Posted by Sharon Robb on Wed, Jun 17, 2009 @ 09:48 AM
The Key to Getting Paid.
A recent Get Paid survey by Intuit turned up some astonishing results regarding small business owners across the country - do any of these describe you?
Nearly 20% of small business owners admit to forgetting to invoice or follow up on an overdue invoice. Fifty percent of these respondents admit that this is due to a lack or organization and/or lack of an automated system.
66% of small businesses still handwrite invoices (no!), use word processing programs and spreadsheets or simply don't have a standardized method.
Nearly 40% of small businesses have aging invoices over 30 days.
42% of small business owners claim that trying to get paid quickly by customers is one of the top issues that "keeps them up at night".
Small businesses average $1500/mo in overdue customer payments.
And so it goes. Why do small business owners reject technology and flexible payment options proven to address exactly these issues? XBS has so many cost effective solutions geared to ease the administrative burden of the small business owner while increasing cash flow and often even revenue that we are having a real hard time with this issue.
Electronic Invoice presentment and payment (EIPP) puts accounts receivable control at your finger tips - doesn't matter if your an accountant, plumber, auto body shop or childcare service. Imagine having an overdue invoice report available at a glance - or automated sending of preformatted customized overdue notices to all of your past due customers. XBS PaySimple.
Suppose your customer could click the invoice and pay with his business credit card and receive a copy of his paid invoice simultaneously to print or file electronically - XBS PaySimple plus an XBS merchant account with competitive industry pricing and unparalleled merchant resources.
How about a secure gateway coupled with a virtual online terminal for credit card processing - that allows your business to bill your customer monthly, in 3 easy installments or any other scheduled payment plan per your customer agreement - how about that? (think health clubs, subscriptions, church's and non-profits, maintenance plans etc.) This does not even require your customer to click and pay, should this prove too labor intensive - you just set and forget. XBS makes automated recurring billing a snap - your customers credit card is processed, and an email receipt is sent. Billing this way is easy, time saving and doable. Very doable.
The writing is on the wall. Small businesses must do more than be good at what they do (service) or have a quality product to sell - they must compete in an inequitable marketplace. Customers want to feel good about what they buy and now, just as importantly, who they're buying from - or, studies show, they move on. This means a complete package from the order to the bill (I can't tell you what goes through my mind about the product or service when I don't get a bill OR I get one that I have to make my own copy for my records, write out the envelope, stuff, seal and stamp - no wonder I forgot the check!)
Small and mid-size businesses need a plan to ensure cash flow and customer payment and collection, as painful as it seems, should be a top priority. Small business expert and author Denise O'Berry hits the nail on the head at Small Business Trends when 5 of her 7 strategies to pump up cash flow revolve around invoicing, merchant accounts, recurring billing and other stuff that XBS has been touting from the roof tops.
If you need and want to improve your cash flow - call us - XBS can bring your business up to speed.
Posted by Sharon Robb on Mon, May 11, 2009 @ 08:39 AM
Is the United States Postal Service out of time AND money?
It's time to convert to electronic invoicing. Effective today, the US post office increased the cost of first class stamps as well as several other products and services, for the third year in a row. The agency is in the hole and in danger of running out of money this budget year.
In addition to increased costs - the USPS has asked congress for permission to drop a delivery day - another step towards reining in expenses while in survival mode.
How long will it take to get your invoices and statements to your customer - and how long before payment comes back? What will it cost - for the initial invoice, the statement, the reminders, etc.? Is your company doing everything it can and should - to implement at the very least, some sort of operational efforts at going green?
Businesses looking to cut costs and increase cash flow (ah, that should be everybody) should consider jumping ship now - the combination of electronic invoicing with electronic payments is a tool that will eventually become a foregone conclusion.
Efficiency, customer satisfaction, cost cutting, increased cash flow, quick and easy secure payments is a vital requirement for the success of every business. The combination of e-invoicing with a fair and profitable merchant account program is the next wave - don't wait until USPS changes force the issue - get ahead of the curve.
Combine an electronic invoicing program like XBS PaySimple with interchange cost plus pricing for merchant accounts and businesses can go green, save in substantial overhead/labor costs, increase cash flow immediately and lower processing costs.
Win-Win.