At PML Accountants we are committed to helping your business help you. One of the ways that we can do this easily is by helping you to manage your payments from customers better.
We use Xero as the centrepiece of our systems accompanied by Receipt Bank and other apps as required. Xero is in our opinion the leading cloud software and it is continually being improved to provide the best experience for its users.
One of the biggest problems facing small business is the time it takes for your customers to pay you.
By using Xero and customising the system to send automatic payment reminders you can ensure that your customers receive a statement and/or reminder at intervals set by you.
This will produce results as often people just need a prompt to pay.
Stop accepting cheques. By including your bank details on the invoice, you can get paid quicker and more efficiently. In these tomes even the most reluctant are setting up online banking and making electronic payments.
Do you receive regular orders/payments from customers?
Ask them to pay by direct debit. This is more efficient for both parties as the whole process can be automated.
This is achieved using an app such as GoCardless which integrates with Xero.
You set up a repeat invoice within Xero and ask the customer to sign up to GoCardless. Once they have signed op each time an invoice is sent out by Xero GoCardless emails the customer to give them advance notice of the direct debit which is then collected, and the funds returned to you within a week less a small transaction charge.
You do nothing until Xero asks you to reconcile the bank deposit within the bank reconciliation. The customer does not have to do anything to effect payment.
