Small Business Owners Can Safely Offer Credit

For a small business owners one of the hardest problems to handle is not being paid paid for your product or service. If it has ever happened to you it is one of those things you never want to have happen again.

The first thing you can do is to do thorough credit check before you offer credit. Before you give anyone credit you should make them complete a credit application, perform credit checks, and get at least two trade references. Most people and companies understand the need for this information and will gladly give it to you. Always remember that offering credit is a privilege and not a right, be firm on this fact.

You need to send an invoice out the day that you complete the service or send the goods. Always try to send a copy with the products and to the acounts payable department to make sure they have received it. Your shipping Bill Of Lading should have all the shipping information, product codes and should include a copy of the invoice.

Make sure that you get the name of the person who the account is payable through. If you have the company, fill out a credit application form than you should have the name of that person already. It is possible that you will speak to a number of people and get varying responses, but if you speak to the same person each time and keep notes of your conversations they will be accountable for the payment.

You should call and ask about the payment on the day that it is due. It is early in the collection process so don't be aggressive, but by calling early you will encourage a slow payer to pay more promptly. Customer satisfaction should be the main point of the conversation. Make sure they are happy and received exactly what they wanted. By doing this it will open the door for you to ask about payment. If all is well you can casually ask when you can expect payment. By making the conversation about them and their needs it will be easier to get what you need.

The final way to encourage a person to make a payment on time, or early, is to offer them a discount. You can offer a small but significant discount for early payment. It is important that you only offer this if you can afford to. This kind of offer can be sent along with the shipping papers or made a part of the original invoice. Let them know up front that they can save money by paying early.

The worst thing that can happen to a small business owner is to do hard work and not receive the money. Offering credit can be a good way for a business to get orders for their goods or services, but only when done the right way. With the information in this article you should be able to safely offer credit to customers, knowing that you will be paid on time, if not early.

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