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    The 5 Top Ways To Get Paid Faster

    If you have more than one slow paying client or customer, politeness alone will not guarantee swift payments. For businesses and agencies, not getting paid on time translates to weak cash flow, debts, and other financial liabilities.

    By digitizing the billing process, users gain an opportunity to build a diplomatic relationship with clients. Software for billing is designed to keep all the billing information in one place, accessible to team members and clients at your discretion. In short, digital billing solutions offer many direct and indirect ways to process invoices instantly.

    That is why a good majority of ecommerce store owners and freelancers use invoicing software to manage their business transactions. These solutions can also help your business grow and scale by encouraging the following:  

    • Invoicing solutions train or habituate your clients to pay on time.  
    • Online billing lessens misunderstanding and confusions when dealing with several clients.
    • Invoices generated from billing software can be customized with your branding.  

    Read on to uncover the five strategies professionals around the world employ to get paid fast.

    Your Invoicing Software Is Your Partner

    Billing immediately after completing the services is just one way to increase your chances of getting paid quickly. There are many other legitimate ways to generate bills with online billing applications. It can save you time, money, and resources you might spend on an accountant or bookkeeper who manages your businesses billings.

    Invoicing software keeps an insightful tab of total expenses whether you need invoicing for small business or a medium-sized business.

    • Getting paid as freelancer is possible with multi-payment integrations that accompany popular billing apps, giving clients a way to pay without hassles.
    • Billing platforms help to segment late paying clients so that you can take necessary actions to improve cash flow.
    • Digital bills save time and eliminate human errors by automating your billing processes.  

    The following five pointers will teach you everything you need to know about getting paid faster when invoicing online.

    1. Choose The Right Template

    As one of the leading invoicing service providers, Invoice Ninja advocates a distinct, eye-catching, and unique bill. This is true because by deciding on a consistent color theme, font style, and size for your invoices, businesses can raise brand awareness.

    On top of it, one can customize e-invoices to the specific language used by the client to make them feel at ease. It will also speed up the payment process by keeping your billing records neat and organized.

    For instance, FreshBooks offers pre-designed templates users can modify to send bills to clients in less than 30 seconds.

    2. Specify The Date

    It is true that an invoice must contain several mandatory details such as your business logo, seller details, buyer information, and more. Above all, the most important entry in any bill is the due date. This is because it prompts customers to pay on time when you specify a fixed due date.

    For example, suppose you include ‘payment upon receipt’ in the terms of the bill. In such a case where the overdue date is not clear, the clients may pay late or not at all.  Moreover, invoicing terms like ‘payment upon receipt’ might not be easily understandable for every client you work with.

    3. The Carrot And The Stick: Promotions And Late Fees

    One way to encourage clients who frequently are late on payments to pay by the deadline is by introducing incentives and penalties. When they pay on or before time, you can offer discounts such as 4% off the total amount as a reward. On the flipside, you can also levy interest on late payments by specifying these charges and fees in your Terms of Services (TOS).

    While incentives help you create practical financial forecasts, interest collected on late payments increases your revenue. Either way, you will get paid quicker than normal.

    As an example, imagine a client who pays exactly on time at ‘Net 15’ terms. Introducing 5% off discounts for payments made within 5 days of receipt might encourage that client to pay earlier.

    4. Use Payment Reminders

    Following up on a payment improves your chance of getting paid because it eradicates any chance of your client missing the payment. Moreover, not following up on your payments can also generate confusions among clients and increase your risk of losing the amount when you finally send a reminder.

    Suppose you schedule a reminder three days before the due date. There are high chances that a busy client might forget the bill they received weeks ago. By sending an email alert a few days before the final date, they might even pay before the deadline.

    Alternatively, you can use an invoicing platform for sending auto-reminder emails that encourage clients to pay on time.

    5. Break Up Payments

    Dividing your projects into smaller milestones can ensure that you get paid before the end of the project. Billing in segments with milestone payments can also mitigate the risk that comes with larger payments, especially when you are working with new clients. More importantly, it can enhance your cash flow management.

    Freelancers are among the most common groups that have difficulty collecting payment. Moreover, many lack the means to battle clients for non-payment in court due to the expense of fighting for collection. Accordingly, an upfront payment of 50% translates to early payment disbursal. It could help establish trust and reduce the chances of losing money before charging the remaining 50% upon delivery of a service or project.

    The Best Invoicing Software To Use For Snappy Payments

    To pick the appropriate invoicing software for quick payments, you need to compare the best features of the ideal solutions and match them to your business needs.

    • If you want a platform with many templates, QuickBooks offer up to 5 invoice templates.
    • With the help of FreshBooks, you can create discount packages and incentives to make the clients pay ahead of time. 
    • Xero is an invoicing software that offers a late fee manager to handle late-paying clients and set interest rates for outstanding bills.
    • It is easy to customize the due date, and even transact in up to 45 currencies with Invoice2Go.
    • Set up automated reminders in email format using Invoice Ninja to encourage your clients to pay faster.  
    • You can break up payments by requesting deposits with the help of the invoicing platform Square.  

    Still, if the above options are less than ideal for your present circumstances and you’re encountering collection delays, consider exploring invoice factoring to get paid quickly for your outstanding invoices.