Small business owners are adept at being Jacks and Jills of all trades. They know how to perform their given service (e.g. sewing or tailoring, coaching gymnastics, organizing homes, etc.), and they also know how to deliver customer service, handle their accounting, and much more. The former is usually out of passion, the latter out of necessity. Still, having to act as a debt collector is not something any business owner wants. If you want to learn how to collect money from client projects and how to accept business payments easily and quickly, keep reading.
Integrate to Expedite
The first step to smoothing out your payment collections process is to make sure you have the right software tools in place. At the very least, give a payment management system a try. Ideally, though, you’ll have a payment system and a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as well – and both solutions will integrate.
This is important because your CRM is intended to help you manage interactions with your clients and leads, while your payment software helps you invoice and get paid. When the two integrate, everything client-facing is connected. For example, you could include a deposit payment link directly in your proposal, helping you secure payment and close the deal all in one process. You can also keep records, financial and otherwise, about each client in one central location.
Automate Often
Another major benefit to having the right digital systems in place is the ability to save time. Think about whether your business requests recurring payments, for example, such as subscriptions, memberships, and packages. In these cases, you’d want to use a payment management system that offers recurring payment options. That way, you can avoid sending a new invoice for repeated services. And with your customer’s authorization, you’ll be able to charge their credit card automatically whenever a payment is due.
Additionally, your payment solution can send automated payment reminders through your CRM and get notified of overdue payments. This eliminates your need to do any of this yourself manually, saving you time (and headaches).
Offer Options
Finally, if you want to have a faster, easier time collecting payments, you need to make the act of paying fast and easy for your customer. Do this by choosing a solution that allows you to accept the most popular forms of payment (including major credit cards, ACH transfers, and payment processors). The more payment methods you accept, the more convenient it will be for customers to pay you – and the less payment chasing you’ll need to do yourself.
If you’re tired of traditional payment software that overcomplicates your payment collection and even takes a cut out of your profits, try Finli instead. With features like simple one-time or recurring billing options, SMS or email-based invoices, and seamless payment acceptance, you can finally achieve streamlined payment collections – and peace of mind.
Need help getting started? Finli was founded to help small businesses instantly invoice, collect immediate payments, and more seamlessly handle their accounts receivable. Sign up for a free trial here!
