expectations.
So there it is! The secrets for making your company more successful are now in your grasp. No time to waste, get concentrating and start putting these tools to good use!
About the Author:
An online billing and invoicing system is critical to allow any business to uphold a professional image. SnapBill has been helping businesses for decades and are providing a free account to get started.
No comments:
Post a Comment