How to get your customers to pay before the due date

Understanding how to get your customers to pay faster can help you boost and gain greater control over your cash flow. And given over half of B2B payments in Australia are processed late, waiting and hoping to receive payments on time can tighten cash flow. Fortunately, with smart technology that provides access to flexible payment and lending solutions, you can motivate customers to pay their invoices before the due date without restricting their cash flow. These solutions are a win for all parties — you get paid faster, and your customers can take advantage of flexible payment options. Keep reading to learn how to get your customers to pay before the due date.

Use integrated solutions to make payments easy, fast and simple

Almost 90 per cent of invoices in Australia are still paper-based or PDF. This means that when a customer receives their invoice, it doesn’t automatically post to their ledgers or integrate with their accounting software or ERP system. Instead, paying a paper-based or PDF invoice requires manual data entry and making payment via a limited range of payment methods, usually electronic funds transfer (EFT). This disjointed process doesn’t incentivise customers to pay early. With an integrated payment solution, however, many of the manual tasks associated with processing invoices are eliminated, while the customer gets access to more payment options. As a result, suppliers and customers gain efficiencies and greater accuracy with data entry, payment processing, and reconciliation and reporting.

Use pay by link features to send invoices and use them as a follow-up tool

Digital payment features should make it easier for suppliers to send invoices while being more convenient for customers to make payments. Features such as Pay By Link offer customers the option to pay via a secure link and select from a range of funding methods, including credit cards. Further, using Pay By Link to send statements and invoices provides a smart follow-up tool, which can improve your accounts receivable processes. Not only do invoices become easier to share and follow up, but it’s a more streamlined way for customers to view and pay invoices, which can result in faster payments.

Offer flexible payment options

Beyond system-to-system integration, payment flexibility can motivate customers to pay before the due date. These payment options should include electronic funds transfer (EFT) and card payments, at a minimum. And by coupling these payment options with features that enable payment flexibility such as Pay By Link, customers enjoy more convenient payment processes along with more time to pay. For example, payment terms are effectively extended without restricting the supplier’s cash flow when customers take advantage of paying by instalments and funding these payments with a credit card. The third-party finance provider funds payment to the supplier and the customer gets more time to pay.

Give your customers access to lending and early settlement discounts

Early settlement discounts allow suppliers to incentivise buyers with a discount if they pay before the invoice due date. Not only does this encourage faster payments, but using a platform that provides customers with access to lending solutions shifts the transaction risk to the third-party finance provider. Your business gets paid on time (or earlier), and your customer has more time to pay, which boosts cash flow for both trading partners.

Get paid faster with Spenda

Getting your customers to pay faster all comes down to your invoicing workflows and the kinds of payment options that you offer. And by managing everything from one integrated invoicing and payment platform you will gain better control over cash flow.

Whether you’re looking to get paid faster, streamline your invoicing processes, or scale your payment capabilities, Spenda’s solutions can help. Book a demo and see how Spenda will improve your invoicing workflows and motivate customers to pay faster.