Rule One of Business: Get Paid

Getting paid, as you would imagine is essentially fundamental to your business because if you are not paid, why are you in business?

You might be laughing at the heaps of business people who let their clients to simply pay when and if they get on with it. I know a trader who habitually collects bad debts like charms. Why is that? Probably because he cannot bring himself to demand the cash and lets people intimidate him.

If you permit someone credit, do so only when they have proven their integrity to you by paying cash on delivery (COD) for a period. Moreover, you should check whether they have the cash to pay you - if not do not do business with them. Don’t trick yourself into thinking “I need the work” or “I need the sales”. It’s pointless to do the job or providing the goods for zip if you don’t get paid.

If you are the type of person who can’t demand the fee after the work has been done, try these ideas:
Tell your customer that when the work is done with, you need cash or cheque. They should probably have it to hand over at at the finish date and you don’t need to request your pay.

When sending out the quote, make sure your payment terms are clear.

Create an invoice that has your terms of payment plainly listed and send the customer the invoice when the task is finished. They will look at the invoice and generally know they need to pay the fee now without you having to say a word. Invent a “vicious boss” who will burn you alive if you can’t go back with the cash for the service.

Organise your bank branch to set you up with Merchant facilities so you can have credit cards such as Mastercard and Visa. The majority of people utilize credit cards and it could cease the problem of the client not owning a cheque account or not having enough cash in their wallet.

Likewise, don’t be persuaded against to hand over the goods until the payment has been made. Remember, until they have been paid for, they remain yours.

If you plan to permit a client credit, be sure you have got the following details off them some time BEFORE you give them credit.

• Name
• Address
• Phone number
• Bank name and address
• Account no.
• 3 trade references with their names, addresses and phone numbers

When you record all this detail, telephone the bank branch and make certain that they use an account with them. Then, ring every trade reference and ask if they pay their invoices punctually or if there are any issues with them.

Most people will be willing to tell you if the person is troublesome. If everything is OK, allow them a moderate level of debt, say no more than $500 (depending on your business). Monitor the operation of the account for a few months before allowing this amount to be exceeded.

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