I was reminded today today how not to collect money from your clients. Many years ago, I was at my doctor’s office for the annual physical where I needed to give blood. This was a small office and the person drawing the blood also was the bookkeeper. As this person began to prepare me for the blood draw, she started to tell me that I owed the doctor money and it was way overdue. As I was about to answer, she stuck me with the needle and said, “You better pay us soon”!
Ouch! Talk about making your point. I complained to the doctor afterwards and the bookkeeper after that no longer drew blood. Most of us (even though sometimes we would like to) can’t stick a needle in the arm of the person who owes us money. What can we do instead?
1. Set payment expecatations clearly up front before you do the work.
2. Send the invoice on time and call to make sure they received it. Ask when the invoice will be paid.
3. Follow up a few days before to ensure the invoice will still be paid.
4. If the money does not come, repeat steps 1-3.
There are more collection tips in a rant I wrote.
During these cash flow challenging times, how have you been successful in collecting the cash?
