Cash is the life blood of your small business. Therefore, it makes sense to figure out as many streamlined and simple ways for customers to pay you for your goods and services as possible. The more seamless and flexible your processes, the more smoothly the exchange will go.
SEND AN INVOICE
Of course, paying for something right then and there at the time of purchase is ideal, but it doesn’t always work out. What with all of the distractions of daily life, it’s easy for everyone involved to lose track of what is owed. While most buyers don’t deliberately default on a payment, many need a nudge from you. Of course, you can send a written invoice by standard mail, but you can also accomplish the same task online. This saves time and paper as well as increasing the chances that your request won’t get lost in the shuffle at the bottom of a pile of documents.
PUT YOUR WEBSITE TO WORK FOR YOU AS A PAYMENT HUB
You probably already use your website as a gallery to display your selection of products. Why not also add a “pay now” button and harness its power to streamline customer payments? When you take this step, you can suddenly receive payments day and night and even on holidays when you’re far away from your business location.
EMBRACE MOBILE PAYMENTS
Here is some advice for business owners. Making payments with cash is becoming increasingly rare, and business owners who fail to recognize this fact stand to miss out on significant revenue if they don’t change with the times. The mobile credit card payment app and reader give you the flexibility to take payments wherever you are, whether it’s on the sales floor or on the other side of the country at a trade show.
USE AUTOMATION TO SCHEDULE ADVANCE PAYMENTS
Late payments stagnate your cash flow and make it difficult to grow your business. With automated payments, you can schedule them ahead of time with customers. Consequently, the money is effortlessly withdrawn from their merchant account and transferred into yours on time every month. Their data is securely stored within your software, which can also alert you when the customer’s credit card is about to expire so that you can proactively obtain updated information.
PRE-AUTHORIZE PAYMENTS
Especially if you are unsure of the total amount your customer will spend, pre-authorization is a great idea. This concept has been used for years by hotels and rental car companies. The customer’s funds are held on their credit card but not actually deducted until the business processes the transaction. Using your virtual terminal, you can always get a quick and thorough snapshot of how much of your revenue is being suspended in this state. This is great both for credit card owner and business owners.
These days, cash, checks and telephone payments are quickly going the way of the dinosaur. Take some time to think about how you can enhance your technological toolbox. When you do, you can make it even easier for customers to provide you with the capital they owe you in a timely fashion.