Most small business owners love what they do. But that\u2019s not to say things can\u2019t get a little difficult, especially when customers don\u2019t pay their bills on time. Even one or two slow-pay or no-pay customers can be enough to throw your company\u2019s finances off.<\/p>\n
Understanding what might be going on with your customers and being proactive can help you keep your accounts receivable on steady ground.<\/p>\n
Purchase Order Predicaments<\/strong><\/p>\n Not all customers use purchase orders, but those that do rely on them to coordinate ordering and accounts payable functions. If there\u2019s a mix-up involving a purchase order and your invoice doesn\u2019t match up with the customer\u2019s purchase order, your invoice could end up on the \u201cproblem\u201d pile instead of the \u201cpay\u201d pile. Be proactive by verifying that the purchase order numbers on your invoices are correct before they are sent.<\/p>\n Strapped for Cash<\/strong><\/p>\n Lack of money is a common excuse for not paying. One reason your customer may not be able to pay you is because your customer\u2019s customers haven\u2019t paid their<\/em> bills. Regardless of the reason, be the squeaky wheel and keep communicating with your past due customers.<\/p>\n You can help reduce your exposure to customer cash shortfalls by tightening your credit requirements.<\/p>\n Disputes, Dilemmas, and Other Disappointments<\/strong><\/p>\n Misships, damaged goods, late deliveries. Plenty of things can go wrong during the fulfillment process. Rather than make a phone call, customers may just \u201cfile\u201d your invoice at the bottom of the pile.<\/p>\n Follow-up e-mails or phone calls to find out if your customers are satisfied will help smooth any ruffled feathers and could improve how quickly you get paid.<\/p>\n Vanishing Invoices<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cWe never received your invoice\u201d is a weak excuse, but you still have to find a way around it. Once again, early follow-up is key. Paperless billing and the potential to monitor whether e-mailed invoices have been opened can also help eradicate this excuse.<\/p>\n Don’t get left behind. Contact us today to discover how we can help you keep your business on the right track. Don’t wait, give us a call today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Most small business owners love what they do. But that\u2019s not to say things can\u2019t get a little difficult, especially when customers don\u2019t pay their bills on time. Even one or two slow-pay or no-pay customers can be enough to throw your company\u2019s finances off. Understanding what might be going on with your customers and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-753","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=753"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":754,"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/753\/revisions\/754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlyfordentists.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}