Late payments can negatively impact a business on multiple levels, from restricting growth to needing to turn to credit for operating costs. Dealing with late-paying customers is frustrating and time consuming – but it doesn’t have to be.
Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, reasons for failing to pay on time are numerous.
Automating accounts receivable processes and leveraging tools designed to streamline and improve the user experience can have a significant improvement on A/R KPIs. This means more liquidity and more time spent growing your business.
Here, we’ll discuss why customers are late payers and what can be done to ensure future payments are made on time.
Common Reasons That Delay Payment
Every late payment has a reason for it. The customer could be going through financial distress or they could be changing banks or they could have simply forgotten.
Invoiced can help respond to these excuses before they’re even made. By taking a proactive approach to A/R, businesses can provide solutions to common pain points and create a simplified payment process.
So, how can Invoiced solutions help you best respond to common customer obstacles?
“I never received an invoice”
Step one to getting paid is to ask. Regularly scheduled invoices are a requirement of any A/R department and doing them manually is highly inefficient and ripe for human error. By automating billing, you ensure that invoices are sent on a regular schedule and to the correct point of contact.
Recommended solutions
“I can’t log-in and pay”
Providing an easy-to-navigate customer payment portal allows users to service their account on their schedule and reduces the need for customer service.
Invoiced Solutions
“I forget to make my payments”
Human nature is often a barrier to payment. People get busy and due dates slip their mind. You can take this off their plate by enabling automatic payments that need only a one-time setup.
Invoiced Solutions
“I didn’t understand the terms”
Confusing payment terms can be simplified with easy-to-understand invoices that clearly reflect what is due, when it’s due and for what product or service. An effective invoice cuts out unnecessary information and is easy to digest.
Invoiced Solutions
“I can’t afford to pay right now”
If a company is going through tough times financially, there’s a better chance you actually get paid if you work with them rather than demanding payment as soon as possible. By working out payment plans, you’re increasing the chances the account will be settled and, perhaps, earning a long-term customer.
Invoiced Solutions
Solutions By Industry
Every industry has its own invoicing needs. Invoiced understands this and has responded by tailoring solutions to meet the unique requirements of several key sectors.
Agencies
Time is a precious commodity and should be spent on clients, not invoicing. Automated billing and payment portals remove complexity and free you up to better meet client needs.
Healthcare
Healthcare billing and collections is complicated and difficult to navigate, for the provider and patient. Flexible payment options, multiple customer types and complex systems are commonplace and require a platform that can simplify complicated billing processes.
Insurance
With regular, high-volume billing, insurance providers need invoicing options that allow customers to service their account, pay in multiple ways and with multiple payment plans.
Legal
Legal billing is hard. You may bill by the hour (or the minute) or you may bill as a flat fee. There are multiple fees that must be billed separately and laws vary state to state. For clients, they need flexible payment options and will want a transparent view of what was billed and why.
Technology
The modern technology industry is highly diversified with companies providing multiple forms of products, services or even products as a service. Complex offerings need a billing solution that can handle hundreds (or thousands) of SKUs easily and efficiently.
Utilities
There are few volume billers as large as utilities. With massive customer bases, utilities need billing solutions that reduce manual work and make automation the standard. At this scale, efficiency is an absolute necessity and being able to respond to shifting needs quickly is increasingly important.
Get Customers to Pay on Time With Invoiced A/R Solutions
Invoiced is designed to be a proactive solution and give your business and customers what they need before they realize they need it. By automating your A/R department and enabling customers to pay how they want and when they want to, you’re helping ensure that they remain customers and your business gets paid for your hard work.
