If your clients are paying you late, then you are lending them money interest-free to spend on their business or on themselves.
Think about it. At a time of high inflation the longer you wait for your money the less it is worth.
Charging interest is part of getting paid
You have the right to charge interest in your terms of business. If you use KoffeeKlatch terms you will find they set out a higher rate than the county court ones. The county court defaults have not risen in line with inflation so instead of giving an interest-free loan if you use them then you are giving a cheap loan to your clients.
Getting paid needs a strategy
At KoffeeKlatch we take the view that if the bank won’t give someone credit then neither should you!
After all the banks have all the resources they need to figure out when a business is in trouble.
Accept credit cards
One strategy if you go that way is to get yourself paid via Stripe.
You don’t have to have a shopping cart to do this. It costs nothing unless someone pays you via Stripe in which case it costs you a small commission).
If you compare the Stripe charges (which only apply when a client pays you through Stripe with the time and effort and costs of chasing for your money you can find the commission is well worth it.
Then connect your invoicing system to Stripe (most mainstream ones will).
Or if you are just getting started and don’t have an invoicing system you can generate your invoices through Stripe itself: https://dashboard.stripe.com/invoices
When you set up a new account Stripe takes 7 days from the date your client pays to pay you. But it quickly improves to 3 days once you have an established track record.
No ‘cheque is in the post’ you know when they have paid – and it is up to them whether they clear their credit card at the end of the month or not.
We use Stripe because it was easy to set up and easy to use. You don’t have to use Stripe – there are other systems but the principle is the same.
Getting paid is easier when it is easy for clients to pay you
Make it really easy for clients to pay you.
Remember
If they have maxed out their credit card you should not be lending them money.
All too often we small business owners are working for clients who have far more money than us. They forget to pay us, but we can’t forget to pay the rent or feed the kids! It’s not enough to have a strategy to get some business if you don’t also have a strategy to get yourself paid!
What are your top tips for making sure you get paid?
We want you to know that supporting and protecting you is not our side hustle – it’s our whole reason for existing.
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