Tips for Getting Paid

Every business has customers that refuse to pay up, and every business-owner would do just about anything to get these people to send in a payment. While there is no foolproof way to get your money, we do have some ALMOST foolproof tips for you to try. These tips, when tried in conjunction with careful accounts receivable management, can really help to reduce the number of unpaid invoices you have to battle with on a daily basis.

Tip #1: Be Selective From the Start   

One of the main reasons that so many businesses have trouble collecting on the money they’re owed is because they extend credit to all the wrong people. If you’re not carefully choosing whom you extend credit to, that needs to change! Create a credit application and require customers to fill it out at the very beginning, before you even have a business/client relationship. If potential clients don’t have satisfactory credit histories, move on; you do not need to take on every client who comes your way, and doing so is only going to hurt your business in the long run. If you are more careful about who you extend credit to, there’s a good chance you’ll have far fewer unpaid invoices to contend with.

Tip #2: Keep the Lines of Communication Open

Once you have extended credit, you’ll want to take your customer/client relationship seriously by staying in good, regular contact with each customer. Try to connect with clients on social media, send courtesy emails when payments are about to come due, and definitely contact clients when they fall behind on their payments- in fact, the very minute they fall behind. When you stay on top of your communication with the client, he’ll think twice about not paying his debt to you, knowing that your business is one that will surely be in very regular contact when payments are due.

Tip #3: Be Professional at All Times

It can sometimes be difficult to maintain professionalism when whether or not you get paid has a large bearing on the fate of your business. It can also be hard if clients are being particularly rude or evasive. No matter how a client acts, though, it is imperative that you behave professionally and “keep your cool” at all times. Always be calm and collected, no matter how f lustered you feel. If you or someone who works for you goes off the handle, you can kiss getting paid good-bye, and you might even find yourself faced with a lawsuit and with a ruined reputation. If you find that you’re incapable of maintaining a cool demeanor yourself, remember that you can always hire a professional debt collection service to do this hard work for you!

Tip #4: Offer Installment Plans

Finally, be at least a little flexible when it comes to late payments and the like. With some clients, flexibility is really the only way you’re ever going to see your money. Consider offering installment plan payment options to customers who have fallen behind or who have run into unexpected circumstances. You might get your money back more slowly if you do this, but at least you’ll get it back!

As you can see, getting the money you’re owed isn’t always easy, though it should be. However, if you follow these basic tips, then there’s a good chance you’ll get a lot more (maybe even most!) of the money you’re owed.  #AccountsReceivableManagement

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Better Management of Accounts Receivable Could Save Your Business

If you’re a business owner, then you already know how important it is (and how difficult it can sometimes be) to get paid by your clients and by other businesses in a timely manner. This is such a serious problem for modern-day businesses that President Obama has publicly urged larger companies to pay the smaller vendors they owe money to and has even proposed a “Supplier Pay” initiative to increase the likelihood of this happening.  

Whether you have high hopes for the initiative or don’t think it will end up doing much good, the fact still remains that it’s up to you, at the end of the day, to properly manage your accounts receivable, i.e. the accounts for which you have earned revenue but haven’t yet collected it. 

A lot of people think they can just act like they already have the earned money, which doesn’t work so well and could lead to overdrafts and other problems. The thing to remember is that there is a big difference between managing money you actually have and managing accounts receivable, and it’s very important you understand how to properly and effectively manage those accounts that aren’t yet paid up. To help you with that, we’ve provided a few simple tips that, if practiced, will lead to better management of your accounts receivables.

Tip #1: Be Careful About Extending Credit

These days, many consumers feel like credit is a right, rather than a privilege. Don’t perpetuate this feeling of entitlement! Be careful about who you extend credit to by exacting background and credit checks and the like. Even if you’re careful, you’ll still have some people who don’t pay up, but you’ll weed out a lot of non-paying/delinquent clients if you’re choosy about who you give credit to.

Tip #2: Have Shorter AP Days and Longer AR Days

Another good strategy is to always make your accounts receivable days- i.e. the number of days it takes you to receive payment- less than your accounts payable days- the days when you have to pay money out of the business pocket. This way, you’ll be able to collect money more quickly than you owe it, always allowing you to stay in the black.

Tip #3: Hire a Great CPA

Finally, make sure you hire a skilled accountant, one who is very familiar with business accounting and who can help you with all of your financial questions and concerns. Once you do have a good accountant, use him or her to the fullest! Have your accountant help you with any and all financial matters, and whenever you don’t understand anything or have a question, go to your accountant for help and expert advice.

If you can follow these simple tips, you should have a much easier time managing your accounts receivable, which will bring many benefits your way! #ManageAccountsReceivables #Kinum

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Management of Accounts Receivables

When people request help with management of accounts receivables, often, what they’re really requesting help with is office organization and perhaps their work space in general. While there certainly are customers who just don’t pay up, other customers merely slip through the cracks or don’t get invoiced due to a poorly organized office environment. Getting organized can help you to bring in more of the money that you’re owed and to have an easier work life in general.   

To begin with, start tidying up the office. If there are papers and files lying around everywhere, how can you possibly know what’s gotten done versus what needs to be done? You can go the traditional route of buying filing cabinets and other organizational tools, or it might benefit you to take your paperwork online via a cloud or other office management system. Many people find it’s easier to stay organized when they’re not dealing with actual paper.

It’s also a good idea to keep a current spreadsheet of all of your customers and the status of their accounts. You might already do this, but you may not be updating that spreadsheet as regularly as possible. To establish good business practices, make sure you enter in payments or missed payments as soon as they occur. Get out of the habit of “doing it later” to save yourself from errors and headaches.

While organizing your office may not magically settle all of your accounts, it can allow you to keep updated in knowing exactly what you’re owed and from whom. Taking some time to get organized now will save you tons of time and hassle in the future.

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