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Easy ways to improve your billing Easy ways to improve your billing workflow.

How does end of month impact you?

When you have suppliers and/or staff who rely on you, there is nothing better than you being paid on time for your product/service, so you can sort your obligations as a business owner.  Here are some ways you can improve your invoicing processes.

Outline your terms - from the beginning.

One of the most important things is your Terms and Conditions of Trade.

Firstly that you have them, and they are up to date.

Secondly, they outline your payment terms up-front. The best practice is to get your customer to sign your estimate (together with your Terms on the reverse) before starting the job.

Did you know?

Financial Services Company, Due analysed over 250,000 invoices sent over the past year and found if you put terms on your quotation and invoice, you are 1.5x more likely to get paid on time.

Research also shows that you are 3x more likely to get paid if you add a company logo to your documentation.

We can help with your Terms and Conditions of Trade.

Our team are on hand to assess your current Terms and Conditions of Trade and advise if there are any tweaks you need to make. We can provide an assessment within 5-working days.

Ensure to get a deposit upfront.

Implementing a 50% despot on a job before the work begins will bolster your cash flow. 

Put simply, if you are targeting 50% gross profit percentage, you will have covered all your costs at the start of the job.  

Remember: A deposit upfront ensures trust and relieves some of the risks of non-payment. You need to establish trust with the prospect to get money upfront.

End of month billing can be a daunting prospect, and there is no guarantee of on-time payment. However, by improving your workflow there is a greater chance of having a healthier cash flow. Here are some ways you can improve your invoicing processes
Thank you to GrowthForce for this imagery

Tweaking a couple of things can make a positive impact on your cash flow. One is getting cash from your customer before having to pay payroll-related costs for that project.

It may not always be possible but you can shrink the time between when you get paid and when you have to pay payroll. This has a material impact on cash flow. The bigger and more successful you are, the more important that becomes. Why? Bigger companies need more cash to survive and the cash flow risks are greater.

Whether you’re a $500,000 company or a $5 million company, you have to make every payroll. A big reason why so many small businesses fail is that they spend their time chasing cash to make the next payroll.

The graph above shows by getting a larger deposit upfront and delaying payroll two weeks, you can more than double your average cash balance. If you did that on every job, it’s huge for a small business!  

Optimise your billing times.

As your business grows, it becomes more important to automate your systems. Not only does it save you and your staff time, but also minimises errors, in turn saving you money. Our friends at Xero and MYOB can assist with this.

Make invoicing your priority.

In conclusion, your billing process is equally as important as the products and services you provide. Having the correct Terms and Conditions of Trade in place along with a robust workflow will greatly impact how your customers and prospects perceive you and build that trust that you are a reliable business.

 

If you have invoices 90 days past due - we can help. Sign-up with us Debt recovery is our specialist area. Our team are experts in getting results so don't hesitate to load your unpaid invoices for resolution now.

Want to know more?

Protecting your cash flow is something we specialise in and we are more than happy to come and visit you on-site for an obligation-free chat on your current processes and work side by side with you to fine-tune.

We are here when you need us. Request your call back If you want to have a chat about any of the services we provide, we are only a phone call away. Request a call back and we will be in touch as soon as possible.

Thank you very much to the following publications for their content: GrowthForceScoro, Due, and Vistr.