Business Advice on Bill Collection

Today my post is about how to properly collect a debt from a customer.

First off make sure when you are sending someone a bill that they have not paid you first.

First and for most ALWAYS use Spell Check! It is very, very unprofessional to send something that is spelt wrong. I for one am the “Worlds Worst Speller” but my best friend F7 has never let me down.

Second: If you are trying to collect money from someone, always let them know for what! Not offering a description is not only unprofessional but wrong. Even when you go to Wal-Mart your receipt gives you some sort of description of what you purchased. You need to remind your customer what they bought from you or what service you performed for them.

Third: Bills need to be sent in a timely manner. Bills should be sent within 30 days. Bills sent after 3 year and 7 years in other states are not valid, meaning that you will not be able to collect your payment.

Fourth: Invest in accounting software. QuickBooks, Microsoft Money, Quicken. All these programs offer invoice creation. You can also purchase readymade invoice at your local office supply store. Wal-Mart and Target carry them in their office supply isle. If, you can’t afford software for your computer then keep track of customer payments in Word or Excel. Microsoft also has readymade templates at their on line template gallery. Microsoft Office Templates Simply type in what you are looking for and several readymade documents are there for your downloading. There are plenty of options that are easily customized to suit your business. If your company has no computers then use a journal or note book.

Keeping track of the checks customers pay you is vital to business survival. Before you take that deposit to the bank, make a copy of all the checks and the deposit slip. Attach the deposit ticket to the copies and keep them in a file cabinet. Believe me this has saved me on more than one occasion.
I hope my advice has helped.