No matter the size of a business, one can’t overstate the importance of sound accounts receivable policies and procedures. Without a strong and steady inflow of cash, even the most successful company will likely stumble and could even collapse.
If your collections aren’t as efficient as you’d like, consider these five ways to improve them:
It may seem superficial, but the design of invoices really does matter. Customers prefer bills that are aesthetically pleasing and easy to understand. Sloppy or confusing invoices will likely slow down the payment process as customers contact you for clarification rather than simply remit payment. Of course, accuracy is also critical to reducing questions and speeding up payment.
At some companies, there may be several people handling accounts receivable but no one primarily focusing on collections. Giving one employee the ultimate responsibility for resolving past due invoices ensures the “collection buck” stops with someone. If budget allows, you could even hire an account receivable specialist to fill this role.
The more ways customers can pay, the easier it is for them to pay promptly. Although some customers still like traditional payment options such as mailing a check or submitting a credit card number, more and more people now prefer the convenience of mobile payments via a dedicated app or using third-party services such as PayPal, Venmo, or Square.
If your business largely engages in B2B transactions, many of your customers may have specific procedures that you must follow to properly format and submit invoices. Review these procedures and be sure your staff is following them carefully to avoid payment delays. Also, consider contacting customers a couple of days before payment is due — especially for large payments — to verify that everything is on track.
Often, the culprit behind slow collections is a lack of timely, accurate data. Accounts receivable aging reports provide an at-a-glance view of each customer’s current payment status, including their respective outstanding balances. Aging reports typically track the payment status of customers by time periods, such as 0–30 days, 31–60 days, 61–90 days, and 91+ days past due.
With easy access to this data, you’ll have a better idea of where to focus your efforts. For example, you can concentrate on collecting the largest receivables that are the furthest past due. Or you can zero in on collecting receivables that are between 31 and 60 days outstanding before they get further behind.
Need help setting up aging reports or improving the ones you’re currently running? Please let us know — we’d be happy to help with this or any aspect of improving your accounts receivable processes.
No matter the size or shape of a business, one really can’t overstate the importance of sound accounts receivable policies and procedures. If your company’s collections aren’t as efficient as you’d like, consider the following five suggestions: 1) Redesign your invoices to ensure they’re clear and easy to understand. 2) Appoint a collections champion who has the primary responsibility of following up on past-due invoices. 3) Expand your payment options to include the latest mobile technology. 4) Acquaint (or reacquaint) yourself with your B2B customers’ procedures for invoice formatting and submission. 5) Generate accounts receivable aging reports. Contact us for help.
With April right around the corner, warmer days will be here before we know it. While many people associate spring cleaning with cleaning and organizing your home, have you thought about spring cleaning your finances? Spring cleaning your finances is a great way to get back on track with paying off any debt, getting organized, and evaluating your overall financial situation. By following our five spring cleaning tips, you will be on your way down a more stable financial path.
Take a look at how much total debt you owe. To truly understand your debt load, you will need to calculate how much debt you owe compared to the amount that you earn. If your total consumer debt is less than 20% of your net income, you are in fine standings. But, if your total consumer debt is above 20%, it is time to assess your debt load. Don’t let it overwhelm you though as there are many solutions to becoming debt free such as cutting expenses, creating a debt-free plan, setting goals each month, getting a second job and numerous of additional solutions.
Organizing your finances is a vital part of being able to gain control over your financial situation and to make sure that additional wealth is going to be created. A few ways to organize your finances can include consolidating accounts, filing important documents, determining your personal net worth, estate settlement, and shredding documents that you no longer need. All of these tasks will help you be on your way to better-organized finances.
Your budget is one of the most important parts of your financial planning. Without a budget, you could be at risk of overspending on items that could cause you to go into debt, or further into debt. The best way to tweak your budget is to look back at the past couple of months and analyze what you spend the most and least money on. From there tweak it accordingly if you see any trouble spending areas or areas that you’re budgeting more than you need to.
It is always a good idea to check up on your insurance policies, whether it be health, property, casualty, or any other insurance policies you may need to evaluate. There are many benefits by doing this such as catching any mistakes, finding better rates, or realizing it may be time to bundle. As your life changes over the years, it is always best to ensure you are not paying for insurance you no longer need or that you are not underinsured.
Evaluating your 401k is important for a number of reasons. Many people make basic mistakes such as overlooking retirement plan fees, getting scared by market volatility, or getting overly aggressive. Reasons like these are why it is important to think about retirement sooner than later so that you are able to take on an appropriate level of risk all along.
If you are looking for financial services to help get your finances in order this spring, contact David Mills CPA LLC. David Mills offers financial and accounting services to small and medium-sized businesses, as well as individuals in Peoria, IL as well as the surrounding areas. To learn more about the services we offer, or to learn more about David Mills CPA LLC as a company, contact us here. We look forward to speaking with you!