Let’s be honest. If you’re a business owner or freelancer asking how to get a client to pay an invoice, you’re not exactly in the ideal situation. There’ll be times when working out how to get clients to pay will feel akin to pulling teeth and there will also be times when you inadvertently drop the ball.
But have no fear, InvoiceBerry is here to get you paid quickly so you won’t have to point fingers. Learn how to use online invoicing software to your advantage and you’ll be able to reap the benefits instantly.
Here are five big reasons you may not be getting paid. If your reaction is “oh my gosh, yes!” to any of them, I’m happy to say you’re in the right place and well along the road to recovery.
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Your invoice is a benchwarmer
Your Email Service Provider is like the kid who was captain of your kickball team at recess in fifth grade. Let’s call him Bobby. Just like he had the power to decide whether to send you and each of your classmates to his team or to the other team, platforms like Gmail and Outlook get to decide whether your emails make it to your clients’ inbox or the dreaded spam folder.
Being told your invoice always finds its way to the spam folder is one of several clear signs that your business needs invoicing software. If you’re really good at kickball, you’ll get to play on Bobby’s team.
But if you drop the ball (literally) every time the other team kicks it to you, well…you know what team you’ll be on next time if you don’t end up on the playground bench.
If Bobby had control over your email inbox he’d only send you the messages he thought you would trust, so maybe billing your clients from AquaManIsHot@aol.com isn’t the most brilliant idea. Sending an invoice directly from InvoiceBerry, however, is a winning idea that’ll make you look like a pro.
Even better, InvoiceBerry has partnered with the leading Email Service Providers to make sure your emails reach the inbox.
You’re an old-school paper junkie
How many times do you think Bobby used the excuse “my dog ate my homework!” when he felt like playing video games instead? Kids have led us to believe that dogs love the taste of homework, which makes me think they’d enjoy an invoice too.
I’m pretty sure some dogs will eat anything, but that’s not the point. We’re in the 21st century and if you’re sending paper invoices, there’s a good chance they’ll end up at the bottom of a pile for six months or become adorned with a brown ring from an overused coffee mug – because that’s just what people do.
This can be a pain in the you-know-what, but it doesn’t have to be. Find out how online invoicing software can make your life easier in 2020. It’s already a dog-eat-dog world. Don’t let it be a dog-eat-invoice world too.
You never actually asked them to pay
Ask and ye shall receive. Don’t ask and ye shall not get paid.
Sometimes people simply forget things, like where they put their keys or the fact that the services you provide them cost money. It happens, but as a general rule of thumb, people don’t voluntarily fork over cash even if they know they owe you for your hard work.
Part of your responsibility as a small business owner or freelancer is keeping track of who paid and who hasn’t. A simple friendly reminder may be all it takes to get your client to pay up, but if you don’t know who needs reminding then you won’t have much success getting them to send you money.
So how do you get a client to pay an invoice? Make sure they know about it. With InvoiceBerry, your unpaid invoices will be the first thing you see in your dashboard, so you can send those reminders on their merry way.
Sign up for your free trial account to make sure you never forget to send an invoice.
They already paid, like three days ago
If you got paid and you know it, clap your hands. If you got paid and you don’t know it… you need a better invoice tracking system.
Have you ever billed a client only to hear them say, “I already paid you, like three days ago!”? You’d be surprised how often this happens, and when it does you’ll be left scrambling to figure out how that money got past you and into your bank account.
It’s important to keep track of which clients have paid and which ones haven’t so you don’t cast blame incorrectly. If ever you find yourself in this situation and realize payment was in fact received on time, just send a friendly “thank you” for the prompt response.
Hopefully no harm, no foul.
If you (don’t) send it, they (won’t) come
The movie Field of Dreams was released in 1989 and to this day people quote the classic line, “if you build it, they will come.” That was 31 years ago – a very long time, especially if you’re waiting for an invoice you never sent in the first place.
If you want to get paid for your services, make sure you bill your clients. You can’t remind them, even in a friendly way, to pay an invoice they never received. What you can do is make sure all of your bases are covered so you can continue running the business of your dreams. (See what I did there?).
If you need a little nudge in the right direction, read about how to start sending invoices to your clients.
Get clients to pay ASAP
And there you have it – a brief manifesto for running a successful spam-dodging, technology-embracing, friendly-reminding, payment-finding, invoice-sending campaign that’ll help you get paid quickly so you can focus on running your small business.
We understand what it takes to run a business, and earning money to put food on the table is the reason we all do what we do. If you’ve read this blog post and you’re still struggling to figure out how to get a client to pay an invoice, then InvoiceBerry is happy to become your new BFF.