Are you a business owner? Are you struggling to get your customers to pay on time? You aren’t the only one; in fact, debt collection is one of the biggest struggles that organizations and businesses struggle with.

That said, there are ways in which you can protect yourself. In our below article, we’re going to detail our top four ways to get your customers to pay on time.

Create a Follow-Up System

This will depend entirely on how you want your business to be run. There are some follow-up systems that require a lot of time and effort on your end, and there are others that take no time at all.

If you’re especially busy, there’s no wonder why you’ve let some customers slide-by without paying. That said, you don’t have to continue on this way. If you want to avoid the issue, a follow-up system is your way to go.

Depending on your platform, you can actually arrange to set up emails when people don’t pay. These are automatic messages that remind them to pay after their order. You should consider acquiring their email(s) when they sign up for your services.

Get EVERYTHING in Writing

When you don’t have anything in writing, people tend to take you less seriously. That’s why this is on our list for the best things that you can do to get people to pay you on time.

When you have a contract in writing, you’re more likely to be paid because having a signature from someone makes it legally-binding. Not only do they have to take it seriously, but they can be charged for not paying.

Hire a Collection Agency

Truth be told, you probably don’t have the time to spend on chasing after everyone who hasn’t paid you. That’s why you might want to hire a collection agency. Some people will shy away from this because they don’t want to pay the fees of a collection agency.

That said, hiring an agency will not only spread the word that you’re serious about being paid, you’ll also be getting more money than if you would continue to let the unpaid fees slide.

Play it Smart

There’s a fine line between trying to get paid and harassment. For this reason, you should only be calling your clients at a reasonable hour and you should make sure not to leave any threatening messages. If you do so, you might find them pursuing YOU for harassment and other charges.

You should try to call them when they know they’re likely to answer and don’t call them too often. If you see that they’re refusing to call you back or they’re refusing to take your calls, that’s when you need to call in the professionals and either hire a lawyer or a collection agency.

Conclusion

All business owners know the struggle of getting people to pay their bills on time. Whether it’s because they don’t want to pay or because they simply forget, it can be a real struggle for everyone involved. Because of this, you might feel discouraged about ever getting paid.

That said, there are measures you can take to heal your headache. In our above guide, we’ve provided you with our top four ways to get customers to pay on time.