In today’s society, consumers want to pay for the products they buy through a variety of methods. This includes online payments and in-person transactions. To keep up with customer demands, you need a robust payment system to handle all these different types of transactions. If your business is struggling with this task, here are four tips that will help manage customer payments successfully.
Accept All Major Forms of Payment
The most convenient way to accept payments is through the use of credit cards. However, this isn’t always an option for all customers or businesses that don’t want to pay transaction fees on every purchase made with plastic. Fortunately, there are other forms of payment you can take to meet your customer demands. These include cash, check debit cards, and online payment services like PayPal. Additionally, some customers will prefer to use their smartphones as a wallet by using an electronic QR code instead of swiping a credit card at the point-of-sale (POS).
Use a Payment System That Integrates With Your Business Software
Many businesses utilize their own software and systems to run and manage their operations. If your software can’t integrate with a payment system, you’ll need additional programs to make it work. This will add more cost and time when processing payments, which is counterproductive for business growth. Companies offer POS solutions that link up with the most popular types of back-end software. With the Square POS, you can process credit cards and manage your business from one convenient source.
Have Accounts Receivable Aging Report
You need to have an A/R aging report running on entity extraction to keep track of your business finances. This will show all invoices due for payment in the next 30 days or so. The A/R Aging Report is essential because it will help you distinguish which customers are not paying on time and determine what steps to take to resolve the issue. Entity extraction can also help you match payments with your customer’s information you have in your database. This helps you make sure you receive all payments from customers.
Send Out Statements or Notices of Past Due Accounts
If you have customers behind on payments, sending out notices can effectively settle their accounts. Your notice should include the customer’s name, invoice number, and payment due date. Also, it should clearly state if there is any late penalty on the invoice. Preparing a statement or overdue notice is one way to manage customer payments, ensure your cash flow is steady and avoid the worry of dealing with bounced checks.
Managing customer payments is essential for any business. To ensure your success, integrating with the right payment system and using good practices are essential in maintaining positive cash flow.
