How to Bill Customers & Dealing with Past Due Invoices

The best customers and the ones appreciated the most by suppliers are the ones that pay on-time or early. It helps with cash flow in running and growing an operation. I would urge customers (we are all customers to someone) not to use suppliers as a line of credit but to only use a net account for simplifying purchasing and payments.

Highlighted points:
1. Have new or unknown customers pay upon placing an order.
2. Setup a Net-30 or 2%10 Net-30 account for repeat customers / or if you think they will be repeat customers and they provide credit references.
3. If payment is late wait a week and then politely ask about the status. After two or three weeks late decline future RFQ's until late invoices are paid.
4. I haven't had to do anything beyond that but if you have a customer that won't pay, further action would be required.
5. While you want to get paid you need to remain polite and professional. Be a squeaky wheel , just a polite and professional one.

McCoskey Precision Machine

[bradfelger]

Good advice. Also, don't be stuck with the idea that it has to be a check for payment. Electronic payments such as ACH can be set up at time of PO and the money transfers at a set agreed time - At pick-up or 10 days or 30 days. All companies have credit cards and debit cards. You can get the numbers and they sign an authorization for the card to be run at a certain time. Also, Paypal is an option where funds can be sent with nothing more than your e-mail address (if you have a Paypal account) for little or no fees.

[Coolman]

Great video very important topic, I'm new business owner, i never realized this was gonna be an issue, I originally had verbal agreement of 50 % with shipping label and 50 % after 21 days - after 33 days 3 phone calls and 2 emails, i got full payment, it's very time consuming and stressful working with customers that don't pushback payment

[dcwshoreline]

Spot on Sir!
Exactly what Im dealing with right now in 🇨🇦. Thanks for the tips

[Panzax]

People that don't pay on time have to pay up front next time. Or maybe I'll just decline work from them.

[hilltopmachineworks]

Aint nothing worse then customers not wanting to pay up in a timely manner.