It takes precious time out of your day and, ultimately, negatively impacts your balance sheet. It can be difficult to find the time to tackle the issue systematically, but until you do, you’re at risk of late payments becoming a plague. Here are some handy tips on steps your business can take today to better manage this problem.
You’re busy. Your customers are busy. Life is busy for everyone, and sometimes a little reminder will go a long way. Jog your customers’ minds about upcoming payments with a polite text or email reminding them of the payment date and amount a few days before it’s due. You’ll be surprised at how punctuality will improve. The best part is that you don’t need to send reminders manually; software solutions like FieldRoutes allow you to automate mass communications, saving you countless hours.
Ask yourself the following question. How easy is it for my customers to pay? Ensuring your business offers several ways for customers to balance their accounts is a surefire way to expedite payments. Nowadays, many customers, especially those from younger generations, prefer to use digital wallets to pay for products and services. The ability to pay an outstanding bill with the swipe of a finger is more likely to result in a punctual payment than the ability to pay over the phone. It’s better for your business, and it’s better for the customer. If you haven’t done so already, you need to invest in setting up a range of digital ways to pay.
If you use a comprehensive software package to run your business, you can implement smart automation. You can define criteria on your customers’ accounts so that another action is triggered when they occur. For example, when managing collections, you could automatically apply late fees to an account once an invoice remains unpaid past a set period. With FieldRoutes, you can set up customized email, SMS (text), voice, or postal mail messages based on a customer’s balance, balance age, or the number of days overdue. Imagine the innumerable hours you’d save each month if you didn’t have to chase each late payment. It’s a game-changer.
The time to call in a collection agency will vary depending on your company. A significant benefit is that it can be a highly effective way of recovering money owed. Since these companies are specialized in this area, they deploy diplomatic and effectual methods to get customers to pay up. There are even providers who specialize in pest control and lawn care. The benefit of using an agency like A.R.M Solutions is that their flat fee model reduces your collection costs by 75% compared to traditional collection agencies.
If you need help improving your collections process with cutting-edge technology, contact FieldRoutes. Our experts can help you identify the solutions you need to protect your bottom line.
