July 2018

Happy Payday: The Joy of Getting Paid on Time with a Bespoke CRM

In business, there are few things more annoying that when an invoice becomes due and the payment is late – and continues to go unpaid for several more days, weeks or months.

When cash is the lifeblood of your business, such an inconvenience can quickly grow into a major challenge, as your suppliers go unpaid and you struggle to pay your staff. But what can be done about it?

Taking Measures

With so much pressure already placed on small businesses as we draw closer to Brexit (and everything we know about privacy changes with GDPR), making sure we’re paid on time is one worry owners would rather not have to deal with.

Unfortunately, the world isn’t so simple that just wishing for invoices to be paid on time will work – you need to take measures to ensure your customers pay what’s owed in a timely manner.

This can incorporate a payment procedure tied into a customer’s contract, such as work being stopped or supply of goods being frozen until payment is made, or by embracing an innovative piece of bespoke software.

The Bespoke Solution

For users of Lunar’s bespoke CRM solution, unpaid invoice procedures are handled automatically, without staff needing to waste their precious time chasing up payments. That’s because a bespoke CRM can:

• Create the invoices, making sure customers receive them on time, every month
• Report on what’s owed, keeping finance teams and business owners in the loop
• Chase late invoices with automated follow up communications, allowing for follow up to take place in the background
• Integrate with popular third party accounting software to present an up-to-date overview of accounts

Why is it Important?

If you’re used to getting paid eventually, you may be wondering why it’s so important to pursue late payments. Aside from the aforementioned domino effect it has on your cash flow – such as making it harder to pay your own invoices – it can also effect the customer-supplier relationship when left to wonder if you’ll be paid on time or let down again.

What’s more, it also affects how you can forecast your business’ future – if you can at all with the data on hand. That’s because sporadic payments undermine any predictability, and can directly hamper your plans for growth.

Finally, there’s the matter of your team. Not only do they need to use up their valuable time to chase invoices, but they can become anxious at the unpredictable nature of payments, leaving some unsure of whether they’re working in a stable environment or not.

So, instead of letting anybody worry (including yourself), get paid on time using the tools at your disposal – whether that’s a contractual agreement, the use of a bespoke CRM solution to automate the reminder process, or your own solution. Whatever you choose, put a smile on everybody’s face and have a happy payday.

Team Lunar have worked hard to create the features you need to automate invoice creation and chasing. To find out more about our bespoke CRM’s amazing features, explore our website or get in touch to arrange your own free demo.