10 Tips to Receive Timely Payments From Your Clients

1. Asking for upfront payments

No client will pay you fully before they find their project completed, but they will be ready if you ask for upfront payments, which could be 5 to 10% of their total work fees.

It’s better to break your project into checkpoints or milestones. For example, if you are a story writer, and you have to write 100 stories in a month, you’d better ask for payments for every 5 stories when completed.

This way, not only you will have a regular cash flow, but your clients will also aware of the time of payment, making themselves financially ready to do so.

2. Make your terms and conditions clear and follow them

Don’t forget to make your clients sign on official papers mentioning terms and conditions before starting any project. If unsure, then hire an expert lawyer to make sure that all is legal and unambiguous in the papers.

Remember that these terms and conditions prevent your clients from taking advantage of you or misusing their rights. Moreover, honesty and professionalism from your side are expected equally.

It is because it all starts with you, so religiously and strictly follow your own terms and conditions, and it’s wise to spare some clients from that, especially trustworthy clients considering their financial status, their previous records, and your familiarity with them.

Having so, your clients will have a better impression of your company, taking you more seriously and pay you regularly.

3. Punctuality in sending invoices

If you send invoices to your clients on a fixed date, then they will prepare themselves financially or mentally to pay you before the paying date, many businesses infact use an automated Enterprise billing for this. Moreover, they can also make some arrangements due to enough time for the payment.

It will enhance your image in your clients’ mind and look more professional. Many times, when you ask them for payments, they get irritated, as nobody likes unwanted surprises, especially of making payments.

Their inability to pay you can spoil your business relations with them. If you think of sending an invoice 21 days before its due date, it’s wise to send a reminder right one day before the due date and two days after it if not receiving the payment

It will trigger your clients’ sense of responsibility, thus forcing them to pay you on time.

4. Sending an invoice immediately

It’s not because you are asking for the payment, but it is to remind your customers that their project or some part of it is completed, and now you are entitled to payments.

Due to not wanting to pay on time, many customers take advantage of such acts of irresponsibility. So, prepare and send the bill on the completion of a project immediately.

If you wait for the end of the month to send your invoices, then you are yourself negatively affecting your business cash flow by adding more days to receive payments.

5. Reward your customers when they pay on time

Out of your all clients, there must be some punctual payers. They understand the value of your service, but do you understand their value for your business?

It’s time to make such punctual payers feel special by offering them enticing discounts and offers, which will not only benefit them, but it will also allow you to grab more work from them.

As soon as you receive a payment from such customers, don’t forget to send them tempting offer messages. It will fill your business relations with trust and faith. Furthermore, it’s one of the best ways for client retention.

6. Adopt a follow-up procedure for customers not paying

As important for you is to know how to behave with punctual payers as is to know how to deal with those not paying on time.

You must send them follow-up emails and calls to remind them of the payment due. A gentle reminder for payment can help you win the race.

Remember that you are not asking for a debt, in fact, you are asking for what you deserve, so there is no shame in doing so.

Adopting a follow-up procedure for customers not paying can make such clients pay you on time. Using an advanced invoice software system like Invoicera can send payment to follow up messages automatically and regularly and help you accept payment online.

7. Unless payment is done, don’t deliver the complete work

It may sound odd to you, but it is not for every client. There must be many clients of yours who have paid you late once or twice, thus negatively affecting your cash flow.

You should ask for the payment immediately on the completion of their projects. If they don’t pay you, don’t deliver the complete work.

It will force them to pay you, as their completed work must be hampering a process in their business. This way, you will have a better cash flow.

Moreover, such clients will understand that they are losing their credibility, and they will also become a regular payer to save it.

8. Go for a retainer-based model

Don’t charge your clients by the project or hour, instead of that, go for a retainer-based model. In this, your clients will pay you the same amount every month for fixed services rendered. It’s an ideal way to receive payment on time. Let us help you have it clear:

Having an idea of the same payment to be paid every month will allow your clients to make sure that all is right, and they don’t need to check every detail for the payment.

Furthermore, they can also link their bank account to your company account and fix the recurring billing once in month or week to pay you regularly.

It will also save your time and effort spent on tallying and filling out invoices in a hurry.
Remember that the more manual processes you eliminate from the billing process, the more efficient your invoicing process will get.

9. Offer a convenient payment plan

Many of your clients are not paying you not because they are dishonest, in fact, they are unable to pay you. It’s prudent for you to provide them with some financial relief.

Think of adding some part of their overdue bill onto subsequent invoices, offering them some discounts or offers for paying their bills on a particular data by paying 5 to 10% less.

Doing so, not only you will make it easier for them to make payments, but they will also think about your company as a helpful figure. Thus, they will give you more work when destiny is in their favor, leaving your competitors.

This way, you will receive payments with the love and gratitude of some loyal and grateful clients.

10. Pay your gratitude with a message, email, or call

Sending your clients a ‘Thank you’ message on receiving a payment will sweeten your relationships with them. A personalized call, email, or text message expressing your gratitude will definitely bring a smile on their face.

Adopting this method, you can not only make your clients feel special, but they will think about you that you don’t take them as a way of making money.

To you, they are human beings first, and they will love to know it.

Conclusion

To us, your confusion-free understanding of this blog is the reward that we get by telling you 10 tips to receive timely payments from your clients.

Here, you came to know strategies like giving your clients some simple payment plan, sending thank you messages, asking for payments in advance, and the like, their roles in making your clients pay you on time, thus improving your business cash flow.

It is impossible to be regular and punctual by having your invoice processes manually, so choosing an advanced invoice software like Invoicera can help you with sending payment reminders on time, giving you an exact record of every client’s previous payments, which is why it is considered the best way to keep track of client payments, receiving online invoice payment, and automatically sending a gentle reminder for payment to those who are remaining to pay bills.

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