Working on a freelance or self-employed basis can be very challenging at times. While you work hard and have projects running all the time, making sure that you have a consistent income can be a complicated process. Clients don’t always pay on time, and it can be all too easy to ignore invoices when they come in. This makes it very important that your small business can earn money, and there are loads of tools around the web that can help you with this process. Let’s look at some of the best ways to ensure that your invoices don’t get ignored.
Sending Out Invoices
The first stage in this process involves sending your invoices out. Many websites make this process easier, but you need to make sure that your clients receive their invoices. This can make it worth asking them directly if it has arrived, though you could also use a mail delivery checker to see whether or not the messages you have sent have reached their destination.
Giving Reminders
Once an invoice has been sent, you can issue regular reminders until it has been paid. Sending an email once a week isn’t too much, and you can even send messages and call if you are worried that an invoice is being ignored. Of course, you need to make sure that you are professional with this, as it can be too easy to get angry when you remind someone to pay you time and time again.
Issuing Warnings
Most invoices will come with a due date on them, and this can provide you with the chance to chase your invoices and make sure that they are paid on time. Once an invoice goes past the due date, you can start to issue warnings that you need to be paid. This should include information about what will happen if a payment isn’t made, taking you into the final step.
Taking Action
Taking action to get paid can be very frustrating, but it can also be essential at times. A commercial collection agency can be perfect for this, providing you with the ability to let someone else deal with the money that you are owed. This sort of action will usually result in swift payment.
Invoice Finance
Invoice finance can be a good tool for those who are waiting for invoices to be paid. Coming in the form of a loan that can be taken against outstanding invoices can save the trouble of living without the money you need. Of course, though, options like this should be a last resort, as you will have to pay interest on the money you borrow.
Ensuring that invoices don’t get ignored can be very hard. This is because so many people put a lot of effort into this work, but you need to make sure that you are taking the proper steps to get the best results from the very beginning.
