Maintaining steady cash flow is crucial for the long term success of any business or enterprise. Where small businesses and start-ups are concerned, maintaining cash flow becomes necessary even for matters such as the everyday running of company activities and work functions (Jared Hecht, The Huffington Post, “8 WAYS FOR YOUR SMALL BUSINESS TO GET PAID FASTER”, 2015).
Getting customers and clients to make payments on time can be challenging, however it is a sure shot way of maintaining steady cash flow. Start-ups and small businesses could keep in mind the following tips in order to get paid faster:
Check Credit
Checking credit of new customers and clients could help companies understand the clients’ credit history and potential payment capacities. This condition could be part of any contracts companies sign with their potential clients and customers. In fact, a thorough background check is always a good way to know the work culture and financial states of prospective clients.
Automate Receivables
The practice of sending and receiving paper invoices is quickly becoming outdated. This is because automating accounts systems has various benefits and goes a long way in helping companies streamline their cash flow. Small businesses would benefit greatly from implementing an online faktureringssystem as this could ensure that payments do not get delayed. E-invoicing directly connects the accounts departments of a company and its clients which allows for prompt payments. In fact, the benefits of automating invoices are so profound that since 2012, Norway’s government has made the use of B2G e-invoicing mandatory (E-Invoicing Platform, “NORWAY TO ACCEPT ONLY E-INVOICES AS FROM 1 JULY 2012”, 2012).
Build Relationships
Having a good rapport with clients and customers could help create a sense of responsibility and loyalty between both parties. While rules, contracts and bills might be avoided by clients, a personal relationship with a company might be harder to ignore. By sending greetings and expressing appreciation toward clients at regular intervals, companies can ensure they have a stable and harmonious business partnership with clients and customers.
Grant Incentives
Companies, even small businesses, could grant incentives and rewards for early and timely payments. These early transactions could be recorded by the company’s faktureringssystem and at the end of the fiscal year, overall bonuses could be awarded too. Even if these incentives are small tokens of appreciation, they could go a long way in motivating clients and customers to pay on time.
Thus, small businesses and start-ups could ensure that they maintain harmonious relationships with their clients as well as get paid faster. Companies could take the help of professionals in the field of automated invoicing to help streamline their accounts departments. One such company that offers services related to elektronisk fakturering is Basware. More information can be found on their website.
