Regardless of the size of your business or independent practice, there's one thing that businesses of all sizes need in order to survive and thrive: money. If customer and client billing is beginning to bottleneck your operations, it's up to you as a business owner to make the necessary changes to keep money coming in. It can get tricky dealing with clients with financial difficulties, especially when you're both operating small businesses. There are a few ways to help maintain your relationship with the struggling client while continuing to get paid.
Watch for Warning Signs
Late payments and IOUs are obvious signs that a client is in hot water financially, but looking at issues on the periphery such as communication mishaps, invoice problems, or a change in their billing cycle may point towards troubled water in the future. If they're trying to stretch funds or request a change to their billing process, it could be a sign that they're no longer able to afford your services.
Follow Up on a Regular Basis
Once you've sent the invoice, be sure to remind the client before the due date and on the day of if you haven't yet received payment for services. Once it's overdue, following up on a regular basis is important, but don't just send a notice. Reach out directly to the client and try to get an explanation as to why there hasn't been any action taken. It could be an invoicing problem or a clerical mistake that needs to be moved up the chain, so sometimes speaking directly with the person in charge will achieve immediate results.
Move Forward with Collections Process
While it's too early to jump the gun, bringing in someone else to work on behalf of your company and remove any personal relationship from the table can keep things professional and help diffuse any potential heated interactions between parties. As long as you approach the collections process from a business standpoint and frame your argument in that perspective, you should be able to work out a payment process between your firm and the client. If not, working with a professional collections representative can help you get paid and help close the account with a high degree of efficiency.
Clients A.R.M. has over 30 years of collections experience and boasts a 99.97% effectiveness rate. We work in tandem with you and your company as another arm to keep your collections, billing, and accounts receivable process efficient, streamlined, and highly effective. Contact us today for a free consultation or to learn more about our services.
Image source, labelled for reuse
