5 Tips for Paying Bills on Time

[metoc15411]

Being late to a customer can ruin your day. Being late to pay a group of customers can close your doors forever. A steady cash flow is the lifeblood of a small business, so anything you can do to keep it steady will help.

Bills are paid on time

Here are five tips for getting your clients to pay your bills when they're due to help keep the lights on. Spoiler alert - communication is key.

1. Let them know when you expect to receive the money
The number of invoices I have seen from small businesses with no due date is shocking. Generally, people will not pay until they have to pay. If you don't tell them when to pay, they will just wait until you catch them. Every invoice you send should have a due date in big print.

The more specific you can be, the better. Instead 99 acres database of billing in "Two weeks," say "August 12, 2015." The extra specificity makes it crystal clear and increases the likelihood that it will be added to the calendar.

2. Make it easier for people to pay
Thanks to modern technology, you no longer have to wait for your customers to receive an invoice in the mail, fill it out, and send it back. Instead, you can leave a link in your emailed invoice, and your customers will be able to pay online. However, they won’t do so unless you give them the option.

By adding a payment link to your electronic invoice, you can encourage customers to make payments quickly and easily. Many invoicing software options offer this feature. For example, Xero connects to PayPal, and QuickBooks Payments offers its own processing.

So when you charge extra for Wi-Fi, you may enjoy a nice revenue stream, but you should take a close look at whether you are leaving a lot of money on the table in the form of guests you are losing because of it. Do other hotels nearby have free Wi-Fi? If so, they may be poaching your guests who see the Wi-Fi fee and go looking elsewhere.

What are your IT priorities for 2018?
As you can see, information technology continues to gain more and more importance in the hotel business.

How do you use IT to serve your guests and what are your strategic goals for 2018? Let us know in the comments below.

Looking for hotel property management software? Check out Platforms' list of the best hotel property management software solutions .