If you’re in the service business there’s very little separation between you as a human, and your services as a professional. So when it’s time to get paid, things can become a bit awkward, especially when your invoices fall past due.
Your invoice is the ‘moment of truth’
A common challenge in a professional services business, is that it can often be tricky to gauge customer satisfaction until your invoice has been received. You tally up the hours for the month, send the invoice, then cross your fingers, hoping there’s no ‘bill shock’ at the receiving end.
If you’ve done a stellar job, then they may pay on receipt. Awesome! However, an all too common scenario is that you hear nothing, and no payment is made…(crickets chirping). You’re left wondering if your fee has exceeded budget, or if your service failed to meet expectations. Awkward.
Ideally, you would have had a conversation about potentially unexpected charges before your invoice is sent; but you’re busy, and that may also be awkward. So usually it’s easier to send the invoice and expect the best outcome (because you’re awesome at what you do and should get paid well for it).
Is there a problem with your invoice, or is it your service?
I spoke to an accountant who uses our invoice follow up phone call service purely as a gauge on their customer’s satisfaction. It’s a quick and easy way for him to find out if he’s done a great job, and charged an acceptable fee.
All he does is log in to CreditorWatch Collect, select an invoice, and assign it to his dedicated (CreditorWatch Collect) Receivables Manager to make a follow up call on his behalf. Within a day or so, he has an update in his inbox with the details of the call, and any concerns his customer may have.
There are several reasons this is a valuable tool for his business:
- He saves time and can concentrate on his business
- He doesn’t have to fret over making cringe-worthy requests for payment
- He maintains his direct rapport, and overall relationship with his customers
- Most importantly, he is forewarned if there was a problem, and avoids the emotional response, and possible confrontation that may occur when communicating on the spot.
A quick & easy follow up call – done for you
As a rule, it’s good business to separate yourself from the invoice follow up process. Not only is it a massive time saver, it appears more professional and is less awkward for both you, and your client.
Your CreditorWatch Collect Receivables Manager learns your products and services, is mindful of your client relationships, and writes detailed notes for each call. Engage us to take care of one call per month or several, you’ll only pay for the calls you use.
CreditorWatch Collect Receivables Managers are currently available in Australia, UK, USA and New Zealand.
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